Senior Demand Planner Global Water Equipment
Pune, India | Global Equipment Supply Chain Planning
LOCATION
SCOPE
KEY PARTNERS
Global Commercial Teams, Third-Party Contract Manufacturers, Regional Assembly Facilities
Our Global Supply Chain is a network of more than 300 manufacturing plants, distribution centers and other facilities designed and located to support our direct sales, marketing and distribution activities. We enable company growth by delivering savings through more efficient operations and high levels of service that create competitive advantage while earning and keeping customers' trust.
The Senior Demand Planner Global Water Equipment will join the Supply Chain Planning team and play an integral role in advancing demand forecasting and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes for Nalco Water equipment worldwide. Based in Pune, India, this role will report into the North America Planning team while operating with a global scope. The planner will partner with commercial teams across regions, third-party contract manufacturers, and regional assembly facilities to create an aligned, accurate, and executable demand plan that supports customer service, capacity decisions, and business growth.
What's in It for You
- Opportunity to influence a global equipment planning network and build relationships with commercial and supply chain leaders across multiple regions.
- High visibility to the North America Planning team and cross-functional stakeholders in Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Procurement, and Manufacturing.
- Opportunity for a long-term career path with exposure to all areas of the company's global supply chain.
- Access to best-in-class resources, tools, and technology.
- Thrive in a company that values personal and professional development, sustainability, a safety-focused culture, and ethical business practices.
What You Will Do
- Lead the global monthly product demand forecast cycle for Nalco Water equipment, integrating regional inputs into one aligned demand plan.
- Partner with commercial teams across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific to incorporate current and long-term market intelligence at the product, customer, and market levels.
- Develop, document, challenge, and update the assumptions supporting regional and global demand plans, particularly when demand outlooks differ from business plans or historical trends.
- Collaborate with the North America Planning team to align planning standards, governance, calendars, metrics, and Executive S&OP requirements.
- Engage third-party contract manufacturers and regional assembly facilities to translate demand signals into actionable capacity, material, and production requirements.
- Identify demand and supply risks across contract manufacturing and regional assembly networks, escalate constraints, and support scenario planning and mitigation actions.
- Improve forecast accuracy by validating data inputs, leveraging the existing statistical forecasting application, and refining statistical forecasts with commercial and regional business input.
- Use exception management and root cause analysis to identify forecast deviations, demand volatility, data issues, and corrective actions with relevant stakeholders.
- Own demand plan performance, including forecast error, accuracy, and bias, by measuring actual versus planned volume at multiple planning levels and across regions.
- Prepare and present global and regional performance metrics, insights, risks, and recommendations to commercial, planning, and operations stakeholders to drive continuous improvement.
- Partner with Marketing and regional teams to incorporate new product introductions, product conversions, phase-ins, phase-outs, and product deactivations into the global plan.
- Support Executive S&OP processes and meetings by providing a consolidated demand perspective, key assumptions, regional variances, opportunities, and risks.
- Coordinate effectively across time zones and cultures to maintain a consistent global planning cadence and timely decision-making.
- Conduct additional business and supply chain analyses for equipment products as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Finance, Marketing, or a related field.
- 5+ years of experience in supply chain planning, demand planning, finance, marketing, manufacturing, or a related analytical discipline.
- Experience collaborating with commercial and supply chain teams across multiple countries, regions, or time zones.
- Significant experience with ERP systems, advanced planning systems, statistical forecasting applications, analytical tools, or equivalent software.
- High proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel and Word.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with regional and global audiences and to present complex information clearly.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to drive decisions and build consensus among cross-functional stakeholders.
- Ability to navigate complex policy, process, cultural, and people-related organizational dynamics.
- Track record of delivering against key performance indicators and business objectives.
- Demonstrated strategic mindset, ownership, and ability to work independently within a globally distributed team.
- Ability to accommodate periodic meetings outside standard local business hours to support global stakeholders.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in demand planning, manufacturing, or supply chain operations for engineered equipment or configured-to-order products.
- Experience working with third-party contract manufacturers and regional assembly or manufacturing facilities.
- Experience supporting global or regional S&OP / Integrated Business Planning processes.
- Experience with statistical forecasting applications and forecast performance management.
- Proficiency in SAP, particularly Materials Management (MM) and Production Planning (PP) modules.
- Experience in a matrixed, multinational organization.
