Buyer Planner

Aston Carter•Canton, OH

6d•$33 - $48•Onsite

About The Position

This Buyer Planner role focuses on supporting manufacturing operations through effective production planning, materials management, and capacity scheduling. You will create and manage shop orders, align production schedules with customer demand, and ensure that materials, resources, and outsourced services are available to meet on-time delivery goals. The position offers the opportunity to work closely with operations, engineering, purchasing, and supply chain teams while contributing directly to production efficiency, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in production planning, scheduling, materials planning, or manufacturing operations.
Experience working within an ERP system, with the ability to create and manage shop orders, run production and inventory reports, and manage capacity planning tools.
Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, machining operations, metal cutting processes, and production workflows, including turning and milling operations.
Proficiency in production planning and scheduling, including creating shop orders, developing production schedules, and balancing priorities across multiple work centers.
Demonstrated experience in capacity planning, including analyzing production demand versus available capacity and identifying overload conditions.
Hands-on experience in material planning and procurement, including purchasing raw materials, maintaining inventory levels, and coordinating suppliers and outside processors.
Solid background in inventory management, including monitoring inventory levels, analyzing shortages and excess inventory, and reviewing oversupply reports.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills with the ability to build production reports, track KPIs, analyze manufacturing data, and manage dashboards and metrics.
Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities applied to production planning and operations.
Excellent communication skills and the ability to work cross-functionally with manufacturing, purchasing, operations, and inventory teams.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced manufacturing environment while managing multiple priorities and deadlines.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or a related field preferred.
Experience using ERP systems such as IFS, SAP, Oracle, Epicor, JD Edwards, Plex, Infor, Microsoft Dynamics, QAD, or NetSuite.
Experience in metal fabrication, machining, or industrial manufacturing environments.
Experience with capacity planning and production scheduling software.
Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement concepts.
APICS/CPIM certification is a plus.
Experience with purchasing, procurement, and supplier coordination in a manufacturing context.
Familiarity with demand forecasting and inventory management techniques.
Exposure to continuous improvement tools and methodologies, including the use of reporting and analytics platforms such as Power BI.

Responsibilities

Create, release, and schedule shop orders to support customer demand and manufacturing requirements.
Develop and maintain production schedules that balance customer demand with available manufacturing capacity across multiple work centers.
Manage work center loading and capacity planning activities to ensure efficient production flow and optimal utilization of resources.
Monitor production schedules on an ongoing basis and communicate capacity constraints and risks to leadership and key stakeholders.
Coordinate internal manufacturing activities to achieve on-time delivery objectives and maintain smooth workflow through machining and related operations.
Identify production bottlenecks, analyze root causes, and implement scheduling solutions to improve throughput and reduce delays.
Manage outsourced processing activities by coordinating vendor schedules, lead times, and delivery commitments.
Procure raw materials required for production operations and ensure materials are available in alignment with production plans.
Maintain and update production capacity reports, planning dashboards, and key operational metrics to support decision-making.
Participate actively in daily and weekly production meetings to review schedules, priorities, and constraints.
Monitor expedite requests, material shortages, and production priorities, and adjust schedules or procurement plans as needed.
Analyze inventory levels and planning requirements to support manufacturing objectives and maintain appropriate stock levels.
Generate and maintain performance reports, including production schedules, capacity utilization, and on-time delivery metrics.
Collaborate closely with manufacturing, purchasing, operations, and inventory teams to support continuous improvement initiatives in planning and execution.
Use ERP systems to create and manage shop orders, run production and inventory reports, manage capacity planning tools, and track manufacturing progress and material availability.
Analyze production demand versus available capacity, identify overload conditions, and recommend solutions to improve throughput.
Apply knowledge of machining environments, metal cutting processes, and turning and milling operations to ensure realistic and effective production plans.
Purchase raw materials, maintain inventory levels, monitor supply requirements, and coordinate with suppliers and outside processors.
Monitor inventory levels, analyze shortages and excess inventory, support planning orders, and review oversupply reports to optimize stock.
Build production reports, track key performance indicators, analyze manufacturing data, and manage dashboards and metrics using advanced Excel and reporting tools.