Production Planner - Plant 4

This PRODUCTION PLANNER position will be located at our Plant 4 in Whitehall, MI. The primary responsibilities include:

• Communicates with regular and prospective customers concerning requirements, talks with them regarding other customer service-related concerns, and answers any other questions.  Fields and promptly responds to inquiries from customers regarding status of key projects, open orders, and any unresolved issues.
• Performs checks and audits of scheduling rules while interacting with other departments to align with plant On Time Delivery targets.
• Exercises direct responsibility for the tracking of open items, for securing purchase order coverage, and for resolution of contractual issues delaying input or shipment of customer requirements.
• Processes orders for assigned account portfolio.  This includes order entry/maintenance, order placement for outplant vendors, order review, acknowledgment to the customer, and resolution of items delaying either release to manufacturing or shipments.
• Addresses and refers complaints of service failures to designated departments for investigation.
• Coordinates with Master Scheduler to plan and schedule workflow for each department and operation according to previously established manufacturing sequences and lead times.
• Confers with department supervisors to determine status of assigned projects.
• Expedites operations that delay schedules and alters schedules to meet unforeseen conditions.
• Performs a reconciliation of shipments daily.

Job Roles

• Anticipation and forecasting--understands operation, maintenance and manufacturing rhythms; reviews and communicates customer demand and helps to prioritize and schedule work

• Measurement oriented--ensures schedule attainment, throughput, on time delivery, influences revenue, customer satisfaction, finished/shipped goods, etc.; tracks and plans according to customer furnished information and knowledge of internal capability and capacity; able to adjust as needed

• Relationship and communication--interacts with a wide variety of stakeholders; acts as liaison between customer and plant; facilitates understanding of customer priorities within the plant; galvanizes efforts to ensure goals are achieved.

• Organization and structure--detail and follow through oriented; manages and monitors inventory and information accurately; adjusts “behind the scenes” without causing visible disruption to customers; creates replicable processes and systems in response to emerging issues or opportunities; time conscious

• Ownership--tracks down information, people, requirements, or other necessary elements to ensure smooth operation with quality and speed; enables the success of others; advances a “win together” perspective and culture; driven

• Balanced attention--spends time in areas of greatest impact; asks “why?”; adjusts to customer demands and coordinates internal resources to deliver, often on short notice; creates plans to get things back on track when necessary; works closely with internal resources to align solutions

• Influence--persuades without direct reporting authority; represents interests and capabilities of plant to customers to control expectations and flow; can deliver disappointing news; broadens perspective of others; gains commitment from internal and external stakeholders

• Outcome interpreter--has strong intuition; able to understand different layers of complexity and priority for internal and external stakeholders; business minded toward plant outcomes; creates new levels of performance through understanding internal and external factors and combining them to synergistic effect

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with 2 years of experience in a manufacturing environment.
• ​Employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Preferred Qualifications

• APICS Certification is preferred
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Self-starter and ability to manage multiple projects.
• Demonstrates competent use of automated order system.
• Solid base knowledge of manufacturing process and flow of material. 
• Strong quantitative analysis skills, including the use of Microsoft Excel.
• Ability to develop and use planning strategies.