Product Supply Operations Planner

Overview

The Imagine Group is recruiting for a PSO Planner on behalf of our client, a leading branded food company headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA
, specializing in premium sauces, rubs, marinades, and prepared food products distributed nationally. Known for its strong heritage, quality ingredients, and growing retail presence, the organization combines entrepreneurial roots with a modern, growth-oriented corporate environment.

In this role, you will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and optimizing production and supply operations to ensure accurate demand fulfillment and inventory alignment. You will partner cross-functionally with manufacturing, procurement, and logistics teams to manage forecasts, production schedules, and service level targets while supporting continuous improvement initiatives.

• Assess short term inventory needs aligned to deliver metrics ensuring high levels of Customer Order fill rates coordinating with Contract manufacturers, Quality and Fulfilment teams.
• Facilitate collaboration meetings with stakeholders and vendors to review completed and scheduled production jobs and review any operational issues impacting short term production.
• Proactively identify and escalate issues that could jeopardize supply including raw material or packaging constraints, quality holds, production issues. Actively support the decision-making process to resolve these issues. Additionally, identify potential future capacity constraints and bottlenecks, and escalate material concerns.
• Collaborate with purchasing, planning, logistics/warehousing, and commercial teams to provide input on capacity planning assumptions and performance measures.
• Partner with cross functional teams to drive speed to market initiatives in the execution of new product launches, product change projects and demand shaping activities.
• Coordinate Co-manufacturer start-ups and capacity enhancements for both short-term and long-term needs to ensure a phased scaling-up process.
• Adopt a continuous improvement mindset to enhance planning and operational processes.
• Data Analysis:
  Create, Review & Action against the Master Production Schedule for all Finished Good items.
• Reporting:
  Track and review Key Performance Indicators such as schedule adherence, attainment, inventory turns, customer service and days on hand and take appropriate action to meet or exceed targets.
• Review firm order demand, new sales or marketing demand and current levels of inventory to monitor emergent demand.
• Assist in process improvement efforts around SAP B1 functionality and fundamental inventory/production planning methodologies.
• Work with internal and external resources to actively ensure that each initiative delivers on time, and that inventory & customer service levels meet and/or exceed targets.
• Work closely with inventory personnel to ensure that inventory transactions are accurately accounted for.
• Ensure cost-effective supply chain execution and/or escalation of exceptions/trade-offs.
• Assist in the documenting and upkeep of the team’s SOPs.

• Bachelors in business or Supply Chain is preferred.
• 3+ years planning and supply chain experience.
• Be able to manage complex elements of the supplier and 3PL relationships.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• High degree of competence in all aspects of complex manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of end-end supply chain process.
• Ability to work independently and meet deadlines in a fast paced, rapidly changing environment.
• Prior experience with SAP preferred.
• Candidate must be proficient with the Microsoft Office suite of products with above average Excel skills.