Planning Manager
A. Job Summary
The Production Planning Manager oversees and optimizes production planning across multiple box plants of the company. He or she ensures efficient job scheduling, resource allocation and site coordination. The role requires strategic planning, cross-site collaboration and process improvement to enhance productivity, reduce costs and meet customer commitments.
He or she directly reports to the Sales Director/Sr. Sales Manager but also provides regular reports to Senior Management on production performance across all sites. He or she supports strategic decision-making with data-driven insights.B. Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee and manage the Planning and Sales-Customer Service Teams to ensure accurate and timely fulfillment of customer orders.
Planning Team Management – Multi-Site Production Planning & Scheduling
Lead and mentor Production Planners across all sites.
Oversee production planning across multiple box plants, aligning operations with directions of the company.
Allocate jobs strategically based on capacity, lead time and cost efficiency.
Sales- Customer Service Management:
Lead and mentor the Sales-Customer Service team to enhance order processing, issue resolution and customer satisfaction.
Ensure that customer expectations are aligned with production capabilities, providing proactive updates on order status and lead times.
Raw Materials and Resource Optimization
Implement a company-wide inventory strategy and system to optimize usage, reduce costs, and avoid overstocking of raw materials.
Monitor and forecast material needs based on production schedules and customers’ rolling forecasts. Materials may include consumables and high-use materials, but are not limited to: paper rolls (local and imported), flexographic ink, starch, boric acid, etc.
Coordinate with Purchasing and Warehouse teams to maintain optimal levels of raw material availability.
Cross-Department/Site Collaboration
Foster a collaborative culture between Planning, Sales-Customer Service, Production and other departments.
Work with Business Development to acquire new orders and optimize production planning and production runs.
Works in collaboration with the production team to ensure that items are produced in the most efficient, cost-effective manner, while also meeting customer demands (i.e. on time delivery, in-full)
Works in collaboration with the logistics department to ensure that production plan output per day is aligned with fleet capacity to deliver.
Continuous Improvement and Other Tasks- Standardize planning processes across plants for consistency and efficiency.
- Implement standardize reporting systems to track job completion, order fulfillment rate (delivery in full and on time), machine utilization capacity.
- Perform additional tasks as assigned by Management.
C. Job Qualifications
Education Attainment & Work Experience
Graduate of Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain or equivalent.
At least 7-10 years of experience in production planning, with 3-5 years in a managerial role, preferably in box manufacturing or packaging industries.
Competencies/Skills
Knowledge of corrugated packaging manufacturing processes.
Strong knowledge of production planning, scheduling and resource allocation.
Significant experience in sales and customer service.
Experience with ERP system and production planning software.
Strong leadership and team management skills.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Effective communication and coordination across departments and locations.