Operations Planner

The Hershey Company • Stuarts Draft, VA

141d

About The Position

The role of Production Scheduler and Materials Planner will consist of developing the production schedule as well as managing the raw and packing materials for one or more of the five business units. This individual is responsible for monitoring raw material inventory levels and shelf life, seeking to optimize the plant's inventory turns and other performance measures, in addition to the balancing of productivity tradeoffs to achieve the Corporation's financial and service goals. As Materials Planner this person is responsible for ensuring that adequate quantities of the correct materials are on hand to support the production schedule. In addition, this individual is also responsible for monitoring and controlling packaging inventory levels, to optimize packaging inventory turns on all items and minimize inventory obsolescence where possible. As Production Scheduler this person is responsible for developing production schedules and supporting material plans. This individual also works closely with Production Scheduling to identify supply problems related to schedule changes and monitors raw and packaging bill of material information as needed on new or existing items. Lastly, this person / position is a supporting member of the Product Change Management team from a raw & packaging material scheduling and inventory standpoint and supports SAP master data maintenance.

Requirements

• Knowledge of inventory management or supply chain management principles and MRP
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and communications (verbal/written) skills at all levels of the operation
• Knowledge and experience in working with Suppliers, Freight and Rail carriers, and Purchasing personnel, as well as a strong understanding of Purchasing concepts and corporate directed goals
• Knowledge of plant operations and production scheduling
• Strong organizational skills and attention to details
• Self-motivated and ability to prioritize multiple activities and manage volatile/changing conditions under time constraints
• Strong SAP user in areas of MRP/Scheduling, Inventory Management, Master Data, Warehouse Management and Production Control

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor's Degree preferred
• Purchasing certificate and/or Production Planning certificate, APICS, CPIM is a plus
• An understanding of Production Planning, Plant Purchasing, and/or Logistics is required
• 3 - 5 years Production Planning, Plant Purchasing, and/or Logistics experience preferred

Responsibilities

• Develop and communicate detailed production schedules for assigned operations to support higher-level master production schedules
• Provide input and analysis to assist in optimizing long-term planning strategy of operations
• Manage MRP parameters to ensure timely material purchase order creation and delivery to support schedules and to meet inventory management objectives
• Interact with suppliers to communicate material needs and develop solutions to material supply issues
• Consider impact of scheduling decisions on shared resources throughout the plant (i.e. labor, equipment, tooling, etc.) and work with other personnel to resolve conflicts and improve productivity
• Review both Plant production schedules and SAP materials requirement planning system to determine raw material needs over a six to eight-week time horizon
• Place orders and establish delivery dates and times with vendors
• Work with railroad personnel, Hershey Transportation Management and outside vendors to coordinate deliveries
• Periodically meet with vendors to discuss issues, and to ensure continuous improvement in the areas of products and processes
• Monitor inventory levels considering changing production requirements, useful life of materials and plant storage capacity
• Work with vendors to provide needed quantities of materials to adequately support production demands in circumstances such as changed production schedules or rejected deliveries
• Manage the return of any defective / rejected ingredients back to the vendor, making sure the proper credit is issued
• Monitor inventory turns and other performance measures; make and implement recommendations for improvements
• Utilizing SAP, issue purchase orders and schedule releases from scheduling agreements and contracts for all packaging inventory
• Monitor the MRP system and production schedule, inventory levels, and material lead times to determine packaging material delivery requirements daily and take appropriate actions to expedite and defer system-determined delivery dates as needed
• Balance a just-in-time inventory management approach tempered with realistic needed production requirements to adequately support operations while working closely with Suppliers, Plant Scheduling, Hershey S&OP and Corporate Purchasing departments to arrange and ensure timely release of purchase orders and delivery of materials
• Work closely with Plant Packaging Engineering, Quality, Operations, Plant Scheduling, Accounting and Maintenance individuals to ensure that any issues relating to new or changed packaging materials are addressed from a purchasing and/or scheduling standpoint
• Monitor the requirements for packaging materials for new items, and for changes to existing packaging bills of material
• Monitor changes to SAP bills of material related to packaging changes, including setup of flow-through information designed to minimize packaging obsolescence issues
• Work closely with Suppliers and Hershey personnel to ensure that suppliers are informed of scheduled production dates, and that all pre-production materials (artwork, plates) are provided in enough time to produce needed packaging materials for delivery at the required dates
• Verify that all required materials have been received prior to the start of production
• Maintain the SAP Material master records for all packaging materials related to the plant, including minimum order quantities, safety stock, lead times and shelf life requirements if applicable
• Monitor/correct all GR/IR Maintenance issues
• Manage the process of returning defective packaging materials to the vendor, making sure that adequate credit is received for such materials
• Working with Warehouse and Accounting personnel, investigate and resolve usage/physical inventory discrepancies, looking for reporting errors which would reduce the accuracy of packaging inventories
• Review and analyze packaging material waste percentages by utilizing SAP reports and data and recommend changes where appropriate to Plant Accounting
• Establish goals and monitor progress on appropriate inventory management measures such as inventory turns, total inventory investment, inventory shortages and packaging material obsolescence
• Develop strategies and tactics to effectively manage inventory portfolio, with the intention of minimizing costs and improving supply chain performance
• Utilize knowledge and expertise to support various productivity improvement initiatives within the plant

What This Job Offers

• Industry: Food Manufacturing
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree