Virtual Demand Planner

Remote work. Real impact. Fast-moving products. If that combo makes you grin, you’re in the right place. Here, your planning chops keep shelves full, customers happy, and cash flow healthy. We make decisions quickly, test ideas, and share wins. And when things wobble (they sometimes do), we’ll learn, adjust, and move.

Why This Role Matters

Forecasts aren’t just numbers; they’re promises to customers. When demand spikes after a creator shout‑out or dips after a season change, your insight keeps us steady. You’ll connect signals from sales, marketing, and operations so we avoid stockouts, cut excess inventory, and hit a strong service level. Think of this as the center of gravity for demand forecasting and inventory optimization. A quick story. Last quarter, Maya on our team spotted a sudden lift in a mid-tier SKU after a weekend promo. She flagged it in the Monday huddle, nudged safety stock, and worked with fulfillment to pull forward supply. Result? Zero backorders, faster turns, and happier reviews. That’s the kind of practical, no‑ego win we love.

What You’ll Tackle First (Days 30/60/90)

Day 30 — Learn the landscape. You’ll review historical data, seasonality patterns, and current S&OP rhythms. Honestly, it’s okay if not everything’s tidy on day one. We’ll give you the context so you can start small and build momentum. Day 60 — Start improving. You’ll refine the baseline forecast, tighten lead‑time assumptions, and propose a clearer reorder strategy. Small changes, big ripple effects—think better fill rate, fewer rush fees. Day 90 — Drive measurable outcomes. You’ll present a focused plan that trims aged stock, reduces stockouts on our top sellers, and sharpens the monthly consensus forecast. You’ll tie results to KPIs like service level, forecast accuracy, and inventory turns.

A Day in the Life (Remote, Real, Human)

Coffee (or tea). Quick check of exceptions. A ping from marketing about a social push. A new vendor ETA in the ERP. You triage, prioritize, and then get into deep work. You might run a quick scenario for a price change, or sanity‑check a spike with demand sensing signals. After lunch, a short sync with ops to align on inbound containers and 3PL capacity. Later, you sketch a what‑if for a holiday bundle. Then you close the loop—notes in the plan, next steps captured, and a tidy handoff. Remote work can feel lonely sometimes. Here, we keep things connected with weekly team huddles, async updates, and quick shout‑outs for small wins. When someone unblocks a sticky SKU or cleans up messy data, we cheer in chat. Let’s be real—those little moments matter.

What You’ll Own (The Work That Moves the Needle)

• Build and maintain a reliable statistical baseline using trend, seasonality, and event adjustments.
• Turn signals (promotions, channel launches, influencer spikes) into practical forecast inputs—never just theory.
• Shape the monthly consensus process so sales, finance, and ops align without drama.
• Set safety stock and reorder points that balance service level and cash, SKU by SKU.
• Flag risks early: supply constraints, long lead times, or sudden cannibalization between products.
• Track KPIs—forecast accuracy (MAPE), fill rate, stockouts, and aged inventory—and explain the “why,” not just the “what.”
• Partner with buyers and logistics to make sure purchase orders match reality, not wishful thinking.
• Keep the forecast clean: version control, assumptions logged, and changes documented.

This is hands‑on planning. No ivory tower. When a curveball hits, you’ve got the grit to adjust and keep things moving.

Tools & Data (Your Planning Bench)

We keep the toolkit practical. You’ll work with spreadsheets for fast analysis and an ERP/MRP for scale. If you enjoy Power BI or Tableau, great—turn raw data into dashboards that tell a simple story. Light SQL to pull a table? Even better. We care more about clarity than fancy charts. We also use exception lists for outliers, a calendar of promotions, and a shared view of inbound shipments. If you’ve tried SKU‑level planning with ABC segmentation or set safety stock methods with variable lead time, you’ll feel right at home.

How We Solve Problems (With People, Not Silos)

You’ll work with folks from different backgrounds—buyers, marketers, finance, and warehouse leads. Simple language beats jargon. We skip the ten‑slide deck and get to the part where we get things done. Got a messy catalog with duplicates? We clean it. A supplier pushed out a container? We model the gap, pick the right trade‑off, and commit. Here’s a small moment we loved: Leo, a planner on our team, noticed seasonality on a long‑tail SKU was masking a steady decline. He separated “trend” from “noise,” suggested a price drop, and cleared aged stock without dumping margin. Not flashy. Just smart.

What Helps You Thrive (Skills & Experience)

• You enjoy pattern‑spotting in data and turning it into simple decisions.
• Experience with demand planning or supply chain analytics (consumer, B2B, or eCommerce).
• Comfort with Excel formulas and pivots; bonus points for SQL or a BI tool.
• Practical understanding of lead times, MOQs, and how promotions affect forecast bias.
• Clear communication. You don’t bury the lede; you highlight the call that matters.
• Calm under pressure. When a fast‑moving SKU explodes in sales, you’re steady.

No perfect resumes needed. If you’ve run S&OP meetings, tuned reorder points, or improved forecast accuracy, you’ve got what it takes.

Success Looks Like This

• Higher service levels with fewer stockouts on the top 20% of SKUs.
• Healthier inventory turns without starving growth.
• A clear monthly rhythm: assumptions in the open, decisions documented, no surprises.
• Forecast accuracy that improves quarter over quarter (and not just because the mix got easier).

We don’t chase vanity metrics. We care about customers getting what they want, when they want it.

Guardrails We Live By

• Keep the model honest. If the data’s wrong, say so. Then fix it.
• Choose clarity over complexity. If a complex model doesn’t beat a simple one, ditch it.
• Share context widely. If marketing plans a flash sale, the plan reflects it.
• Document decisions. Future‑you will thank today‑you.

Remote Culture That Actually Works

• Weekly planning huddles that run tight—20 minutes, tops.
• Async updates so time zones don’t slow the work.
• Quick Looms or screenshots when a number looks off.
• Clear owners for SKUs and categories so nothing falls through the cracks.

And because remote can feel flat, we celebrate milestones. Closed the gap on a high‑velocity SKU? We post the before/after chart and ring a virtual bell. It’s small, but it’s fun.

Compensation & Perks

• Base salary: $85,200 per year.
• Flexible remote setup with support for your home office.
• Time to think: deep‑work blocks are a norm, not a luxury.
• Room to grow—professional learning budget and mentorship.

Money matters. So does the space to do your best work without noise.

The Work Behind the Title (Nuts and Bolts)

• Build a reliable forecast at the product and SKU level with seasonality and event overlays.
• Translate demand signals from eCommerce, wholesale, and retail into a cohesive plan.
• Use exception‑based planning to catch outliers before they become problems.
• Balance service level targets with cash and capacity constraints.
• Coordinate inbound with suppliers and 3PLs so ETAs line up with the plan.
• Maintain clean master data—units of measure, lead times, and product lifecycle status.

This is where you can hit the ground running. You’ll flex analytical muscle, but you’ll also keep it human—plain language, clear choices, and crisp follow‑through.

How You Make Decisions

You’ll lean on a mix of statistical forecasting, market insight, and common sense. Not sure whether to chase a spike? You’ll ask: Is it a trend, a one‑off, or promotion uplift? Is the supplier flexible? What does the channel tell us? You won’t over‑promise. You’ll set realistic expectations and then beat them. Ever felt stuck between service level and cash? Right, us too. That’s why we model scenarios and pick the one that protects the customer while respecting constraints. Simple. Honest. Effective.

Collaboration Without the Buzzwords

You won’t hear “synergy” here. You’ll hear: “Can we ship on Friday?” “What’s the real lead time?” “Do we need to pull forward the PO?” We value straight talk. If something can’t be done by a date, we say so early. If a forecast looks too rosy, we temper it. That’s how trust grows.

Ready to Step Up?

If you like solving problems that matter, you’ll feel at home here. You’ll bring order to chaos, reduce friction, and make decisions that customers can feel. We move fast, tell the truth, and support each other. So, let’s do this. Bring your curiosity, your spreadsheet magic, and your bias for action. Your work will shape how we’ll plan, buy, and deliver—day in, day out. And when the next curveball comes (because it will), you’ll be ready. You’ve got the chops. We’ve got the stage. Apply and let’s get to work—together.