Master’s Internship: Integrated Business Planning and Demand Planning

Work Schedule

Standard (Mon-Fri)

Environmental Conditions

Office

Job Description

About the opportunity

 

We are looking for a motivated master’s student to support improvements to our Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process in a make-to-order (MTO) environment.

In this internship, you will work with colleagues across, supply chain, operations, global commercial operations and finance to improve demand visibility, strengthen forecast reporting and develop practical Power BI dashboards. Your work will help teams make better-informed decisions about future demand, capacity and business priorities.

This is an opportunity to apply analytical skills to real business challenges while gaining experience in cross-functional planning and a complex manufacturing environment.

 

What you will do

 

• Support the preparation and analysis of demand plans for the IBP/S&OP cycle.
• Collect, clean and reconcile data from sources such as sales forecasts, customer orders, shipments and business systems.
• Analyze historical demand and forecast performance by relevant dimensions, such as product family, customer, region or business unit. Work on demand projection based on speed curves.
• Develop reporting on forecast bias and accuracy, identify recurring patterns and investigate potential causes with stakeholders.
• Help define clear, consistent performance measures and reporting conventions, including how forecasts are compared with actual demand over the appropriate planning horizon.
• Build or improve Power BI dashboards to make demand trends, forecast performance and exceptions easier to understand.
• Identify opportunities to improve planning processes, data quality and collaboration between commercial and operational teams.
• Document methods, definitions and recommendations so that reports and improvements can be maintained after the internship.
• Present findings and recommendations to stakeholders and support the implementation of agreed improvements.

 

Your profile

 

• Currently enrolled in a master’s degree in supply chain management, operations management, industrial engineering, business analytics, data science or a related field.
• Strong analytical skills and an interest in turning data into practical business insights.
• Experience with Power BI, including data preparation, data modelling and dashboard development.
• Good Excel skills and confidence working with large or complex datasets.
• Interest in demand planning, IBP/S&OP, forecasting and manufacturing operations.
• Ability to communicate findings clearly and collaborate with colleagues from different functions.
• A proactive, structured approach to problem-solving and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in English.

 

Nice to have

 

• Knowledge of DAX, Power Query, SQL, Python or another analytical tool.
• Familiarity with forecast accuracy and bias measures.
• Exposure to ERP, CRM or planning systems.
• Understanding of make-to-order environments, long lead times or project-based demand.

 

Potential internship deliverables

 

Depending on business priorities and data availability, the internship may include:

 

• A Power BI dashboard showing demand, forecast accuracy and bias across agreed segments and time horizons.
• A documented set of KPI definitions, data sources and reporting assumptions.
• An analysis of the main drivers of forecast bias and recommendations for improvement.
• A practical proposal to improve one or more steps in the demand planning or IBP/S&OP process.
• A final presentation and handover to the business team.

 

What you will gain

 

• Hands-on experience in demand planning and cross-functional business planning.
• Exposure to the challenges of forecasting and capacity planning in an MTO environment.
• An opportunity to develop Power BI and analytical skills using real business data.
• Guidance from experienced supply chain and business professionals.
• The opportunity to contribute to improvements with practical business value.

 

How to apply

 

Please send your CV and a short motivation statement via https://jobs.thermofisher.com/global/en/. Include your preferred start date, availability and any university requirements for your internship or thesis.