Associate Planner: Data-Driven Supply Chain

Driven by a commitment to research, quality, and service, PDI provides innovative products, educational resources, training, and support to prevent infection transmission and promote health and wellness. Encompassing three areas, our Healthcare, Sani Professional and Contract manufacturing divisions, we develop, manufacture, and distribute leading edge products for North America and the world. We have several locations across the US and are looking for new Associates to join our team!

The Associate Planner is responsible for developing, maintaining, and optimizing liquid batching production plans and aiding the distribution center (DC) in developing inbound delivery schedules as well as sales order shipment plans to ensure customer demand is met efficiently and cost‑effectively. This role has a strong focus on communication, collaboration, data analytics, leveraging the ERP system, planning tools, and advanced analysis to drive informed decision‑making across manufacturing and logistics operations.

The ideal candidate combines strong analytical skills with an understanding of production constraints, transportation considerations, and inventory management, and is comfortable translating data into actionable insights.

Production Planning

• Develop and maintain short‑term liquid batching production plans aligned with packaging plans, capacity constraints, daily production targets, and inventory targets.
• Analyze production capacity, labor, and material availability to identify risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Procurement, and Quality teams to adjust plans based on operational realities.

Distribution & Shipment Planning

• Collaborate with Distribution Center associates to create optimized shipment plans as well as inbound deliveries.
• Disseminate daily plans to broader organization, track attainment levels, and communicate real‑time attainment to leadership.
• Balance service levels, transportation costs, and business need across the network.
• Monitor DC throughput, shipping capacity, and order priorities to support on‑time delivery performance.

Data Analytics & Reporting

• Analyze large datasets related to demand, production output, inventory levels, and shipment performance.
• Develop dashboards and KPIs to monitor plan adherence, service levels, capacity utilization, and inventory health.
• Identify trends, root causes, and improvement opportunities through data‑driven analysis.
• Support scenario modeling and "what‑if" analysis for changes in demand, capacity, or network strategy.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Utilize ERP and planning systems to support planning activities.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives related to planning accuracy, data integrity, and system usage.
• Serve as a functional partner in ERP enhancements, planning tool upgrades, or system integrations.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Act as a liaison between Sales, Customer Service, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Finance.
• Communicate plan changes, risks, and assumptions clearly to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Support S&OP / IBP processes with accurate data, analysis, and recommendations.

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS

• Schedule adherence / planned vs actual output
• Cost control & waste reduction
• Customer service level
• Capacity and resource utilization
• Obsolescence and scrap
  
  Process improvement initiatives

EDUCATION/CERTIFICATION:

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Analytics, or related field. (Equivalent experience may be considered.)

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE:

• Strong analytical skills, ideally with advanced Excel proficiency (e.g., pivot tables, Power Query, formulas).
• Experience with ERP and planning systems (e.g., D365, SAP, Oracle).
• Familiarity with manufacturing and/or distribution center environments.
• Proficiency or exposure to BI tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
• Understanding of S&OP, MRP, or Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) processes.

EXPERIENCE

REQUIRED:

• 1 - 4 years of experience in production planning, supply chain planning, or logistics.

SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• Ability to interpret complex data and present clear,…