Production Planner
Summary
Plans weekly production schedules for a food manufacturer, balancing demand, inventory, and capacity while coordinating with operations, sales, and procurement to meet customer orders and freshness targets.
We are seeking a Production Planner to translate customer demand into weekly production requirements for a fast-paced food manufacturing operation. This role balances customer service, inventory, capacity, and product freshness while providing data-driven recommendations to Manufacturing Operations, Sales, Distribution, Procurement, and external customers.
***This position is required to report onsite 5 days per week***
What You Will Do
Demand and Production Planning
- Develop weekly production requirements using sales orders, customer forecasts, statistical forecasts, and historical demand within a rolling 1–3 week horizon.
- Balance Make-to-Stock and Make-to-Order production requirements.
- Plan inventory builds for seasonal demand, promotions, maintenance, and expected supply or production disruptions.
Inventory Management
- Monitor finished goods inventory, days of supply, freshness, and customer requirements.
- Balance customer service objectives with inventory investment and shelf-life risk.
- Identify slow-moving, excess, and aging inventory and recommend corrective action.
Capacity and Supply Planning
- Recommend production priorities when demand exceeds available capacity.
- Evaluate the effects of production interruptions, material constraints, and changing customer demand.
- Coordinate with Procurement when raw material or packaging constraints affect the production plan.
Communication and Coordination
- Partner with Manufacturing Operations, Procurement, Sales, Distribution, and external customers to communicate production plans, shortages, inventory constraints, order changes, service risks, and recommended actions.
- Provide management with data-supported production and inventory recommendations.
Analytics and Continuous Improvement
- Analyze production performance compared with plan.
- Develop and maintain planning models, reports, and decision-support tools using Microsoft Excel and JD Edwards.
- Identify trends affecting demand, inventory, production, and customer service.
Characteristics of a Successful Candidate
- Detail-oriented and highly organized.
- Analytical and comfortable working with data.
- Able to think several weeks ahead.
- Calm under pressure and comfortable with changing information.
- Collaborative and able to influence without direct authority.
- Able to balance customer service with inventory, capacity, and freshness considerations.
1419899MS