Master Scheduler

Grand Rapids Controls • Rockford, MI

49d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Master Scheduler plays a critical role in keeping GRC's production operations aligned with customer demand. This position develops and maintains the master production schedule while balancing customer requirements, inventory, materials, labor, equipment, capacity, and business priorities. The role helps identify potential shortages, capacity constraints, excess inventory, delivery risks, and other issues before they impact the customer. The Master Scheduler also connects PC&L, manufacturing, purchasing, shipping, sales, finance, suppliers, and GRC's supporting facilities to ensure everyone is working from an achievable production plan.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, operations, business, or a related field with at least two years of relevant experience, or five years of progressively responsible experience in production scheduling, materials, or supply chain.
• Experience developing and maintaining production schedules in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of MRP, ERP, EDI, customer releases, capacity planning, inventory management, and production scheduling.
• Strong Excel and data-analysis skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to identify issues, communicate risks, recommend solutions, and follow through to completion.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to manage changing priorities and respond to urgent customer or production issues when necessary.

Nice To Haves

• Epicor experience.
• Automotive manufacturing experience.
• Customer EDI experience.
• APICS/ASCM CPIM certification.
• Experience managing customer forecasts, cumulative balances, and production capacity.
• Experience working with multiple manufacturing facilities, suppliers, and logistics partners.
• Advanced Excel and data-analysis experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the master production schedule based on customer demand, capacity, inventory, materials, and business priorities.
• Review customer EDI releases, forecasts, cumulative quantities, specifications, and delivery requirements.
• Establish production priorities and sequences that support customer requirements while minimizing unnecessary schedule changes.
• Review labor, equipment, tooling, production rates, material availability, and planned downtime to ensure the schedule is achievable.
• Work closely with manufacturing leadership to turn the master schedule into an executable production plan.
• Perform weekly demand and supply exception reviews and maintain a rolling 12–18-month demand, inventory, and capacity outlook.
• Review customer forecasts and historical demand trends and recommend adjustments to production and inventory plans.
• Identify future shortages, capacity constraints, excess inventory, past-due demand, and premium-freight risks.
• Develop and maintain finished-goods inventory targets, including safety stock, minimum, maximum, and pack-size requirements.
• Analyze customer cumulative balances and work with internal and external contacts to resolve EDI, release, and quantity discrepancies.
• Balance customer demand with available materials, inventory, labor, equipment, and production capacity.
• Help minimize shortages, excess inventory, obsolete inventory, and delivery risks.
• Communicate schedule changes, risks, priorities, and required actions clearly and promptly.
• Coordinate with Rockford, Qingdao, Mexico, Romania, suppliers, and logistics partners to support customer requirements.
• Work closely with PC&L, manufacturing, purchasing, shipping, sales, finance, and other GRC facilities.
• Support product launches, engineering changes, program balance-outs, and end-of-production planning.
• Help resolve issues that could affect production schedules or customer delivery.
• Maintain accurate planning information in Epicor and other scheduling tools.
• Investigate system exceptions that could impact production or customer delivery.
• Track and report key performance indicators including schedule attainment, customer delivery, inventory performance, shortages, past-due demand, excess inventory, and premium freight.
• Use data and analysis to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Support production and inventory planning for new product launches, engineering changes, program balance-outs, and end-of-production activities.
• Identify opportunities to improve scheduling, inventory management, communication, and production planning processes.
• Work with internal teams and external partners to resolve issues and support business objectives.
• Follow actions through completion and communicate risks when additional support or decisions are needed.

Benefits

• Competitive pay based on experience
• Stable, growing company with long-term career opportunities
• Collaborative and supportive team environment
• Opportunity to work across manufacturing, supply chain, purchasing, sales, and other business functions
• Opportunity to make a direct impact on customer delivery, inventory, and production performance
• A company that values integrity, accountability, lasting relationships, curiosity, & celebrating our culture

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level