Production Planner

We have a current opening for a Production Planner role and are actively reviewing applications.

Ferrero USA, a leading global confectionery manufacturer with a strong track record of innovations and a great reputation for the quality of its products, is looking for a Production Planner to support our Production Operations team. The position will work out of our Somerset, NJ location and report to the Production Planning Manager.

The Production Planner develops short- and long-term production plans to align with supply demands, inventory requirements, material availability, and production capacity. The Production Planner works closely with internal and external stakeholders to understand and evaluate throughput, capacity constraints, production cycles and labor requirements while utilizing KPI reporting and root cause analysis to drive improvements and achieve targets. This role also works with Supply Chain Management to ensure adequate stock of finished goods is available within the distribution network to satisfy Customer orders, while maintaining the production workload and communicating with top-tier stakeholders to ensure packaging and bulk is readily available.

In addition, this role coordinates inventory transfers between facilities to support production requirements, inventory optimization and warehouse capacity.

• Develop and maintain short- and long-term Production and Capacity Planning function, from material availability through production output considering 300+ finished goods and 1500+ MRP codes
• Review and adjust production schedules based on changes in demand, material availability, production capacity and priorities
• Coordinate with Production, Procurement, Warehousing, Quality and Supply Chain teams to resolve material, capacity and production constraints
• Monitor packaging and bulk components inventory levels and proactively identify potential shortages, excesses, liabilities and risks
• Lead and participate in weekly production planning meetings to communicate priorities, capacity constraints, material risks and upcoming production requirements
• Work with production staff to ensure production declarations are accurately recorded for correct billing and component accuracy
• Provide direction and leadership to the Second Shift Production Supervisor, ensuring consistent execution of production plans
• Monitor production performance against plan and investigate root causes of missed attainment
• Analyze inventory, production and planning data to identify opportunities to improve service levels, inventory efficiency and operational performance
• Frequent analysis and communication with Central Planning to evaluate needs and future coverage of overseas componentry based upon the changing market demands and evaluate global production capacity, constraints and potential impacts to local business
• Communicate with multiple 3rd party providers for inventory accuracy and capacity availability
• Communicate with GPD and Documentation and Procurement to ensure BOM adjustments, technical specifications and material availability are made timely to ensure efficient ongoing operations
• Attend cross-functional meetings to keep informed on brand performance and new product developments

We are looking for a candidate that can communicate well to multiple cross-functional teams, including Supply Planning, Procurement, Production Floor, Quality, Maintenance, Warehouse, etc. This candidate should communicate planning risks, priorities and potential impacts to key stakeholders and escalate issues requiring cross-functional resolution. This individual should maintain a strong working knowledge of technical production capabilities across locations and lines including…