Regional Business Unit Planner

About the role

We are looking for a Regional Business Planner to lead and continuously improve our demand planning processes by fostering strong collaboration across Sales, PMM, and HQ BU Management teams. You will integrate short and long-term forecasts based on roundtables, market trends, historical patterns, promotional activities, and corporate strategy, aiming to maximize forecast accuracy and minimize bias. This role involves proactive monitoring of business performance, analyzing deviations from forecasts, and owning KMAT Planning and Capacity evaluation for the associated Value Stream.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the S&OP process, aligning sales, PMMs, and Supply Chain teams around a reliable, consensus-based forecast.
• Own and improve forecast accuracy and bias KPIs, conducting root cause analysis and driving corrective actions.
• Lead regular demand review meetings, highlighting key insights, risks, and required actions.
• Develop and update the end-to-end demand planning cycle, incorporating promotions, new launches, customer partnerships, and historical trends.
• Responsible for the tDCA process to align Demand and Production.
• Ensure routines determined by HQ are completed on time.
• Collaborate with Customer Planning and CUP2 projects.
• Operate the advanced planning tool Maestro to generate accurate forecasts across product families.
• Handle regular SNP tasks associated with KMAT planning.
• Plan components at the first stockable level to ensure material availability for production.
• Maintain process documentation and training materials, contributing to knowledge sharing and standardization.
• Incorporate AI tools for market insights based on economic conditions, customer expectations, commodities, GDP, and competitors.
• Optimize the use of the planning system Maestro, identifying opportunities and promoting adoption of new functionalities.
• Share constructive feedback for improvement with the Process Team in HQ.
• Support corporate change management and cultural change initiatives.
• Champion AI and analytics for efficiency, automation, and more accurate data.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment by leading monthly forecast consensus meetings with Sales, PMMs, and Supply Chain teams.
• Act as a central communication bridge between Procurement, HQ BU planning, Production, and customer-facing teams.
• Collaborate closely with Sales teams via Roundtables to gather market insights, promotional input, and customer expectations.
• Coordinate with global and regional planning hubs to ensure integrated information flow.
• Provide forecast-related insights and reports to Management and other departments for data-driven decision-making.
• Facilitate transparency and accountability by sharing forecast performance KPIs, risks, and mitigation actions with stakeholders.
• Support business partners by sharing knowledge, best practices, and tools to enhance planning effectiveness.
• Demonstrate planning leadership in cross-departmental projects, new product launches, and strategic planning platforms.
• Build influence without authority, driving engagement and alignment across multiple stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in Business Administration, Economics, or Engineering.
• APICS certification is a plus.
• 3-5 years of relevant business experience.
• Proficiency in supply chain planning tools and software (e.g., SAP, Rapid Response Maestro, or comparable).
• Expertise in Sales & Operations Planning.
• Strong knowledge of Procurement, Production Planning, and Scheduling processes.
• Basic knowledge of Sales and Order Management.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office and Analysis for Office (AO).
• Implementation (Hands-On) skills.
• Motivational, inspirational, and convincing skills.
• Change management skills.

Benefits

Festo Corporation offers a robust benefits package designed to help employees and their dependents stay healthy, feel secure, and maintain work/life balance. Benefits include:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage.
• Flexible Spending Programs.
• Short-term and Long-term disability.
• 401k retirement plan.
• Pet Insurance.
• Paid Holidays and Paid Time Off.
• Educational assistance and many more.