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 High Wycombe
The Buckinghamshire town of High Wycombe might sound like a sleepy village with a cricket pitch and a pub, but it’s actually a large town that’s quite industrialised, especially for a southern town. In the past it has been known as a mill town and a paper making centre, but it is probably its furniture workshops for which it became best known. Thousands of terraced homes were built for the workers, and by the middle of the nineteenth century High Wycombe rivalled the towns around Manchester for its industriousness, but also for its squalor. A major redevelopment was carried out in the 1920s to bring habitation up to modern standards. During the Second World War, RAF Bomber Command was based in the town, and was joined in 1942 by the United States’ equivalent.
Although the actual town of High Wycombe has a population of around 75,000, it is part of an amalgamation of smaller towns whose population totals around 120,000. The town is on the M40, about halfway between the centre of London and Oxford.
High Wycombe might have had its ups and downs economically, but it appears to be on the up at the moment, and Demand Analyst jobs have been found in the area. With excellent road and rail links to London and Oxford, it’s a natural place for a distribution centre. Its status as something of a commuter town also means there’s a lot of movement of goods into High Wycombe.
Popular locations
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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