Production Planner

Position Summary

The Production Scheduler is responsible for building, maintaining, and executing the day-to-day production schedule, with a rolling schedule out to 4 weeks, to deliver customer orders on time. The Production Scheduler acts as the bridge between Sales and Operations, collaborating closely with Procurement, Operations, Sales and Engineering to turn ERP data and the MRP run into a realistic, sequenced schedule by cell and value stream. This position focuses on daily orders, managing priorities, constraints, and changes to meet On-Time Delivery (OTD) to the customer, while working within the level-loaded plan set by the Production Plan and the SIOP process.

Key Responsibilities & Duties

1. Daily Scheduling & Priority Management

• Build and publish the daily production schedule by cell and value stream, sequenced by customer due date, material availability, and capacity.
• Review open orders every day and set priorities that protect customer ship dates.
• Create and release work orders in the ERP system, confirming material, tooling, and documentation are ready before release.
• Lead the daily scheduling meeting; review prior-day schedule attainment and adjust priorities.
• Re-sequence work quickly when equipment, staffing, material, or quality issues arise.

2. Rolling 4-Week Schedule

• Maintain a rolling 4-week schedule, updated weekly, that converts the production plan into sequenced work orders.
• Hold a frozen window (for example, the current week) to protect schedule stability; flex weeks 2 through 4 as demand changes.
• Load cells against available hours and staffing; flag overloads, bottlenecks, and gaps early.
• Recommend overtime, shift adjustments, re-sequencing, or outside processing to close capacity gaps.

3. ERP & MRP Execution

• Use the MRP run to form the schedule: review planned orders, then firm and convert them to work orders.
• Manage MRP exception messages daily (expedite, de-expedite, reschedule, cancel).
• Keep scheduling data accurate in the ERP system: routings, setup and run times, work center capacity, and order status.
• Partner with the Production Planner to correct planning parameters (lead times, lot sizes, safety stock) that distort the schedule.

4. Sales & Operations Bridge

• Review new orders and change requests; provide realistic promise dates based on capacity and material.
• Communicate schedule status, risks, and revised dates to Sales and Customer Service before they become late orders.
• Evaluate rush and expedite requests and explain the impact on other orders before committing.
• Provide schedule and backlog input to the SIOP process.

5. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Procurement: share MRP-driven need dates, escalate material shortages and supplier delays, and align expedites with the schedule.
• Engineering: resolve BOM and routing errors, and schedule ECO changes and new product introductions.
• Manufacturing, Quality, and Logistics: coordinate execution, quality holds and rework, and shipping to ensure on-time shipment.

6. On-Time Delivery & Continuous Improvement

• Track daily OTD and past-due backlog; drive recovery plans for late and at-risk orders.
• Analyze root causes of missed dates and drive corrective actions.
• Track schedule stability (accuracy) and schedule attainment; identify improvement opportunities.
• Participate in Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement activities to reduce variability and lead time.

Required Qualifications

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Production/Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field preferred.

Experience

• 3-5 years of experience in production scheduling or planning in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience building schedules from MRP output in an ERP system, including work order release and exception messages.
• Exposure to SIOP and capacity planning.

Technical Competencies

• Proficiency in ERP/MRP systems (Epicor prefered, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.).
• Advanced Excel and spreadsheet skills.
• Working knowledge of BOMs, routings, work orders, and capacity loading.
• Familiarity with finite scheduling tools a plus.

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication, including delivering date changes and trade-offs to Sales.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration with Sales, Operations, Procurement, and Engineering.
• Highly organized, adaptable, and able to manage shifting daily priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• APICS CPIM certification preferred.

KPIs & Success Measures

• On-Time Delivery (OTD) to the customer.
• Past-due backlog reduction.
• Daily and weekly schedule attainment.
• Schedule stability within the frozen window.
• Promise-date accuracy.
• MRP exception messages worked on time.