Materials & Inventory Planner

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Job Type

Full-time

Description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Materials & Inventory Planner owns raw material and packaging supply for a high-volume, multi-line frozen food manufacturing facility. This buyer/planner position runs MRP, places and manages purchase orders against negotiated supplier contracts, and is accountable for the accuracy of the inventory records that drive every planning decision.

The operation is complex: multi-level bills of material, lot and date controlled frozen inventory with finite shelf life, and high daily transaction volume in a NetSuite MRP environment. An inaccurate on-hand quantity can produce a false shortage, an unnecessary purchase, or a missed production start. This position anticipates those risks, supports the adjustment of the supply plan, and resolves the underlying cause of the inaccuracy.

This is not a data-entry role. The successful candidate is both a planner and an investigator, equally effective working MRP exceptions, managing supplier delivery commitments, and verifying inventory on the warehouse and freezer floor. The position works closely with Production, Scheduling, Warehouse, Procurement, Quality, and Finance.

Requirements

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Materials Planning & Purchasing (Raw Materials and Packaging)

• Run and act on MRP: review MRP output and exception messages and convert planned orders into purchase orders against approved supplier contracts on a rolling two-month horizon.
• Own planning parameters: maintain safety stock, reorder points, lead times, and order minimums in NetSuite, and recommend changes as demand, suppliers, or the product mix shift.
• Manage coverage: monitor inventory and open orders against safety stock targets to prevent shortages and excess; expedite, reschedule, or cancel orders as needed.
• Manage supplier orders: secure PO confirmations, keep delivery dates and quantities current in NetSuite, and work past-due orders, partial receipts, and other open-PO discrepancies to closure.
• Support launches and schedule changes: plan material coverage for new product launches, schedule changes, and ad hoc requests before commitments are made to the business.
• Order indirect plant supplies (materials not tracked on bills of material) in coordination with plant leadership.
• Track inbound deliveries: reconcile delivery appointments against expected timing, maintain the daily inbound tracker, and lead the daily inbound risk update with Operations, Scheduling, and Procurement.
• Manage aging and excess: monitor excess, aging, and short-dated inventory and drive action so material is used or dispositioned before it becomes a write-off.
  
  

Inventory Accuracy & Control

• Own the cycle count program: ABC stratification, count frequency by velocity and value, count scheduling, and recount protocols. Designs and runs the program; warehouse staff perform the physical counts.
• Investigate variances to root cause: determine whether a discrepancy came from receiving, backflushing, scrap, a mis-scan, a bin transfer, shipping, or a BOM error, and partner with the responsible team to fix the process, not just the number.
• Document inventory adjustments with a clear written explanation and a defensible audit trail; adjustments above a set dollar threshold require second-level approval.
• Audit daily NetSuite transactions for errors: unbuilt or partially built work orders, unissued components, negative on-hand quantities, stale receipts, and stock in the wrong bin or status.
• Build exception reporting: create NetSuite saved searches and reports that surface problems early, and track accuracy KPIs — count accuracy, adjustment dollars by root cause, and repeat-offender items.
• Lead the recurring inventory review meeting with Warehouse, Production, and Finance.
  
  

Coordination & Communication

• Escalate supply risks — supplier performance issues, capacity constraints, and commercial or pricing questions to Procurement for resolution.
• Give Production and Scheduling early warning on component shortages, short-dated inventory, and material in a status that blocks its use.
• Escalate demand signal discrepancies to Scheduling and Supply so planning and production signals stay aligned.
• Flag supplier invoice variances on quantity or weight for review and resolution.
• Supply inventory and lot data for month-end close, physical inventories, mock recalls, traceability exercises, and audits.
• Write and maintain SOPs for purchasing, cycle counting, and inventory adjustment processes.
  
  

Qualifications

Required

• Three or more years of experience in materials planning, buyer/planner, purchasing, or inventory control in a manufacturing environment; food or beverage manufacturing strongly preferred.
• Hands-on MRP/ERP experience in a manufacturing setting. NetSuite strongly preferred; experience with SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, Infor, Epicor, or similar, plus the ability to learn NetSuite quickly, will be considered.
• Working knowledge of multi-level bills of material, work orders, backflushing, safety stock, lead-time planning, and units of measure.
• Strong Excel skills — pivot tables, lookups, and cleaning and analyzing large data extracts.
• Investigative mindset: able to trace a discrepancy through systems and physical steps to its cause and explain it clearly in writing.
• Clear, professional communication with suppliers and internal teams, and organized follow-through across many open orders at once.
  
  

Preferred

• Associate's degree or equivalent experience; bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, business, operations, or a related field preferred.
• Experience in frozen or refrigerated food manufacturing with lot and date controlled inventory.
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM or CSCP).
• Experience building NetSuite saved searches.
• Familiarity with GMPs, HACCP, allergen control, lot traceability, and GFSI audits (SQF, BRC, or equivalent).
• Experience with barcode scanning or mobile inventory systems.
• Continuous improvement exposure — Lean, Six Sigma, or structured root-cause methods.