Senior Production Planner

Position Scope: The Senior Production Planner will set and oversee the site supply plans to align with the sales forecast (demand plan) from the integrated business plan, while meeting business objectives of safety, quality, on-time delivery, competitive customer lead times, profitability, and inventory. The Senior Production Planner will collaborate with the site production leadership teams to meet and align on SIOP requirements to meet customer expectations. The Senior Production Planner works closely with the Site Leadership, Production Managers, Shipping/Receiving, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality and Customer Service to ensure the achievement of production and inventory goals. Support daily management activities to ensure commitments are achieved and communicated to the customer support teams. The Senior Production Planner will also be responsible for assisting in the development of business intelligence tools such as forecast accuracy KPI’s, root cause analytics, and other ad hoc reporting as needed. The Senior Production Planner works closely with the Senior Master Scheduler, Manufacturing, and Packaging managers to ensure continuous and optimal production. The role encompasses understanding inventory management policies for finished goods supply, to raw material replenishment. Responsibilities: Align production (supply) with planned (forecasted) demand, through the merging of tactical and strategic planning methods across any number of organizational functions. Analyzing demand plan and production plans (supply) to develop an integrated business plan (SIOP) that incorporates, new product development, strategic initiative, and a financial plan. Identify critical capacity constraints and develop strategies with the Value Stream team to manage/ eliminate/reduce. Oversee products on-hold and returns to ensure follow-up and follow-through. Streamline and improve processes using lean tools and industry best practices. Effectively communicate with all business functions the SIOP, priorities, status reports, and project updates. Collaborate internally to resolve any conflicts. Lead / oversee daily/weekly production meetings as needed. Ensure on-time delivery metrics are reported daily, weekly, and monthly. Analyzes forecast accuracy and takes corresponding actions to improve forecast accuracy and quality. Analyze historical and forecasted demand levels and work with the purchasing team to establish and maintain appropriate stocking levels. Manages the WIP inventory to support operations and inventory objectives. Effectively leads the planning and scheduling teams, works to develop, and grow the team as to support the business. Ensure ERP master data integrity and continuously work on system accuracy and quality improvements. Establishment of finished good safety stock levels as required, and reviewed on a quarterly basis at a minimum Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by Management as deemed appropriate. Oversee the scheduling of production materials to ensure optimal production levels are maintained. Respond to production issues and adjust planning schedule as required. Communicate any major variations to affected parties and escalate to senior management where applicable. Create planned deviations. Conduct investigation of Non-conformances Analyze capacity and identify any potential bottlenecks in the production system and propose/implement solutions. Monitor inventory levels of raw material and coordinate with Buyer/Planner to expediate orders. Participate in the review of the company’s inventory policy and make recommendations on adjustments to avoid risk of slow moving/obsolescent materials. Track, measure, and report key metrics of performance versus plan Job Complexity: Ability to assimilate information quickly, possesses strong decision-making abilities and organizational skills. Knowledge of SIOP Planning concepts and tools. Knowledge of biopharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals, medical device industry preferred. Knowledge of site ERP system (SAP preferred) and proficient with Material requirement planning (MRP) and capacity planning. Must be data driven. Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Project or equivalent software programs. Able to communicate at all levels both internally and externally. Participate in proactive team efforts to achieve departmental and company goals. Strong leadership skills. Able to recognize and solve practical problems that may deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Must have an understanding of ABC classifications and how these impact stocking levels; cycle counts and inventory in general. Must understand the concept of uncoupling sales orders from work orders to ensure a level production flow, S&OP principles. Required Qualifications: BA/BS college degree preferred or equivalent experience. Prior Experience with Demand & Supply Management, Capacity Planning & Production Planning Demonstrated proficiency in statistics, forecasting and forecasting methods with an understanding of their financial and operational impacts. Knowledge of SAP/APO, or Oracle Demand Planning or other software related to demand planning is required, SAP experience preferred. Strong fundamental understanding of statistical techniques underlying supply chain management, , creativity and possess designing fiscal modeling skills. Good examining and reasoning skills is beneficial Characterization of the variability in demand a must have for this position. CPIM/CSCP a plus for this role