Office/Administration - Planning and Production Coordinator

Careers•Oak Creek, WI

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Paper Procurement & Planning Manager is responsible for ensuring a consistent and cost-effective supply of paper to support sheet feeder operations at the plant level. This role serves as the primary point of contact between the plant, paper suppliers, and logistics providers, managing day-to-day ordering, inventory levels, and supply coordination. This individual will proactively manage demand, monitor supplier performance, and resolve supply challenges to ensure uninterrupted production. The role requires strong attention to detail, operational awareness, and the ability to communicate effectively with plant leadership, scheduling, suppliers, and logistics partners.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Procurement, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
3+ years of experience in purchasing, supply planning, inventory management, logistics, manufacturing operations, or a related role.
Experience working in a manufacturing, converting, packaging, paper, or industrial environment.
Experience placing purchase orders, coordinating supplier activity, and resolving order exceptions.
Experience working with production schedules, inventory levels, and material requirements in a time-sensitive operating environment.
Experience using, purchasing and planning systems; RMS experience is a plus.
Familiarity with roll stock procurement, paper grades, paper widths, mill operations, and supplier run schedules.
Experience coordinating inbound transportation, including trucks and railcars.
Strong planning, purchasing, and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple orders, suppliers, and priorities at the same time.
Ability to balance cost, availability, supplier constraints, and production needs in a fast-paced plant environment.
Strong attention to detail and accuracy in purchase orders, pricing, inventory, and system updates.
Ability to identify supply risks early and take practical and proactive actions to prevent production interruptions.
Strong communication skills with the ability to work effectively with plant leadership, accounting, suppliers, and logistics providers.
Working knowledge of inventory management, material flow, supplier coordination, and production-driven planning.
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and comfort working with data, reports, purchase orders, and planning systems.
Ability to follow up consistently, manage exceptions, and drive issues to resolution.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of paper sourcing, roll stock planning, paper substitutions, and mill coordination.
Familiarity with rail scheduling tools and systems such as QTS.
Experience supporting high-volume, production-driven operations.
Exposure to continuous improvement, process refinement, or inventory optimization initiatives.

Responsibilities

Determine order quantities and select suppliers based on the plant paper plan, demand requirements, inventory levels, and contractual commitments.
Place paper orders with suppliers and manage exceptions, including due date changes, allocation constraints, order changes, and supplier delays.
Proactively identify potential paper shortages and secure alternatives to support production needs and minimize disruption.
Evaluate alternate grades, sizes, and widths that may be used when standard paper supply is constrained.
Coordinate with suppliers to confirm production run dates, available inventory, warehoused rolls, and shipment timing.
Monitor paper agreements and advise plant leadership when the plant is tracking under or over committed volumes, including sheets-for-liner arrangements.
Lead regular communication with plant leadership and designated plant contacts to review paper orders, demand changes, seasonal business, and supply risks.
Review paper plan tons, supplier allocations, weekly truck and railcar needs, and target inventory minimums and maximums with the plant team.
Monitor railcar ETAs and coordinate with plant personnel on railcar utilization, release, and scheduling tools such as QTS.
Communicate mill run changes, supplier updates, and logistics issues that may affect supply or production schedules.
Manage purchase order activity, including closing completed POs, updating due dates, and adjusting order quantities to reflect rolls in transit or received.
Maintain RMS or similar planning systems, including consumption levels, grades, widths, obsolete items, new paper requirements, and plant holidays.
Ensure purchasing, inventory, supplier, and planning data remains accurate and timely to support effective production planning and execution.
Maintain pricing tables and ensure pricing aligns with supplier agreements and current purchase activity.
Assist scheduling and production teams with paper-related needs for new business, specialty orders, coatings, print requirements, or similar items.
Help coordinate inbound logistics, including tracking trucks and assisting with carrier or delivery issues.
Support planning for specialty or complex products, including produce items, triple wall items, or other unique paper requirements.
Coordinate release and call-in of railcars as needed to support plant operations.
Participate in plant meetings and production reviews as the paper supply and procurement resource.
Provide ad hoc reporting and analysis related to paper usage, inventory, supply, and cost.
Support process refinement and improvement opportunities related to paper procurement, inventory management, and supplier coordination.
Perform other duties as reasonably assigned.