Demand Analyst jobs
In supply chain, the customer’s demand issues are the supplier’s demand issues, and it doesn’t make much difference what stage of the chain you’re at. If the customer needs something, it’s your job to supply it, and if that means making it, buying it or digging it out of the ground, your supplier/customer relationship depends on it.
The demand analyst will be charged with ensuring there are no shortfalls in supply to the customers, and this is achieved through a blend of forecasting, handling direct requests from customers and analysing past data. In large companies, the demand analyst will be part of a team, dealing with specific products or categories of product, so your specialist area might be quite focused.
It is in customers’ own interest to ensure their orders are accurate, well forecasted and communicated in a clear and timely manner, but as a supplier you’ll be dealing with a number of customers and it only takes one of them to spring surprises on you to throw a spanner in the works. By building up profiles of the customers’ needs and turning them into orders for your own warehouses, you’ll ensure a flawless supply goes to each customer while keeping just enough redundancy for fluctuations in demand and not over-ordering or placing onerous demands on your own suppliers.
The skills required
Demand analysis is a task that will require an above average aptitude at mathematics as you’ll be performing calculations practically all of the time. Although software will be of invaluable assistance in the complex calculations, an instinct for maths will make sure you’re getting off on the right foot.
You’ll need to be able to get the results of your forecasted demands over to your own team in order to ensure demand is met, so verbal, written and graphical communication skills will be vital. There may also be extensive contact with customers, particularly when trying to glean information to feed into your demand calculations, so again these skills will come to the fore.
Finally, you might be overseeing, or part of, a team of analysts, in which case interpersonal skills will need to be well developed.
Demand Analyst Jobs in Bury
Bury is situated at the northern point of Greater Manchester, outside the M60 with green, rolling countryside to its north. Although the town of Bury has a population of around 60,000, it is surrounded by settlements that form the metropolitan borough of Bury, home to closer to 200,000 people. Bury was a market town until the Industrial Revolution, when it threw itself wholeheartedly into the milling and weaving industries, and the town thrived, helped by the arrival of the canal and railway network in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Decline in Bury was quite severe as the cotton industry moved abroad, and by 1990 even the railway link to Manchester had been closed down. The town did go back to its roots somewhat and became a shopping and light manufacturing area, but its main purpose was to be a satellite and commuter town for Manchester. Bury Market has survived through thick and thin, however, and in these days of supermarkets and online shopping it is bucking the trend by not only being one of the largest open-air markets in the UK but also by actually growing. This trend was helped in 1992 when the old railway was repurposed as a Metrolink tram line right into the heart on Manchester.
Bury is quite often the source of Demand Analyst jobs nowadays. The town is pretty well connected by road, with the M60, M62 and M66 nearby, and the large commercial areas of Manchester, Salford, Bolton and Rochdale all within striking distance. Although it remains an important commuter town for Manchester, industry and retail do play their parts in the local economy.
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Cast UK’s supply chain opportunities
Cast UK’s founder members and consultants all come from the logistics, procurement and supply chain sectors, so we know what employers and candidates are looking for in their staff and careers respectively. Cast UK is growing in this part of the UK recruitment industry, mainly because these are the only sectors we deal with, which means that many employers come to us first to create a candidate shortlist because they know we’re tightly focused on delivering the best people to them.
People approach us for many reasons, whether seeking more job fulfilment or simply relocating with the family, so it’s good to know that we always have the complete range of positions available nationwide.
Please see what’s available in your region and if you’ve seen something you’re interested in, do get in touch – whether it’s today or tomorrow, we might have the ideal position for you.
To find out more about how Cast UK can help you recruit a Demand Analyst for your business or find you a job as a Demand Analyst then contact one of our consultant team on 0333 121 3345.
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