Senior Materials Planner

Job Summary

The Raw Material Planner is responsible for developing and executing supply plans that ensure the uninterrupted availability of raw materials to support manufacturing operations. This position requires expertise in inventory management, manufacturing planning, supply chain analytics, and supplier collaboration to balance customer service, production requirements, inventory investment, and working capital.

Essential Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain raw material supply plans aligned with production schedules, customer demand forecasts, and manufacturing capacity.
• Utilize ERP/MRP systems to execute planning recommendations, purchase orders, rescheduling activities, and replenishment strategies.
• Manage supply plans in Make-to-Stock (MTS), Build-to-Order (BTO), and/or Assemble-to-Order (ATO) manufacturing environments.
• Balance material availability while minimizing shortages, excess inventory, and expedite costs.
• Analyze inventory performance using Inventory Turns, Days of Supply, Safety Stock, Service Levels, Excess & Obsolete Inventory, and Slow-Moving Inventory.
• Determine and maintain appropriate safety stock based on demand variability and supplier lead times.
• Perform supply chain analysis using demand trends, supplier performance, consumption patterns, and inventory data.
• Interpret MRP exception messages and proactively resolve material shortages.
• Monitor market conditions affecting raw material availability, supplier capacity, pricing, transportation, and lead times.
• Collaborate with Procurement, Manufacturing, Warehouse, Logistics, Quality, R&D, and Customer Service to ensure uninterrupted production.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, or related field preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in Material Planning, Supply Planning, Production Planning, or Raw Material Planning within manufacturing.
• Experience using ERP/MRP systems (SAP S/4HANA preferred).
• Experience supporting MTS, BTO, or ATO manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated inventory management and inventory analytics experience.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.

Critical Competencies

• Manufacturing Supply Planning
• Inventory Management & Optimization
• Supply Chain Analysis
• Market Trend Analysis
• MRP Planning & Exception Management
• Manufacturing Inventory Analytics
• Demand Planning
• Production Planning Support
• Supplier Collaboration
• Risk Identification & Mitigation
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Cross-Functional Collaboration