Sr. Forecast Analyst

Join our vertically integrated team at MAT Holdings, Inc., a leading global manufacturer with a 40-year history. We're proud to provide employment opportunities for more than 14,000 employees across 12 countries. Headquartered in Long Grove, Illinois, we have over 40 factories on three continents, including 2.1 million square feet of U.S. distribution and manufacturing space.

You will find our products in home improvement centers, big box retailers, hardware stores and automotive chains. They're in the cars you drive, the trailers you tow, and the heavy-duty machinery you operate.

MAT can maintain consistent expertise and solutions across the entire supply chain. We’re experts in engineering, manufacturing, quality assurance, logistics and distribution, marketing, design, and customer service — we don't just make it happen, we ensure it happens with excellence.

We’re more than manufacturing, we’re MAT.

Benefits

• MAT Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries offer a complete benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and disability insurance after 60 days of employment
• Paid Time Off (PTO), including paid vacation, sick days, and paid holidays
• 401k Retirement Plan + Company Match
• Career Advancement Program, training and development
• Wellness Programs, including fitness reimbursements and mental health support
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Voluntary Life / AD&D , Employer Provided Life/AD&D
• and More

This position is responsible for maintaining the monthly demand planning process (primarily via generating statistical forecasts and KPI tracking, along with input via cross-department collaboration). This individual will monitor and update incoming datasets used for statistical forecasts and update the design/use of input data as the commercial requirements evolve. This person also contributes to the cross-functional inventory planning and customer demand review processes.

Compensation Range $85,450 - $104,700

Principle Responsibilities

Demand Forecasting:

• Validate and organize demand data from multiple sources and load it into the forecasting system.
• Cleanse input data as needed to maximize forecast accuracy and minimize bias.
• Design/Redesign forecasting processes to adjust for frequent customer-driven changes in demand structure.
• Maintaining forecasting structural data to ensure proper categorization.
• Develop and maintain accurate demand forecasts using statistical, machine learning, and driver-based modeling.
• Quantitatively enrich the modeling through various potential impacts (i.e. macroeconomic indicators, market share dynamics, pricing elasticity, and promotional impacts) to predict future demand.
• Demonstrate the ability to quantify relationships between business drivers and demand outcomes.
• Proficiency in statistical modeling and its application to forecasting.
• Demonstrated experience in data science and analytics, including knowledge of advanced analytics, ML models, and predictive and prescriptive analytics.

Data Analysis:

• Analyze sales data, inventory levels, and market conditions to identify trends and patterns.
• Develop means to detect exceptions in large datasets and design rational responses.
• Monitor forecast accuracy and make recommendations for improvements.
• Generate and present reports on demand planning metrics to senior management.
• Conduct scenario planning to optimize service levels and inventories
• Maintain forecast vs. actual history data by customer, product family, channel, geography, and SKU.

Collaboration:

• Lead the program(s) monthly collaborative demand review as part of the S&OP process.
• Work with sales, marketing, and product management to understand product life cycles, demand patterns, and short-, medium-, and long-term forecasts.
• Communicate forecast changes and inventory needs to relevant departments to ensure alignment

Process Improvement:

• Implement best practices in demand planning and share insights with the team.
• Contribute to continuous improvement efforts to advance the demand planning and forecasting process capabilities.
• Update/Create standard work process documents as the procedure evolves.

Competencies

• Hands-on experience with time-series ML models
• Able to develop and design a statistical forecasting process and standards for high sku-count seasonal products.
• Maintain forecast vs. actual history data by customer, product family, channel, geography, and SKU.
• Develop, design, apply, and validate safety stock strategies. Understand the impact of safety stock on customer fill rates and the organization’s inventory position.
• 3+ years’ experience directly utilizing enterprise planning software (e.g., SAP, JDA, IBP, Oracle, etc.) to create statistical forecasts for high SKU-count customers (2000 to 10,000+ SKUs).
• Lead multiple medium and large projects
• Experience using and interacting with MRP systems.
• Experience comparing, implementing, and validating forecasting methodologies, techniques, and approaches
• Detail-oriented and ability to organize work activities in highly ambiguous situations.
• Advanced Excel Skills applied to large multi-variable datasets to extract/compile/analyze/interpret results. Advanced Access skills are a plus.
• Calculate and track forecast MAPE and bias to measure performance.
• Strong problem-identification and analytical skills.
• Experience with process management skills.
• Action-oriented.

Education/Experience

• Undergraduate degree in Mathematics, Supply Chain, Engineering, or Data Science degree preferred, commensurate with experience.
• Relevant industry experience in the automotive or aftermarket parts business.
• 4- 6+ years of statistical forecast generation from large datasets plus supply chain planning experience in S&OP, demand, and supply planning.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.