Materials & Inventory Planner

A leading food manufacturing organization is seeking an experienced Materials & Inventory Planner to manage raw material and packaging supply for a high volume, multi line manufacturing operation.

This position combines materials planning, purchasing, inventory control, and problem solving. The Materials & Inventory Planner will manage MRP activity, purchase orders, supplier commitments, inventory accuracy, and material availability while working closely with Production, Scheduling, Warehouse, Procurement, Quality, and Finance.

This is a hands on role for someone who can do more than maintain data. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable analyzing MRP exceptions, managing supplier deliveries, investigating inventory discrepancies, and working directly with warehouse and production teams to identify and resolve the root cause of issues.

Materials Planning & Purchasing

• Run and manage MRP output, including reviewing exception messages and converting planned orders into purchase orders.

• Maintain planning parameters such as safety stock, reorder points, lead times, and order minimums.

• Monitor inventory and open purchase orders to prevent material shortages and excess inventory.

• Manage supplier orders, confirmations, delivery dates, quantities, past due orders, and partial receipts.

• Expedite, reschedule, or cancel orders when necessary.

• Plan material coverage for new product launches, production schedule changes, and other business needs.

• Purchase indirect plant supplies in coordination with plant leadership.

• Monitor inbound deliveries and maintain visibility into potential supply risks.

• Identify and address excess, aging, and short dated inventory before it becomes a write off.

Inventory Accuracy & Control

• Own and manage the cycle count program, including ABC classification, count frequency, scheduling, and recount procedures.

• Investigate inventory variances and determine root causes related to receiving, production transactions, scrap, scanning, bin transfers, shipping, BOMs, and other processes.

• Partner with internal teams to correct the underlying process issues contributing to inventory discrepancies.

• Document inventory adjustments and maintain a clear audit trail.

• Audit daily ERP transactions for issues including unbuilt or partially built work orders, unissued components, negative inventory, stale receipts, and inventory in incorrect locations or statuses.

• Develop reporting and saved searches to identify inventory issues early.

• Track inventory accuracy KPIs and recurring problem areas.

• Lead recurring inventory review meetings with Warehouse, Production, and Finance.

Communication & Cross Functional Support

• Escalate supplier performance, capacity, pricing, and other supply concerns to Procurement.

• Provide Production and Scheduling with early notification of material shortages and inventory issues.

• Identify discrepancies between demand signals, production schedules, and supply plans.

• Review supplier invoice discrepancies involving quantity or weight.

• Provide inventory and lot information for month end close, physical inventories, recalls, traceability exercises, and audits.

• Develop and maintain SOPs related to purchasing, cycle counting, and inventory adjustments.

Required

• 3 years of experience in materials planning, buyer/planner, purchasing, or inventory control within a manufacturing environment.

• Food or beverage manufacturing experience strongly preferred.

• Hands on MRP/ERP experience in a manufacturing environment.

• Strong NetSuite experience preferred. Experience with SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, Infor, Epicor, or similar ERP systems will also be considered.

• Working knowledge of bills of material, work orders, backflushing, safety stock, lead times, and units of measure.

• Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and analyzing large data sets.

• Strong analytical and investigative skills with the ability to identify the root cause of inventory discrepancies.

• Strong communication, organization, and follow through skills.

• 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.

• Experience working with lot and date controlled inventory.

• APICS/ASCM certification such as CPIM or CSCP.

• Experience creating NetSuite saved searches.

• Familiarity with GMPs, HACCP, allergen control, lot traceability, and GFSI audits such as SQF or BRC.

• Experience with barcode scanning or mobile inventory systems.

• Exposure to Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies.

The ideal candidate is an organized, detail oriented materials professional who takes ownership of both supply and inventory accuracy. This person should be comfortable balancing immediate production needs with long term inventory control, communicating with suppliers and internal teams, and investigating problems until the underlying cause is identified and corrected.

W3Global was established in 2006 in Fremont, CA with a vision: simplify the recruiting process and develop an industry-disrupting platform to connect candidates with clients. Our cutting-edge Applicant Tracking System enables us to find the right person for the right job, creating value for job seekers and employers. While W3Global initially focused on IT staffing, we have expanded the business to serve many other industries, including accounting and finance, legal, engineering, human resources, government and more.

We’re proud of the investments we’ve made in our team, having grown from four to 1000 employees and evolving into one of the leading recruitment and staffing solution providers in the industry. Our recruiters and account managers are passionate about connecting qualified professionals with the right positions in small, medium, and large companies.

Our Services
W3Global understands the natural ups and downs of an organization’s staffing needs. We are continuously adapting to industry and economic changes to find the right candidates.

We specialize in placing permanent, direct, contract, and temporary positions for companies of any size. Our recruiting services include sourcing, recruiting, screening, interview management, salary negotiations, training, and onboarding.

We are committed to helping organizations redefine their recruitment process by delivering our SaaS-based proprietary application tracking system software.

Our Expertise
W3Global has been delivering staffing solutions for nearly two decades; we know which recruiting strategies work best. Our expert team is committed to developing a customized solution to fit your company’s unique needs.

As a W3Global client, you’ll also receive personalized assistance from a seasoned team of staffing specialists. We are committed to providing both technical support and industry expertise to simplify the hiring process. We know that your time matters. W3Global will help you streamline the hiring process, getting it done and getting it right.