Material Planner
Perdue Farms · Salisbury, MD · 2 mo ago
Management$63k–$95k/yrFull-time
About the role
Play a key role in keeping our operations running smoothly by ensuring the right materials are in the right place at the right time. As a Material Planner, you will coordinate daily planning of raw materials and packaging to support production schedules and meet customer demand, while maintaining accurate material plans and healthy inventory levels. You will partner closely with Procurement, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain teams to balance cost, service, and risk, proactively identifying and resolving supply challenges to keep production on track.
Principal Essential Duties & Responsibilities
- Execute raw and packaging material planning activities to ensure consistent material availability for production.
- Maintain and update planning in the ERP/MRP system (e.g., safety stock, reorder points, lead times) as directed.
- Monitor inventory health (turns, aging, slow-moving/obsolete risk) and propose actions to improve inventory outcomes.
- Provide forecast and consumption insights to support category strategies for direct materials.
- Maintain supplier and material master data accuracy (e.g., MOQ, lead times, order multiples, pack sizes) to ensure planning reliability.
- Support SIOP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning) by preparing inventory snapshots, constraints, and supply coverage views as requested.
- Analyze demand signals (forecast changes, production plan shifts) and recommend planning adjustments to maintain service levels.
- Identify risks to supply or schedule and escalate issues.
- Cook up with suppliers on forecasts, order confirmations, ship dates, and delivery timelines.
- Track supplier performance against lead times, fill rates, and delivery reliability; maintain a log of recurring issues.
- Track order status (open POs, in-transit shipments, past-due deliveries) and proactively follow up to reduce shortages and expedite costs.
- Resolve routine invoice and receiving discrepancies in collaboration with AP/Procurement; escalate exceptions as appropriate.
- Maintain system accuracy for receipts, order confirmations, and delivery date updates.
- Sustain clear documentation of planning decisions, assumptions, and changes to improve auditability and cross-functional alignment.
Minimum Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Supply Chain, Logistics, or related field.
- 2-5 years of experience in Material Planning, Procurement, or Supply Chain within manufacturing.
- Proven experience managing inventory in a manufacturing environment.
- Basic knowledge of material flows, production planning, and inventory management principles.
Physical Requirements and Environmental Factors
- Position is mostly sedentary but may require occasional moving to other offices or buildings.
- May need to move light equipment or supplies from one place to another.
- May need to access files, supplies and equipment.
- Work activity is in an office, open-partitioned, cubicle environment.
Pay
The salary range for this position is $63,000 - $95,000 per year, based on experience and qualifications with annual bonus available (variable depending on performance).
Benefits
- Competitive benefits package, including medical/Rx, 401(k) with employer match after 1 year, critical illness, accident insurance, dental, vision, life insurance, optional group life insurance, short-term and long-term disability protection, flexible spending accounts and paid time off.