Production Planner

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