Position Summary
The Material & Capacity Planner is responsible for ensuring material availability and production capacity readiness to support the site's Master Production Schedule (MPS). This role evaluates material supply, capacity constraints, inventory health, and planning risks to ensure production commitments can be achieved. The position partners closely with Procurement, Manufacturing, Warehouse Operations, Finance, Quality, and Supply Chain Planning to identify risks early, drive mitigation activities, and support operational decision-making.
Key Responsibilities
Material Planning & Readiness
- Own material availability across all production plans and manufacturing schedules.
- Review material requirements versus inventory, open purchase orders, and supplier commitments.
- Identify current and future shortages impacting production schedules.
- Partner with Procurement to drive material readiness and escalation activities.
- Monitor inventory health and recommend actions to prevent both shortages and excess inventory.
Capacity Planning
- Develop and maintain capacity models for production resources and critical constraints.
- Evaluate labor, equipment, warehouse, sterilization, and supplier capacity requirements.
- Analyze short-term and long-term capacity gaps.
- Support scenario planning and capacity trade-off decisions.
- Communicate capacity risks and recommended mitigation plans to leadership.
Safety Stock & Inventory Strategy
- Own safety stock settings, methodology, and governance.
- Monitor inventory performance and service-level attainment.
- Recommend inventory parameter adjustments based on demand variability and lead-time changes.
- Support inventory optimization initiatives while maintaining supply continuity.
- Review inventory trends and identify opportunities to improve inventory turns and inventory health.
Risk Management & Analytics
- Identify material, capacity, and supply risks that could impact customer commitments.
- Maintain planning dashboards and readiness metrics.
- Lead root cause analysis for recurring shortages and planning disruptions.
- Provide proactive reporting of production red flags and risk indicators.
- Support monthly and quarterly business reviews with planning and inventory analysis.
Cross-Functional Partnership
- Partner with the Master Planner to ensure executable production schedules.
- Collaborate with Warehouse Operations regarding inventory availability and material flow.
- Work closely with Procurement on supplier performance and supply continuity.
- Partner with Finance on inventory value, budget planning, and working capital initiatives.
- Participate in tier meetings and planning reviews to support site decision-making.