Demand Planning

Demand planning is the process of forecasting expected sales over a future horizon (typically 18 weeks rolling for short-term, 12-18 months for annual budget) at a SKU-customer level, so the supply network can produce, ship, and stock the right inventory.

A working demand plan combines: a statistical baseline (last year, trend, seasonality), a commercial overlay from Sales (new distribution, lost distribution, planned promotions), and a marketing overlay from Brand (advertising flights, PR campaigns, launches). The output rolls up to a single number per SKU per period that feeds the S&OP process.

Forecast accuracy is the headline KPI. Mature CPG companies target SKU-level accuracy in the 75-85% range. Brands without dedicated demand planning typically run in the 50-65% range and pay for it with stockouts, expedites, and obsolete inventory.

A Demand Planner is one of the most operationally scarce roles in CPG hiring right now. The skill set is part data science (statistical forecasting, machine learning), part diplomacy (extracting honest forecasts from Sales without becoming the source of pessimism), part communication (translating a forecast into a credible production commitment).

Roles where this matters: Supply Chain, Demand Planner, S&OP, Inventory Planner.