Role Purpose
The Dcomm Planning Analyst plays a key role in enabling effective operational and network planning by independently analysing demand, capacity, and customer behaviour data to generate actionable insights. The role is responsible for producing accurate daily and hourly forecasts, supporting store and delivery network optimisation, and contributing to planning activities for peak periods and special events. Through regular performance reporting, risk identification, and collaboration with cross-functional teams, the role supports operational efficiency, service reliability, and a positive customer experience.
Role Description
- Contribute to team objectives by actively supporting demand forecasting accuracy, participating in regular planning reviews, and incorporating feedback to refine outputs and improve forecasting assumptions.
- Apply established analytical techniques to assess historical sales, demand, and customer data, identifying meaningful trends and variances that reflect changing customer behaviour and market conditions.
- Develop and maintain accurate network requirement documentation, ensuring data integrity, clarity, and consistency across planning and operational inputs.
- Analyse customer buying behaviour to identify trends, anomalies, and emerging patterns, proactively highlighting potential inefficiencies in inventory flow, capacity allocation, or service delivery.
- Execute network optimisation activities in line with operational standards, applying analytical insights to support improved capacity utilisation and service performance.
- Conduct demand and capacity analyses to identify pressure points, gaps, and risks, and propose practical, data-supported recommendations to address short- to medium-term challenges.
- Monitor capacity and demand fluctuations, escalating material risks or constraints with clear supporting analysis, and contributing to joint problem-solving with senior analysts or planners.
- Support network design and rebalancing initiatives by delivering analytical inputs, testing scenarios, and providing structured feedback on alternative approaches or outcomes.
- Produce regular and ad hoc performance reports that clearly communicate key metrics, insights, and drivers to planning, operational, and management stakeholders.
- Plan and manage own workload to ensure consistent delivery against planning cycles, peak demand periods, and business-critical deadlines.
- Research external factors influencing customer demand and delivery performance, including market trends, promotional activity, and seasonal behaviours, and integrate insights into planning assumptions.
- Identify and report opportunities for improving delivery solutions and capacity utilisation, supporting informed operational and strategic decision-making.
- Collaborate effectively with marketing, operations, finance, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment on demand drivers, constraints, and shared objectives.
- Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by identifying process inefficiencies, documenting best practices, and supporting the implementation of agreed enhancements.
- Apply data-driven insights to support the ongoing refinement of planning methodologies, tools, and forecasting approaches used by the team.
- Engage with Operations teams to build a sound understanding of execution realities, stakeholder expectations, and operational priorities, ensuring planning outputs remain practical and relevant.
- Deliver analytical support for ad hoc requests and defined projects, applying structured problem-solving and sound judgement within an agreed scope.
- Maintain compliance with company policies, procedures, and governance standards across all activities, supporting risk management, data integrity, and organisational controls.
Qualifications and experience
- Degree or Diploma in Supply Chain Management, Data Analysis or a related field - (essential).
- +4 years of experience in demand planning, data analysis, or a related analytical role -(essential).
- Good analytical and quantitative abilities - (essential).
- Good understanding of e-commerce, network design, and optimisation – (preferred).
- Proficiency in MS Office 365 including strong Excel skills – (essential).
- Familiarity with forecasting software, analytics tools, or relevant technologies - (preferred).
Key competencies and work ethic
- Analytical thinker - Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. Grasps new information to generate insights while integrating multiple sources of data and proactively investigating courses of action to identify feasible solutions. Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
- Detail-Orientated: High attention to detail and accuracy in data analysis and reporting
- Business acumen – Understands retail standards and operational best practices to improve and drive performance.
- Customer-focused mindset - Strong customer-first thinking – Understands customers and how best to serve them; committed to providing high-quality customer service and ensuring customer needs and expectations are met.
- Communication and reporting skills – Able to the convey information and data clearly, accurately, and succinctly in a meaningful way.
- Collaborative partner – Ability to foster, nurture and manage strong and meaningful relationships with external and internal stakeholders while driving work teams and projects. Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment. Thinks and acts independently as well as collaboratively.
- Organised with a strong drive for operational execution and efficiency - Ensures processes, targets and performance measurements are continuously met or exceeded.
- Punctuality and Time Management: A strong commitment to punctuality and time management is essential in this role. Consistently demonstrate reliability in submitting analyses and reports on time, ensuring that all planning activities align with organisational timelines and customer needs.
- Adaptability and willingness to continuously learn and improve.
Our Group and all its operating companies is committed to creating, embracing, and preserving a diverse workplace that values the unique talents, perspectives, backgrounds, and abilities that enrich our organisation. A place where everyone matters and feels included.
We are committed to Employment Equity when recruiting internally and externally.
Please take note that by responding to this application and providing your personal information, you confirm your express and informed consent for Shoprite Checkers (Pty) Ltd and all its subsidiaries and affiliates companies to process your personal information for the Company to consider your application for this position. All Personal Information which you provide to the Company will be used and/or retained only for the purposes for which it is collected, whereafter it will be permanently destroyed. Your information is only retained if it is required by law or where you have given consent to us to retain such information for an extended period.
If you don’t hear from us within 14 days, please consider your application unsuccessful. Any personal information collected as part of your application will be destroyed, securely, in accordance with South African legislation.
