Production Scheduler

Job Summary:

This position’s primary role is to ensure that multiple work orders are scheduled for production. The Production Planner responds to sales product demand forecasts, which drives all manufacturing, purchasing, laboratory, and manufacturing related maintenance activities. The Production Planner will create and maintain a valid master schedule for material and capacities by effectively balancing supply and demand for product. This position will play a key role in strengthening planning processes, improving data integrity, and developing effective scheduling tools and systems. The Planner will develop, implement, and improve on processes, tools, and systems in collaboration with the supply chain team and plant organization.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Creates, maintains, and verifies the production planning schedule and/or interface with sales, production, and production managers.
• Works to resolve (in case of design changes) labor and material shortages, backlogs, and other potential schedule interruptions.
• Assists in the evaluation of scheduling priorities within the total site requirements needed to support fluctuating demands in sales.
• Participates in continuous improvement of Planning and Control systems.
• Oversee the wide web and narrow web master schedules and ensure comprehensive compliance with materials requirements for manufacturing.
• Creates and maintains a valid Capacity Requirements plan, supporting the Master Schedule. Reviews capacity performance and recommends necessary changes as needed.
• Works with Buyer/Planners and management to provide solutions to problems in meeting the Material Plan in order to ensure that the Master Schedule is achieved.
• Create analysis of demand data to identify trends for master schedule inputs and variance reporting.
• Develop Master Scheduling business process; establish planning cycle and time horizons.
• Develop scheduling methodology that delivers a stable schedule, while still delivering agility when/where needed to support customer requirements.
• Compile and report monthly schedule metrics.
• Effectively communicate scheduling exceptions to Sales, Operations and Program Managers.
• Resolve demand/supply/capacity issues.
• Performs related duties as assigned.
• Responsible for compliance with all regulatory, facility food safety, and quality policies and procedures including product safety (GMPs) policies and procedures.

Required Job Qualifications:

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Must have previous production planning, scheduling, materials planning, or supply chain in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience creating and maintaining production schedules for multiple production lines, machines, or work centers.
• Working knowledge of MRP/ERP systems, production planning systems, and inventory/material requirements planning.
• Strond understanding of capacity planning, material availability, lead times, production constraints, and supply-and-demand balancing.
• Ability to analyze sales demand, forecasts, inventory, capacity, and production data to identify potential shortages, bottlenecks, backlogs, and scheduling conflicts.
• Strong computer skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Excell.
• Ability to organize, analyze, and interpret large amounts of production and scheduling data.
• Ability to develop, maintain, and report production planning and scheduling metrics/KPIs.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate competing priorities and make sound scheduling decisions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Ability to respond effectively to changing customer requirements, equipment availability, labor constraints, material shortages, and other production disruptions.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple work orders, deadlines, and production priorities simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate scheduling requirements, changes, risks, and exceptions to Sales, Production, Purchasing, Quality, Maintenance, and Management.
• Ability to work collaboratively with Buyers/Planners, Production Managers, Sales, Quality, Maintenance, and other members of the supply chain and plant teams.
• Experience in identifying opportunities for and participating in continuous improvement of planning, scheduling, and production-control processes.
• Ability to work with incomplete or changing information and help develop standardized processes, tools, and systems to improve data accuracy and scheduling effectiveness.
• Must be dependable, detail-oriented, and capable of maintaining a high level of accuracy when working with production schedules, material requirements, and capacity information.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Associate’s or Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, or a related field.
• Experience in flexible packaging, printing, converting, labels, or similar manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of GMP’s, food safety, quality systems, and applicable manufacturing regulatory requirements.
• Experience in scheduling across multiple manufacturing technologies or production departments
• Advance Excel skills, including PivotTables, lookup functions, formulas, and data analysis.
• Experience with ERP/MRP implementation, optimizations, or process improvement.
• Familiarity with Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, OEE or similar operations methodologies.