Demand Planner (Partner Brands) - SalonCentric Canada - Mississauga, ON

Demand Planner

Salon Centric is the premier national distributor of salon professional products in the U.S. Created by L’Oréal USA in 2008 with 585 SalonCentric stores and 260 State ǀ RDA stores in the US. Today, SalonCentric is expanding in Canada, with its first presence and footprint in Ontario. 

Our vision is to inspire the Beauty Community to make the world a more colorful place. We are committed to developing an atmosphere where every member of our Beauty Community feels included, valued, and empowered, and where we can all share, learn, grow and thrive. We do this by supporting social, environmental, and economic causes that support the entire professional beauty industry and our Beauty Community. 

We are seeking a highly analytical and detail-oriented Demand Planner to develop, maintain, and continuously improve our demand planning process. This role will be responsible for creating accurate demand forecasts, analyzing sales and market trends, monitoring inventory requirements, and partnering with cross-functional teams to ensure the right products are available at the right time.

The ideal candidate is not simply an Excel user, but an advanced Excel problem-solver who can automate processes, build scalable planning models, work with large datasets, and develop tools that reduce manual work and improve forecast accuracy.

Key responsibilities: 

• Develop, maintain, and improve demand forecasts using historical sales data, trends, seasonality, customer demand, market information, and business inputs.
• Build and maintain the company's Excel-based demand planning system, including forecasting models, planning templates, promotional analysis, and reporting tools.
• Build Excel VBA macros to automate repetitive processes, data preparation, reporting, forecasting updates, and planning workflows.
• Create dashboards and management reports to monitor demand, forecast accuracy, forecast bias, sales trends, inventory levels, stockouts, excess inventory, and other KPIs.
• Analyze historical sales and demand patterns to identify trends, seasonality, growth opportunities, changes in customer behavior, and potential risks.
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Operations, Procurement, Production, Finance, and Logistics to gather business inputs and develop a consensus demand forecast.
• Support new product launches by developing initial demand forecasts and monitoring actual demand against expectations.
• Conduct regular forecast-versus-actual analysis and identify the root causes of significant variances.
• Prepare regular demand planning reports and communicate key findings, risks, and recommended actions to management.
• Participate in regular demand planning meetings to review performance and identify issues.
• Stay informed about industry trends and market conditions.
• Continuously seek out opportunities to improve demand planning processes and tools.
• Excellent communication skills are necessary for collaborating with various teams and conveying information effectively.

Qualifications and skills: 

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Business, Operations, Analytics, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related field preferred
• Minimum of 5 years of Demand Planning experience 
• Advanced to expert-level Microsoft Excel skills – experience in building complex Excel models and automated planning tools.
• Excellent communication skills to collaborate with various teams and convey information effectively  in a clear and concise manner.
• Precision in managing demand forecast accurately to prevent stockouts and minimize excess inventory.
• Analytical mindset with strong data crunching abilities.
• Proactive and results-driven with a strong sense of ownership.
• Creative problem-solving skills to come up with innovative solutions.
• Adaptability to changing market dynamics and business needs.
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple tasks and deadlines effectively.
• Familiarity with inventory management software, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and data analysis tools like Power BI.

What’s In It For You

A place for you to leave your comfort zone and grow beyond your potential (here, you’ll be encouraged to try new things and take risks!)

Real responsibility from day 1, there’s no sitting on the sidelines at L’Oréal

An environment where people of every ethnicity, social background, age, religion, gender and sexual orientation as well as people with disabilities are accepted, can speak up, will thrive and are celebrated!

A place where you can contribute to something bigger! Many of our brands have societal /environmental causes to make concrete difference

Competitive Compensation: Salary range of $50,000-65,000

Health & Wellness: Comprehensive Health/Dental insurance, Wellness Spending Account, and 24/7 telemedicine.

Retirement & Time Off: Participation in RRSP, Defined Benefit and Contribution pension plans, and Paid Vacation.

Perks: Exclusive employee discounts on our portfolio of world-class beauty products.

Our company is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or any other legally protected status.

We are also committed to providing accessible employment practices that comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Our goal is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where all employees feel valued and supported, and where everyone has equal opportunities to succeed. We believe that diversity and inclusivity are key drivers of innovation and success, and we are dedicated to fostering a culture of belonging for all.