Business Planning & Profitability Lead

Craftsmen Industries custom manufactures unique specialty trailers and vehicles and large-format printed elements for experiential marketing and industrial solutions for brands such as Boeing, PepsiCo, and Anheuser-Busch. The company designs, engineers, fabricates, and finishes products fully in-house. The team includes the subsidiary Schantz Manufacturing, which specializes in custom concession trailers for the fair and festival industry. Craftsmen Industries values collaboration and innovation, aiming to bring ideas to life in a dynamic environment.

About the role

The Business Planning & Profitability Lead ensures planning accuracy, operational alignment, and financial controls in a custom, build-to-order manufacturing environment. This role supports variable demand and engineered-to-order products, aligning sales, engineering, and operations. Responsibilities include proactive forecasting, margin protection, and managing complexity from changing specifications and scope. The position identifies and quantifies losses tied to process inefficiencies, defects, supplier variability, and scope changes, combining analytical forecasting and financial acumen to enhance profitability.

Responsibilities

• Consolidate and analyze forecasts across Sales, Engineering, and Production in a custom, build-to-order environment with variable demand and project-based work.
• Develop and maintain project-based forecasts by monitoring demand trends, adjusting for changing specifications, supplier lead times, and order variability to support accurate project execution.
• Prepare monthly S&OP packages, dashboards, and KPI scorecards reflecting a mix of standard and custom project work.
• Facilitate S&OP alignment across Sales, Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Supply Chain to manage shifting priorities and production constraints.
• Coordinate with IT on the automation of reporting and workflows to improve visibility and decision-making across S&OP and margin assurance processes.
• Identify and prioritize margin leakage drivers common in custom manufacturing (rework, scrap, expedite costs, defects, design changes, scope changes, supplier variability).
• Lead structured investigations including fact-finding, cross-functional interviews, process mapping, and root-cause analysis across complex, project-based workflows.
• Maintain a pipeline of opportunities with defined value, ownership, and recovery actions.
• Quantify losses using job cost data, labor tracking, material usage, and expedite impacts within a project-based costing environment.
• Support customer and supplier recovery efforts (credits, back-charges, warranty claims), ensuring financial recovery is captured.
• Partner with Operations and Continuous Improvement teams to reduce variability, eliminate waste, and improve execution across custom builds.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Finance, Business, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in S&OP, demand/supply planning, cost analysis, project controls, operational finance, or margin recovery within a custom or project-based manufacturing environment.
• High proficiency in Excel and ERP/MRP systems; experience with Power BI or Tableau.
• Strong analytical and investigative skills with the ability to translate complex, variable data into clear insights and actions.
• Proven ability to collaborate cross-functionally (Sales, Engineering, Operations, Finance) and influence without direct authority.
• Consistent and stable work history with strong verbal and written communication skills.

Skills

• Forecasting and demand modeling in a variable, project-based environment.
• Investigative problem-solving and financial acumen, including cost build-up and margin analysis.
• Cross-functional leadership and effective communication.
• Data-driven decision-making.
• High ownership, accountability, and follow-through.

Key Performance Outcomes

• Forecast accuracy and bias improvement within S&OP processes.
• Dollars recovered from customer/vendor claims versus targets.
• Verified margin leakage prevented (sustained savings).
• Cycle time from issue identification through final resolution.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation.
• Career development opportunities.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• 401(k) match.

Location: St. Charles, MO