Salary Insight: Demand Planning

Demand Planning has become one of the most strategically important functions within retail, FMCG and consumer goods businesses. As organisations face continued pressure to improve forecast accuracy, reduce working capital, optimise inventory and protect margins, demand planners are playing an increasingly influential role in commercial decision-making. What was once viewed primarily as a forecasting function has evolved into a critical business discipline. Today's demand planners are expected to influence S&OP and integrated business planning processes, challenge commercial assumptions, identify risks and opportunities and provide data-driven insights that support growth and profitability.

As a result, businesses are investing more heavily in planning capability and the market for experienced demand planning professionals remains competitive despite wider hiring slowdowns across the UK labour market. Employers continue to report ongoing skills shortages, particularly for candidates who can combine strong analytical capability with commercial influence and systems expertise. According to the latest UK recruitment research, 93% of employers have experienced skills shortages during the past 12 months.

What Are Demand Planners Earning?

Across the UK, most Demand Planners are earning between £40,000 and £60,000, with salary levels varying significantly based on sector, business complexity, systems exposure and location. Typical UK averages currently sit between £45,000 and £50,000, although specialist retail and FMCG employers are often paying considerably more for experienced professionals. For more senior positions, we're seeing Senior Demand Planners paid between £55,000 and £70,000, Demand Planning Managers paid between £65,000 and £85,000 and Head of Demand Planning and IBP Leaders paid between £90,000 and £120,000 with annual bonus opportunities typically ranging between 10% and 20% of base salary.

London continues to command a significant salary premium. Benchmarking data suggests demand planning salaries in London are typically around 25-30% higher than the national average, reflecting both cost-of-living pressures and the concentration of larger retail, FMCG and consumer goods employers. Outside London, salaries remain strong but vary considerably by region with the South East paying a range between £45,000 and £65,000, the Midlands paying a range of £40,000 and £55,000, the North West range being £38,000 to £55,000 and Scotland ranging from £40,000 and £60,000.

What's Driving Salaries Higher?

The biggest differentiator in today's market is no longer simply years of experience. Hiring managers are placing increasing value on planners who can successfully combine forecasting expertise, commercial partnering capability, advanced systems knowledge, data analytics skills and cross-functional stakeholder management.

In particular, experience with advanced planning platforms is creating a significant salary premium. Skills in SAP IBP, SAP APO, Kinaxis RapidResponse, o9 Solutions, Blue Yonder and Anaplan continue to be highly sought after as organisations modernise planning functions and invest in digital transformation. Market salary data shows that specialist professionals working with SAP IBP related programmes can command exceptionally strong compensation packages due to ongoing shortages of experienced talent.

Recruitment Trends We're Seeing

Although overall UK vacancy numbers have fallen from the highs seen during the post-pandemic recovery period, specialist supply chain and planning recruitment remains remarkably resilient. Recent labour market data shows UK vacancies have declined year-on-year, yet employers continue to report difficulties securing niche operational and planning talent. As a consequence, recruitment processes are changing. Employers are becoming more selective, but they are also willing to move quickly when they identify the right candidate. Interview processes are often more rigorous than they were two or three years ago, with increased emphasis on cultural fit, commercial acumen, change management capability, systems implementation experience and leadership potential. Many businesses are also placing renewed focus on internal succession planning because experienced planners remain difficult to attract from competitors.

The Skills Hiring Managers Keep Asking For

The most in-demand candidates are typically those who can demonstrate experience across the full planning lifecycle. Key skills repeatedly appearing in recruitment briefs include end-to-end S&OP ownership, integrated business planning (IBP), forecast accuracy improvement programmes, inventory optimisation, advanced excel modelling, Power BI and Tableau reporting, data visualisation and analytics, scenario planning, multi-channel planning across retail, wholesale and ecommerce and commercial business partnering. Interestingly, soft skills are now carrying almost as much weight as technical expertise. Employers increasingly want planners who can confidently challenge forecasts, influence senior stakeholders and turn complex data into clear business actions.

Hybrid Working Remains the Norm

Hybrid working has firmly established itself within demand planning functions. Most employers now offer between two and three days per week working from home, recognising that planning professionals often require uninterrupted time for analysis, forecasting and reporting. At the same time, organisations still value in-person collaboration for S&OP meetings, stakeholder engagement and cross-functional planning activities. For many candidates, workplace flexibility remains one of the most important considerations when evaluating new opportunities, alongside salary and career progression.

Our View at RHR

At RHR, we're seeing demand planning continue its evolution from a back-office forecasting function into a commercially critical discipline that directly impacts revenue, availability, customer satisfaction and profitability.

The strongest candidates in today's market aren't simply generating forecasts. They're influencing strategy, driving business performance, leading planning transformations and helping organisations navigate increasingly complex supply chain challenges.

As investment in digital planning tools, data analytics and integrated business planning continues to grow, we expect demand for experienced planners to remain strong. The professionals most likely to command the highest salaries will be those who can combine systems expertise, commercial influence, stakeholder management and a proven ability to deliver measurable business results. If you're a Demand Planner and would like to understand how your salary compares to the wider market, we'd be happy to provide a benchmark based on your experience, sector and location. Equally, if you're looking to strengthen your planning team, we'd be delighted to share insight into current salary expectations, candidate availability and hiring trends across the UK market.