Demand Planning & Category Strategy Manager (Merritt Island)
Arnott Suspension, Merritt Island, FL, United States
Position Overview
The Demand Planning & Category Manager is responsible for driving forecast accuracy, optimizing inventory and assortment strategies, and enabling data-driven decision making across the organization. This role sits at the intersection of Sales, Category Management, and Finance, owning the demand plan while partnering closely with key customers to drive revenue growth, inventory productivity, and category expansion.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Demand Planning & Forecasting
Own the end-to-end demand forecasting process across North America and Europe at the SKU, customer, and regional level
Lead monthly forecasting reviews with Sales, Finance, and Supply Chain to align on risks, opportunities, and assumptions
Maintain and optimize
StockIQ
as the core forecasting tool, ensuring inputs and outputs are accurate and actionable
Incorporate customer forecasts, POS data, order trends, and market signals into a unified demand plan
Track forecast accuracy, bias, and performance, driving continuous improvement
Category Management & Assortment Optimization
Partner with top customers (NAPA, O’Reilly, AutoZone, WORLDPAC, Advance) to lead assortment reviews and inventory expansion opportunities
Utilize POS, VIO, and competitive benchmarking to identify whitespace, gaps, and SKU productivity opportunities
Drive assortment recommendations at the store and DC level to improve revenue, service levels, and inventory turns
Support new product introduction (NPI) strategy, ensuring strong launch plans and adoption across key customers
Manage product lifecycle strategies, including growth, maturity, and decline phases
Data & Analytics Leadership
Leverage data tools (SQL, Power BI, ETL processes) to build scalable reporting and insights for internal teams and customers
Develop and maintain standardized KPIs including forecast accuracy, fill rate, inventory turns, GMROI, and POS velocity
Support the development of a centralized data ecosystem to improve data quality, accessibility, and decision speed
Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for executive leadership
VIO & Market Analysis
Lead VIO (Vehicles in Operation) analysis to quantify total addressable market and prioritize SKU investments
Map OE part numbers to Arnott SKUs to improve coverage modeling and forecasting accuracy
Identify high-opportunity makes/models driving category growth and NPI prioritization
Customer Collaboration & Growth
Act as a strategic partner to key customers, providing data-driven insights to support their category and inventory decisions
Support and participate in QBRs and monthly business reviews with actionable recommendations
Align demand planning with customer inventory strategies to ensure strong initial orders and sustained reorder cadence
Drive alignment between customer demand signals and internal supply planning
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Data Analytics, or related field
5+ years of experience in demand planning, category management, or data analytics
Strong expertise in forecasting tools (StockIQ preferred), SQL, and Power BI
Experience working with large retail or distribution customers in a data-driven environment
Proven ability to translate data into actionable business decisions
The Demand Planning & Category Manager is responsible for driving forecast accuracy, optimizing inventory and assortment strategies, and enabling data-driven decision making across the organization. This role sits at the intersection of Sales, Category Management, and Finance, owning the demand plan while partnering closely with key customers to drive revenue growth, inventory productivity, and category expansion.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Demand Planning & Forecasting
Own the end-to-end demand forecasting process across North America and Europe at the SKU, customer, and regional level
Lead monthly forecasting reviews with Sales, Finance, and Supply Chain to align on risks, opportunities, and assumptions
Maintain and optimize
StockIQ
as the core forecasting tool, ensuring inputs and outputs are accurate and actionable
Incorporate customer forecasts, POS data, order trends, and market signals into a unified demand plan
Track forecast accuracy, bias, and performance, driving continuous improvement
Category Management & Assortment Optimization
Partner with top customers (NAPA, O’Reilly, AutoZone, WORLDPAC, Advance) to lead assortment reviews and inventory expansion opportunities
Utilize POS, VIO, and competitive benchmarking to identify whitespace, gaps, and SKU productivity opportunities
Drive assortment recommendations at the store and DC level to improve revenue, service levels, and inventory turns
Support new product introduction (NPI) strategy, ensuring strong launch plans and adoption across key customers
Manage product lifecycle strategies, including growth, maturity, and decline phases
Data & Analytics Leadership
Leverage data tools (SQL, Power BI, ETL processes) to build scalable reporting and insights for internal teams and customers
Develop and maintain standardized KPIs including forecast accuracy, fill rate, inventory turns, GMROI, and POS velocity
Support the development of a centralized data ecosystem to improve data quality, accessibility, and decision speed
Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for executive leadership
VIO & Market Analysis
Lead VIO (Vehicles in Operation) analysis to quantify total addressable market and prioritize SKU investments
Map OE part numbers to Arnott SKUs to improve coverage modeling and forecasting accuracy
Identify high-opportunity makes/models driving category growth and NPI prioritization
Customer Collaboration & Growth
Act as a strategic partner to key customers, providing data-driven insights to support their category and inventory decisions
Support and participate in QBRs and monthly business reviews with actionable recommendations
Align demand planning with customer inventory strategies to ensure strong initial orders and sustained reorder cadence
Drive alignment between customer demand signals and internal supply planning
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Data Analytics, or related field
5+ years of experience in demand planning, category management, or data analytics
Strong expertise in forecasting tools (StockIQ preferred), SQL, and Power BI
Experience working with large retail or distribution customers in a data-driven environment
Proven ability to translate data into actionable business decisions