One of the more memorable experiences I had as a demand planning manager was when a college student working as an intern came to ask me a question. He was debating what his major should be, and what career to pursue. Sitting in my office, he asked “is Demand planning really this exciting, or do you just make it sound that way?”

I replied, “yes – both!”

Forecasting, demand planning, predictive analytics, S&OP, and related fields are a unique blend of analytics, leadership, and communication. Forecast analysts and demand planners are some of the most well-rounded people touching every part of an organization and a true growth driver within a company.  Individuals that commit to these fields and challenge themselves find out that, yes, it really is exciting, and are rewarded with generous salaries and opportunities for career progression to the highest levels of the business.

You may feel that I am overselling this profession, but the truth is this discipline is both growing and evolving. Machine learning and predictive analytics technology and increasingly volatile market conditions require companies to invest heavily in forecasting functions.

This trend is of course accelerated by the demand uncertainty caused by Covid-19. Coronavirus has exposed companies with underdeveloped or non-existent planning functions, while others with established processes are on track. Even before Covid-19, a recent survey by PwC revealed that 80% of CFOs ranked forecasting as one of their top 3 concerns. Demand planning and business forecasting are going from the back room to the board room and are more important now than ever.

There has never been a better time to enjoy a well-remunerated career, gain valuable experience and exposure, and be at the forefront of the practical application of cutting-edge technology.

How To Forge A Career In Demand Planning

So now you want to be a Demand Planner. One of the most frequent questions I receive from people is “how do I get started?”, or “what should I do to be a better planner?”

First, understand what it is you really want to do professionally. Ask yourself how you want to develop or change your current professional identity. Figure out your strengths, values, and personality and determine how these qualities will fit into the identity you aspire to become.

Second, learn as much as you can about this field or whatever career you want to dive into. As you go, adjust your career map as needed. Suffice to say, the success of your plan relies on having discipline, self-confidence, and a willingness to continually learn.

You may have noticed I did not say technical skills and statistical knowledge. Whilst these are very important, just as important are discipline, confidence, continual learning, and passion. There have been countless psychological studies done that clearly show that the best performers in any field are not the ones that have the most aptitude but have the most interest.  Passion is your greatest asset.

This is why I said understand what it is you want to do. Figure out your strengths, weaknesses, and figure out those things that you do that make you lose track of time. But of course interest in a field alone will not pay your bills. Your next step is your discipline and continual learning.

Continual Learning For Career Progression

If you have not considered IBF Certified Professional Forecaster (CPF) certification, you may want to put that as one of your goals to achieve. By setting that goal you will develop skills, broaden your knowledge of the field and build that confidence. Success comes more in the preparation for the exam than the exam itself. Once again, the technical elements and underlying principles are valuable, but the confidence gained will allow you to pursue the opportunities that are out there. And, of course, being certified demonstrates to others your knowledge of the field and your commitment.

The other thing I recommend to people wanting to get into this profession would be set a goal to write or contribute a blog article about something you learned and mastered. I actually made this a goal for everyone who has worked for me – I would set as one of their yearly objectives to write one article or speak at a conference. Sharing knowledge gives you a mastery of the topic, and once again builds and displays confidence. One of the best ways to learn and grow (both technically and personally) is to study with the idea you will need to become the teacher. It may also get you out of your comfort zone which is always an opportunity for growth.

Start by reading articles here on demand-planning.com or taking out a subscription to the Journal of Business Forecasting. Keep notes on that subject and develop your own story, angle, or learnings on it.  Write your own article and submit it. [Ed: Details on submitting articles here].

On a final note, whether you are just getting started in this field or a seasoned professional looking to grow, you are not alone. IBF is an entire community of like-minded people that share your passion for demand planning, forecasting, predictive analytics, and S&OP/IBP. Stay connected, consider membership, and be part of this community.

As for the college intern, Hariharan Kalaivani Manickam, he got his masters degree with a thesis on forecasting and demand segmentation and went on to be a rock star Demand Manager at a Fortune 500 company.

As businesses continue to recognize the growing importance of accurate demand forecast planning, so does their need for quality Demand Planners. But how does one go about gaining the knowledge and experience required to be a Demand Planner, and be attractive to employers? As a Supply Chain professional looking to move into Demand Planning myself, here’s my advice.

Get A Foot In The Door

While the job description may be the same, the paths taken to get there can be very different. People enter at a variety of ages and with a variety of educational and professional backgrounds. Within large companies it can be difficult to know which positions to apply for and what attributes are needed for each. The first step is getting in the door with an entry level Supply Chain related role, or a role in a department that has exposure to the S&OP process like Sales and Marketing. Whether you are fresh out of college or changing careers, securing an entry level position is not always as easy as it sounds, even if you are sufficiently qualified. What’s more, some large companies do not hire entry level positions directly, so you may need to find out which staffing agencies have contracts with your company and begin applying.

Be Selective In The Jobs You Apply For

Be relatively selective in the positions you apply for, as applying for every open positon can appear desperate or unfocused –  you don’t want the hiring manager to think you don’t value the position they are trying to fill. More than likely, the first position you are able to land isn’t exactly the dream job you have always wanted but it can be the that all-important stepping stone. Remember, you have time – this profession pays well and the rewards are there, even it may take a while to get there [Ed: See average Demand Planning starting salaries.]

Know The Right People,  And Know Your Stuff

So, you’ve got your foot in the door in a Supply Chain related role. What do you do, now that you are a part of the company? As the old saying goes, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. That is very true – to a point, but what you know is what will get you the job. In that regard, keeping abreast of developments in forecasting and business analytics, and having a solid grounding in the fundamentals of Demand Planning, is important. Read up, consider certification, (I am studying for IBF’s Certified Professional Forecaster Certification) and exchange ideas, so that when interview time comes, you have a grasp of the basics and can demonstrate a passion for the discipline – you’ll have worked hard to get to this point, so make sure the hiring manager knows it.

Network, Network, Network

Networking within your company is extremely important for many reasons and if used correctly can open doors that you never knew existed. Many large companies have volunteer networks within the organization that are always in need of new members. Even things as small as participating in the office secret Santa during the holidays is a way build a reputation as someone people like to work with. You already have a skill set, and networking allows people to realize that.

Talk To Demand Planners And Understand Required Competencies

One thing that I have found very helpful in keeping focused on my goal of becoming a Demand Planner is setting a career path. Go and talk to Demand Planners within your company and find out what their background is and what competencies are key to performing the job at a high level. Make sure to follow up after these meetings for feedback and to continue to stay in touch, as current Demand Planners may be the ones hiring for those positions in the future.

Remember that there are many pathways into Demand Planning so stay flexible with the plan you set for yourself. For example, I started in the Logistics department of my company working with our accounts payable team. This gave me a good foundation in seeing how my company’s products get from our production facilities to our customers and the costs involved in doing so. I now work in Raw Material Scheduling, which provides further contextual knowledge that helps understand Demand Planning, and that will help me once I get there. No matter what position you currently have, there will always be something you can take away from it that will help you down the line.

Get A Demand Planner Mentor

Get a mentor. Find someone who has the Demand Planning position you want and ask them to be your mentor. This may only mean one or two meetings a month for a half an hour but it will allow you to stay plugged into the successes and challenges currently faced by the Demand Planners in your company. It also shows that you are serious about pursuing a career in Demand Planning, and that will be noticed.

Job Shadow A Demand Planner

One problem I come across in applying for my first scheduler/planner position was that I didn’t have any actual experience in the positon except for mock scenarios I had worked through during my undergraduate studies. While these scenarios gave me a general idea of what needed to be done and how the role functioned, I wasn’t able to relate my knowledge to my company’s specific process in dealing with different constraints. How do you gain that experience? The answer is job shadow. Take the time to spend an hour here and there watching someone do the job you are looking to apply for. Ask good questions about their process and ask to sit in on planning discussion meetings even if it is just a conference call and take notes. Find out the biggest hurdles as it relates to Production and Logistics within your company and ask different planners and schedulers how they deal with them. These are the types of answers you can then give in an interview even if you have never actually held the position you are applying for.

Consider A Position in Sales If Demand Planning Isn’t An Option Right Now

What if a planner/scheduler positon isn’t available right now? In speaking to current demand forecasters within my company, all have recommended spending some time in Sales. Learning how market trends are identified through a sales position can give you a well-rounded background for when you become a Demand Planner. While there may be a Sales and Marketing representative in the S&OP meeting, it is good to know how they are coming up with the data they are contributing. Another area would be Logistics. While it is ideal to have an asset producing at 100% capacity 24/7, if the goods are unable to consistently move then that will factor in greatly when producing a demand forecast. Learning the constraints of the shipping methods available will provide areas for improvement as well as better accuracy in the planning. For example, in my company the availability of railcars for shipping and storage is constantly changing production schedules. These logistical concerns affect the demand planning and forecasting of our business.

Finally, stay up to date with the latest trends within demand planning and forecasting. Read the latest news from the IBF and discuss them with your mentor or other planners within your company. Study the capabilities of new analytical tools emerging for forecasters to improve accuracy. Subscribe to blogs and newsletters that are at the forefront of change within the industry of Demand Planning and Forecasting. Doing those things will keep you current and engaged with what those hiring managers are looking for, and before you know it, the job of Demand Planner could be yours.

Visit IBF’s jobs board for the latest vacancies in Demand Planning, Forecasting, Analytics and S&OP. For further information about the role of Demand Planner, Demand Planner salaries, career progression and access routes, visit IBF’s Employability page. 

A common feeling amongst those leaving university is the sense of “what next?” And when you graduate with a degree as vague as mine (BA in Arts & Humanities) this feeling is particularly acute. Nothing I studied at university suggested a Supply Chain or Demand Planning career, but 20 years after saying goodbye to my scholarly life, that is where I am as Supply Chain Manager for Goodyear. The question is, how did I get here?

How A Book Shop Opened Up a Career in Demand Planning

When I arrived at my current place of employment, 12 years after leaving university, I had never heard of Demand Planning, but I had taken a serious liking to the Supply Chain side of business. Supply Chain seemed to be a place where logic and reason could be applied and where reliability was valued above showmanship – it was my kind of place.

I discovered Supply Chain as a direct result of my first full time job, a retail assistant in a book shop. I was quickly put in charge of processing stock deliveries which involved a lot of lifting and restocking the shelves. For several weeks I saw books arrive that we didn’t need, while we waited for books to arrive that we did need but never came. Curious about this obvious problem, I asked the manager how we created our stock deliveries. I was told that we didn’t. It turned out the weekly deliveries were based on new releases and excess stock that the warehouse needed to shift. I was no supply chain whiz kid , but it was clear to this English graduate there was something wrong in how we approached this. Every book we didn’t sell took up valuable shelf space and had to be returned, at a cost. The books customers wanted but couldn’t find in our store were missed sales opportunities. Not a great way to run a business.

I stumbled across supply chain by accident because all I wanted to do was work with books.

Developing My First Forecasts

Shortly after this conversation, I started sending the manager lists of items that needed replenishment based purely on customer demand. Without really knowing it, I was creating our first forecasts.

I spent 5 years working for the book company, ending up as Manager of the London branch. By the time I left, I was already aware of how much money could be generated if the shop held items that the customers wanted and how much could be saved if we didn’t have to return non-selling items back to the warehouse or sell them off cheap. It may sound obvious, but I still think some companies are yet to fully grasp the importance of this concept.

I don’t do things on a whim, I do things based on analysis of facts and educated assumptions.

My First Job In Demand Planning

When I started work for my current employers, Goodyear Dunlop, they were just beginning to take forecasting seriously. After a year of using a bespoke in-house system for capturing forecasts, I was called into my manager’s office. I was told that the UK had been chosen to pilot a new method of forecasting, called Demand Planning, and that I had been chosen as the UK associate to support this project. After many weeks of testing, discussing and re-testing in a windowless office in Hanau, Germany, we were ready to launch and I had never been so motivated.

Demand Planning was logical, and in its purest form it was a process built to eradicate bias and deliver a robust and realistic forecast. It took a lot of work to convince Sales of the difference between a forecast and a target, but promises of increased levels of availability silenced most of the loudest opponents.

Telling the Story Behind the Numbers

However, Demand Planning by itself is not sufficient. Statistical reasoning and trend analysis isn’t enough in itself to best predict the future. Internally, you also need the background story, the plans, the promotions, the new product info, the plans for obsolete stock, etc. Externally you need market trends, socio-economic factors, the predicted price of raw materials, new legislation etc. And to capture this, you need more than a database, you need S&OP.

If you’re not up for a good fight and a few knock-backs then there’s no point stepping in the ring.

S&OP ticks every box for me. Again, logic is required. Understanding and knowledge is rewarded and ‘gut-feelings’ and forecast bias are exposed. Assumptions can be tracked and variances are the starting point of corrective actions rather than accusations.

As Demand Planning and S&OP were rolled out, it soon became clear that even if all the data and intelligence suggested a reduction in a forecast, the decision may still be to keep forecasts where they were. Initially, this was a disappointment and seemed to undermine the whole process. However, this wasn’t true at all. Demand Planning and S&OP are there to provide guidance; it is up to the management teams whether they adopt the suggestions or not. If they don’t, then we track the results, understand the root cause of the variance and go again, this time with even stronger arguments. To be in Demand Planning you need to find a perfect line between collaboration and bullishness. If you’re not up for a good fight and a few knock-backs then there’s no point stepping in the ring.

Demand Planning Fits My Personality Like A Glove

Demand Planning appeals directly to who I am as a person. I don’t do things on a whim, I do things based on analysis of facts and educated assumptions. I’m drawn to findings trends within data and I’m driven to expose hyperbole and unrealistic forecasts. I like a good, well-reasoned debate. I like to see logic and reasoning triumph. But above all, I like to see the work I do add real value to a company’s bottom line.

An Unlikely But Serendipitous Career in Demand Planning

People who are drawn to data and logic aren’t generally the most emotive of people, but Demand Planning and S&OP gave me a career that I hugely enjoy and the IBF showed me that I wasn’t alone.  I will always be grateful to both. Do Demand Planning and S&OP have anything to do with my degree? No. I stumbled across supply chain by accident because all I wanted to do was work with books. I guess the lesson is that opportunity is around every corner, you just have to keep walking.

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