- Demand planners work closely with producers and sales and have the responsibility for forecasting & managing the demand for the wine needed for customers. It’s a key role in any wine company and the role entails: forecasting, inventory management, S&OP planning, liaising with every department in the wine company, with producers and customers in order to enhance efficiency.
- Supply planners work closely with (bonded) warehouses and transporters including deep-sea transport and their goal is to ensure that the right product is efficiently available at the right time in the right place!
- These 2 roles are different but highly connected and both need similar skill sets. Getting on with people, being easy to approach – these sound basic but are hugely important in these roles.
- Because of the specialist nature of these roles and regular contact with producers, these roles are highly sought-after. People often move into these roles within the wine industry from a junior operations or supply chain role such as stock controller and learn on the job rather than take on specific external training. WSET level 3 (wine) would be an advantage.
- The key skills we are always asked for when working on these roles is advanced Excel (& Power BI) and experience with ERP systems. If this is an area you want to move into from an operations or customer services role then making sure you have some advanced training on Excel is a good place to start (e.g. pivot tables).
- Salaries often jump considerably when moving into a demand/supply planning role from a junior operations role. Due to the increased specialisation of this role and the increased focus on the wine sector, salaries can jump 7-13% when moving to this role.
- Planners from outside the industry are welcomed in the wine sector, ideally they will have experience within the alcohol industry. Occasionally clients have asked us to bring them candidates from similarly highly regulated industries (e.g. pharmaceuticals) however the final placement has always been candidates with wine knowledge.
Wine Hiring Trends: 2026 So far: Four areas shaping the wine sales talent market
Where hiring demand is strongest, the challenge is becoming increasingly specific: – Experienced people are settled – Relationship capital is concentrated in incumbents –
