Production Control - Planner III

Position: Production Planner III

Location: Arcola, IL
Starting Pay: $55-75K DOE

THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN CELEBRATING STUDENT MILESTONES – HERFF JONES

Herff Jones is the leading provider of graduation and educational products and services designed to inspire achievement and create memorable experiences for students. Herff Jones' products include class rings and jewelry, caps and gowns, yearbooks, diplomas, frames, announcements, and Greek accessories as well as motivation and recognition programs.

Since 1920, our team has worked alongside students, faculty, and staff on campuses nationwide to help build a stronger community and celebrate student milestones. Our continued success relies on hiring extraordinary talent, with a passion for making a difference and eagerness to roll up the sleeves, to help us write the story of our next 100 years.

YOUR OPPORTUNITY:

The Herff Jones Cap & Gown division is looking for a Production Planner III to join our manufacturing team. This position would assist the strategic execution of the operations functions in our Cap & Gown facilities for the following departments:

• Accessory manufacturing planning/scheduling
• Warehouse Rental
• Manufacturing
• CTA

Here's How You’ll Make an Impact:

The Production Planner will be responsible for scheduling multiple work centers within a production area to achieve on-time delivery targets while positioning the production departments to achieve maximum production efficiencies. This role will also be responsible for providing the organization with a weekly production plan consistent with the plant capacity and sales forecast. Additionally, the planner is responsible for determining the desired inventory levels for finished goods, including safety stock levels. As the coordinator between sales and operations, this role takes into consideration sales forecasts, new business opportunities, customer expectations, and internal supply constraints to develop production plans. 

WHAT YOU’LL ACCOMPLISH:

• Manage inventory workflow from initiation to completion from raw material to final product being shipped to the customer.
• Responsible for planning, scheduling, coordinating, and monitoring products throughout the entire production cycle.
• Reviews, refines, and develops scheduling rules and SOPs to achieve plant service level commitments.
• Works cross functionally with all plant departments to maintain accountability.
• Works with Operations to monitor production output against customer requirements.
• Attend daily Gemba walks with production floor leaders.
• Maintains top level customer requirements to drive total manufacturing requirements.
• Conducts regular business and performance reviews with Demand Planning, Sales and Operations, including participation in S&OP processes.
• Monitor supply and demand through delivery season status against the master schedule and takes action to protect both the internal build plan and the customer ship/delivery plan against stockouts, downtime, and other impediments to the schedule.
• Take lead to involve appropriate personnel to resolve material and capacity issues; calling out significant conflicts to management’s attention when master scheduling issues are likely to impact the internal build plan or customer delivery plan.
• Responsible for overall master data maintenance in systems associated with supply planning such as lead times, transportation times, sourcing information, safety stocks, min/max levels, etc.

What You’ll Bring to the Table:

• Bachelor's or associate degree in related field preferred.
• Prior experience in scheduling and planning without ERP and MRP systems. 
• Experience with ERP systems is highly preferred, specifically Microsoft Dynamics AX or D365, as well as Microsoft Excel.
• Moderate to advanced skills with Microsoft Office (specifically Excel) and learning new systems/technology with understanding some work is processed manually.
• American Production Inventory Control System (APICS) and or Six Sigma certification is preferred.
• Proven success in effectively communicating (listening, writing, and verbal) to multiple teams, ensuring the delivery of the message stays consistent.
• Well-organized, able to multi-task and have a high level of attention to detail.
• Customer service driven, able to understand and support business goals and objectives.
• Interface and interact well with all departments of the company and is an ambassador for planning in a seasonal environment.
• Proven ability to manage inventory levels and adjust goals due to time and cost constraints.
• Multiple examples of lean projects, initiated successfully, that resulted in cost and time savings.
• A strong sense of urgency and desire to exceed expectations.
• Ability to maintain a positive attitude in an extremely fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated success managing multiple processes and tasks.

Physical Requirements:

Daily activity includes but is not limited to:

• Lifting, carrying, sitting, grasping, reaching, standing, kneeling, walking, bending, twisting.
• Reading, communication, and simple math.
• Moving around the production floor for a 10 hour shift.
• Sitting at a computer for long periods of time.
• Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to above average.

Salary : $55