PLANNING & INVENTORY SPECIALIST

Role Summary

An established organisation is seeking an experienced Planning & Inventory Specialist to support demand forecasting, inventory planning and operational readiness. The successful candidate will be responsible for translating customer and operational requirements, historical consumption, planned activities and other relevant business information into accurate and actionable demand plans. The role requires a highly analytical and technical individual who can identify future requirements, anticipate potential supply constraints and support appropriate procurement and inventory decisions. The incumbent will work closely with various internal departments to ensure that required materials and products are available when needed while maintaining appropriate inventory levels and controlling working capital. The position requires strong analytical capability, commercial awareness and the ability to use ERP systems, data and digital analytical tools to support effective planning and decision-making.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Demand Planning & Forecasting

• Develop and maintain short-, medium- and long-term demand forecasts using historical consumption, customer requirements, operational plans and other relevant demand information.

• Consolidate information from various internal and external sources into accurate demand plans.

• Coordinate planning inputs from relevant departments and stakeholders.

• Monitor forecast accuracy, demand variations and forecast bias.

• Investigate significant differences between forecast and actual consumption and recommend corrective action.

• Maintain rolling forecasts and identify significant changes in future requirements.

• Analyse historical and forward-looking information to improve forecast quality.

• Ensure structured customer and operational requirements are incorporated into planning activities.

Inventory Planning & Replenishment

• Analyse system-generated replenishment requirements and recommend appropriate replenishment actions.

• Maintain approved inventory planning parameters, including safety stock, reorder points, minimum and maximum levels, lead times and stocking classifications.

• Identify potential stock shortages, excess inventory and inappropriate stocking levels.

• Analyse stock coverage, consumption, forecast demand and lead times.

• Review replenishment requirements and investigate unusual or excessive requirements before procurement commitments are made.

• Monitor stock movement, slow-moving inventory, surplus stock and obsolete inventory.

• Recommend appropriate inventory optimisation measures.

• Support the review and maintenance of relevant planning parameters and system settings.

Operational Planning

• Identify future availability risks and recommend appropriate mitigation measures.

• Develop readiness plans for scheduled operational activities and major requirements.

• Ensure future requirements are identified sufficiently in advance to allow relevant departments to take appropriate action.

• Monitor critical and long-lead-time items and escalate potential risks.

• Investigate availability issues arising from forecasting or inventory planning and recommend corrective measures.

• Support urgent requirements while identifying recurring demand that should be incorporated into future planning.

Stakeholder Coordination

• Work closely with relevant operational, commercial, procurement and logistics teams to ensure planning requirements are understood and appropriately addressed.

• Obtain, validate and maintain customer and operational forecasts.

• Challenge forecasts where available data suggests requirements may be incomplete or overstated.

• Provide relevant stakeholders with forward-looking information on availability, inventory and potential supply risks.

• Support structured planning reviews through appropriate analysis and reporting.

• Identify emerging demand trends and requirements that may affect future inventory or operational planning.

Systems, Data & Analysis

• Maintain accurate planning data, forecasts and relevant system parameters.

• Review system-generated planning exceptions and resolve or escalate abnormalities.

• Ensure material planning decisions are supported by appropriate analysis.

• Use ERP systems, reporting tools and other approved analytical platforms to identify trends, risks and improvement opportunities.

• Use data analysis to support informed business decisions.

• Support the automation of repetitive planning and reporting activities where appropriate.

• Continuously identify opportunities to improve planning efficiency, data quality and reporting.

Planning Governance

• Maintain effective planning controls and processes.

• Ensure clear coordination between demand identification, planning, procurement and fulfilment activities.

• Prepare and validate requirements for execution by the appropriate internal teams.

• Review relevant inventory and lead-time information and escalate discrepancies affecting planning.

• Escalate significant forecasting, inventory, data-quality and operational risks when required.

REPORTING & PERFORMANCE

• Prepare accurate and timely planning reports and dashboards.

• Monitor forecast accuracy, demand trends, inventory health, availability risks and replenishment requirements.

• Analyse trends, exceptions and root causes and recommend corrective action.

• Ensure reporting is supported by accurate system and operational data.

• Track significant planning issues through to resolution.

• Support increased use of digital tools and automation in planning and reporting.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Degree or advanced diploma in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business, Engineering, Data Analytics or a related discipline.

• Relevant technical education or exposure to a technically oriented operating environment is required.

• Professional supply chain qualification such as ZIPS, CIPS or equivalent is required.

• Formal training in demand planning, forecasting, inventory management or data analytics would be an advantage.

• Minimum of 5 years' relevant experience in demand planning, inventory planning, supply chain, materials planning or a related analytical role.

• Experience within a technically complex, operational or product-based environment is preferred.

• Demonstrated experience using ERP/MRP systems for planning and replenishment.

• Strong experience analysing large datasets and translating information into practical planning actions.

• Experience working with operational schedules, technical products, inventory or related planning requirements would be advantageous.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• Demand planning and forecasting.

• SOP principles.

• Inventory planning and optimisation.

• MRP/DRP and replenishment principles.

• Safety stock, reorder points, minimum/maximum levels and stock-cover concepts.

• Forecast accuracy and demand-variation analysis.

• Root-cause analysis.

• Strong ERP knowledge.

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.

• Power BI or similar reporting and analytical tools.

• Data analysis and interpretation.

• Familiarity with AI-assisted forecasting or analytical tools would be advantageous.

• Strong numerical and analytical capability.

• Ability to constructively challenge assumptions using evidence and data.

• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.

• Ability to work effectively across different functional areas.

• Strong planning, organisational and problem-solving abilities.

• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.

• High attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Analytical thinking and decision-making.

• Planning and organisation.

• Results orientation.

• Effective communication.

• Cross-functional collaboration.

• Commercial and financial awareness.

• Problem-solving.

• Adaptability and openness to change.

• Strong attention to detail.

• Ability to manage complexity.

• Responsible decision-making.

• Continuous improvement mindset.

• Strong systems and data capability.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

Performance will primarily be assessed against:

• Forecast accuracy.

• Timeliness and quality of planning activities.

• Effective management of planning exceptions.

• Availability and shortage-risk management.

• Inventory health and optimisation.

• Accuracy and reliability of planning data.

• Timely identification of future requirements.

• Quality of reporting and analysis.

• Effective coordination with relevant stakeholders.