What are the responsibilities and job description for the Planning Specialist position at Post Consumer Brands and Careers?
Under the direction of the Sr. Materials Planning Manager, the Planning Specialist is accountable for material planning activities and maintaining production schedules that balance the competing needs of customer service levels, manufacturing efficiencies, and proper lead times while maintaining inventory levels within the range set forth through in the IBP process. Incumbent will also create and manage existing inventory tracking tools to support Post Consumer Brands’ end-of-lifecycle process, which will require communication and collaboration with cross-functional partners to ensure alignment on projected remaining inventory based on current forecasts and production schedule across the supply chain, including finished goods, packaging and unique ingredients.
Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
- Generate a material replenishment plan using established strategies that optimize supply availability, inventory investments, risk of obsolescence, and meet internal and external customer service objectives
- Manage inventory levels for a complex array of items; aligning material requirements with the production plan, external suppliers and transportation providers; releasing orders; and coordinating related activities
- Interface with Corporate Purchasing, Production Planning, Quality and Operations to create an inventory plan that ensures operations and product development requirements are met and alter replenishment plans to meet unforeseen conditions
- Monitor and review materials for disposal in alignment with Corporate business processes
- Create and maintain EOL/ Write Off trackers by project, seek process improvement opportunities to streamline updating and reporting tools and perform analysis on overall inventory changes, calling out increases in risk liability
- Work with Supply Chain Coordinators, Demand Planning, and Branded teams to estimate disposal amounts, collaborating with material planners to reduce PO quantities, where possible. Maintain Write-off Tracker to communicate projected Write-Off totals
- Attend and actively engage with material planning as necessary with follow up from commercialization project calls for new/transition/discontinued items,
- Provide write off risk estimates or create Material Ordering Exception Form write ups to internal cross-functional teams, as requested, to support commercialization projects
- Align weekly and daily production schedules with the IBP supply and network plans
- Maintain and adjust short and long-term production schedules in a dynamic environment that meet target customer service levels, are operationally efficient, maintain flexibility, and reduce risk of excess inventory
- Communicate at multiple levels internally and externally to discuss impacts of schedule changes, compare capacity and demand, and escalate risks for awareness and mitigation
- Other Duties as assigned
EDUCATION:
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Accounting or related field is preferred
- Integrated planning systems training like ERP/DRP/MPS/MRP/CRP is required
- Professional certification from APICS and/or ISM is desirable
EXPERIENCE:
- 3-5 years of combined related experience operating in areas of customer service, planning, operations, inventory control, production scheduling, demand management, capacity management, materials management, or distribution resource planning preferred; with preference in food processing/packaging
- Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems and processes