Demand Planner; Mars Snacking; Mumbai

Job Purpose

The Demand Planner is responsible for mid-term and long-term forecasting for Chocolates and Gums category, driving a robust demand plan with alignment from Commercial, Marketing, and Supply.

The role acts as the orchestrator of market insights, translating trends, seasonality, and input-driven building blocks into a realistic, streamlined demand plan across all channels-including Traditional Trade, Modern Trade, DCOM and CSD. The Demand Planner ensures proactive management of the rolling forecast, assessing the impact of changing market dynamics, channel-specific growth strategies, and cross-functional inputs to optimize inventory, service levels, and business growth.

What are we looking for

• MBA from a Tier-1 college, preferably with specialization in Supply Chain, Operations, Logistics or a related discipline.

• Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience in Demand Planning, Forecasting, or Supply Chain Planning within FMCG, Foods or related industry. Proven experience managing multi-channel environments and cross-functional alignment.

What will be your key responsibilities

A. Consensus Forecasting & Demand Plan Development

• Translate market trends, seasonality, and business drivers into a realistic demand plan by SKU, brand, and channel.

• Maintain a continuous rolling demand forecast to secure forward-looking visibility.

• Drive cross-functional consensus by aligning inputs from Sales, Marketing, Commercial, and Supply.

• Provide and present the core demand consensus view for the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) cycle to Leadership.

B. Omni-Channel Dynamics Integration

• Account for divergent channel dynamics and route-to-market behaviours across Traditional Trade, Modern Trade, DCOM, and CSD.

• Adapt forecasting logic to capture distinct purchasing patterns, promotional lifts, and inventory stocking norms per channel.

C. Product Lifecycle & Innovation Management (NPD)

• Manage product phase-ins and phase-outs from a demand perspective to minimize obsolescence.

• Integrate New Product Developments (NPDs), relaunches, and seasonal variants into the rolling demand plan.

D. Cross Functional Collaboration

• Supply / Manufacturing: Share agreed plans to ensure production feasibility and capacity alignment.

• Sales / Commercial: Align on channel volumes/value, promotional calendars, and local market intelligence.

• Marketing / Innovation: Track brand strategies, launch pipelines, and portfolio transitions.

• Finance: Align forecast metrics and FY build up with financial targets and volume budgets.

• Logistics / Customer Service: Provide forward visibility for warehouse and network planning.

What can you expect from Mars

Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles. Join a purpose driven company, where we're striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today. A strong focus on learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University. An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.