The Manager of Planning manages the planning function, including forecasting, demand planning, inventory planning, offsite inventory, and warehouse material planning. This leader executes planning priorities, facilitates the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process, and helps ensure inventory investments align with customer demand, production requirements, warehouse capacity, service objectives, and working capital goals. The Manager oversees planning processes, systems, analytics, and team performance while coordinating cross-functional actions across Purchasing, Operations, Sales, and Finance.

Core Functions:

Demand Planning & Forecasting

• Manage the monthly forecasting and IBP process across assigned product categories, locations, and planning groups.
• Facilitate a disciplined consensus-demand process and decision calendar with Sales, Operations, Finance, and Purchasing.
• Maintain and improve the methods, assumptions, hierarchy, and data standards used to translate historical usage, sales trends, seasonality, customer demand, and market changes into an actionable forecast.
• Prepare and facilitate forecast reviews, clearly communicating risks, opportunities, constraints, scenarios, and inventory implications to senior leaders and cross-functional partners.
• Develop and manage the annual purchasing and supply plan, balancing landed cost, capacity, supplier commitments, service requirements, and working capital targets.
• Monitor forecast accuracy, bias, and value-add metrics; coordinate corrective actions and continuous improvement across the planning process.

Inventory Strategy & Working Capital

• Implement inventory strategies and manage targets that balance customer service, production continuity, warehouse constraints, risk, and working capital objectives.
• Coordinate actions addressing excess, obsolete, slow-moving, aged, and high-risk inventory and track accountability for disposition.
• Manage replenishment and segmentation approaches based on demand patterns, supplier lead times, service targets, operating constraints, and business criticality.
• Oversee analysis of inventory turns, days on hand, stockouts, carrying cost, and cash-to-cash performance; translate findings into practical recommendations for senior leadership.
• Develop inventory projections and scenario analyses to support budgeting, capacity decisions, and working capital targets.
• Manage operating standards and performance for offsite inventory programs, external storage locations, supplier stocking programs, customer inventory arrangements, and consigned inventory within approved strategy and budgets.

Planning Parameters & Optimization

• Administer and recommend improvements to safety-stock, service-level, and inventory-policy standards based on demand variability, lead-time performance, business risk, and customer requirements.
• Manage the maintenance and optimization of min/max parameters for raw materials, accessories, and purchased components.
• Coordinate parameter changes in response to demand shifts, supplier performance, forecast variation, usage patterns, and approved business decisions.

Analytics, Systems & Governance

• Manage planning data, reporting standards, dashboards, and analytical tools that support forecasting, inventory, warehouse, and leadership decision-making.
• Maintain KPI definitions and reporting for forecast accuracy, bias, inventory turns, days on hand, fill rate, stockouts, excess and obsolete inventory, capacity, and offsite utilization.
• Drive effective planning-system utilization, master-data discipline, and process controls; provide input on technology priorities.
• Translate complex data into clear recommendations, tradeoffs, and actions for senior leaders and cross-functional teams.

Perform other duties and activities related to the department as necessary to support overall operations and responsibilities, even if not specifically listed above.

Key Measures of Success:

• Strong financial understanding, including working capital, inventory carrying cost, landed cost, and scenario analysis.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to frame complex planning issues as clear recommendations and business decisions.
• Collaborates effectively within a team environment while taking ownership of individual deliverables and departmental objectives.
• Consistently exhibits and displays the company's values of "Own It. Can Do. Act in Love."
  • Own It - Commitment to customer, company, and each other.
  • Can Do - Team Player, Open to Change, & Pursuing continuous improvement.
  • Act in Love - Treating others with humility, respectfulness, kindness, honesty, patience, and self-control.

Key Performance Indicators

• Forecast Accuracy and Bias
• Inventory Turns and Days on Hand
• Service Level / Fill Rate
• Stockout Frequency and Duration
• Excess and Obsolete Inventory Reduction
• Working Capital Improvement
• Offsite Inventory Utilization and Cost
• Warehouse Capacity and Inventory Accuracy
• Planning Parameter Effectiveness
• IBP Decision Quality and Adherence

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position includes supervisory responsibilities. The employee is responsible for providing leadership, direction, and guidance to assigned staff to ensure departmental goals and objectives are achieved. Responsibilities include hiring, training, coaching, evaluating performance, approving time off, and administering disciplinary action in alignment with company policies and procedures. The supervisor is expected to foster a positive, collaborative work environment that supports employee development and upholds company values.

Education & Experience:

Minimum Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, Finance, Engineering, or a related field required; equivalent related experience may be considered.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in demand planning, inventory management, supply chain planning, or a related discipline, including 3+ years leading a team or planning function.
• Demonstrated experience managing or facilitating an IBP or S&OP process and presenting recommendations to senior leadership.
• Demonstrated success supporting inventory optimization, working capital improvement, and planning-process improvement, preferably across multiple locations.
• Proficiency with ERP and planning systems required.

Preferred:

• APICS CPIM, CSCP, or other supply chain certification preferred.
• Manufacturing, distribution, building products, or other complex multi-location inventory experience preferred.
• Proficiency with Power BI or comparable business intelligence tools; SQL experience preferred.

Physical Demands & Work Environment:

Work is primarily performed in an office environment. This role will routinely utilize standard office equipment, including computers, phones, and printers, to perform the core functions listed in this job description. The work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive reading, data entry, and verbal/electronic communication. This position requires the ability to occasionally lift office products and supplies up to 25 pounds.

This role involves minimal exposure to noise or temperature variations.

Key Physical Requirements:

• Regular activities: sitting, standing, typing, reading
• Occasional activities: lifting office supplies up to 25 lbs., performing tasks requiring fine motor skills (e.g., reaching, pushing, pulling, grasping, kneeling, crouching, twisting, bending)
• Environmental notes: minimal exposure to noise or temperature variations

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform core functions.

Travel

This position may require up to 10% travel, depending on business needs. Travel may include visits to company locations, client sites, training, or industry events. The amount of travel is subject to change and should not be considered a fixed or ongoing expectation.

Benefits Offered:

At Central States, we are an ESOP. That means each one of our employees is an owner of the company and receives an allocation of stock every year. This allows all our employees to share in the wealth and success of the company. We also offer:
• 401K
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Holiday pay
• Vacation pay
• Mental health resources
• Healthcare coordinators
• Life insurance
• Health Savings Accounts
• Flexible Spending Account
• Short-Term Disability
• Long-Term Disability
• Profit-Sharing bonus
• Performance based merit increases
• Education assistance available - Up to $5,250 each year