Planning Systems Manager

AFL Telecommunications•Duncan, SC

About The Position

The Planning Systems Manager leads production planning system strategy and execution, integrates IBP with production, and oversees fiber utilization across AFL’s Cable manufacturing network. The role translates demand into plans that account for capacity, materials, and inventory, with the goals of improving service, planning accuracy, fiber yield, and working capital. The manager supervises planning system analysts, sets priorities, coaches the team, and oversees planning integration. The position directs production planning system reliability, scheduling accuracy, troubleshooting, and issue resolution; maintains the accuracy of planning models and manufacturing data; prioritizes enhancements and deployments; and coordinates IT and vendor support. It oversees requirements, model and data integrity, SQL/Oracle interfaces, testing, user acceptance, and release readiness. The manager also improves tools, reporting, controls, and workflows using Lean/Six Sigma principles and ensures training and documentation support reliable system use. The role develops fiber consumption strategies, analyzes yield and loss drivers, optimizes use of short fiber lengths, and tracks utilization, scrap, and yield metrics. It partners with Commercial, Supply Chain, and the Fiber Department to align product mix, purchasing, stocking, and consumption plans. The manager also coordinates planning assumptions and data ownership across functions, serves as the primary operations interface between IBP Supply Planning, ITP, and Cable production planning, resolves scheduling conflicts within delegated authority, and escalates significant risks with recommendations. The work is primarily office-based, with production-floor interaction and cross-facility coordination. The employee must follow site safety rules. Occasional off-hours or weekend support is required for planning and systems continuity; management sets work arrangements and support coverage.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related field.
At least 7 years of experience in supply chain, operations, or analytics, including manufacturing planning and systems improvement experience.
Demonstrated team leadership and coaching experience.
Cross-functional project management experience.
S&OP experience.
Practical knowledge of demand and supply planning, forecasting, logistics, and advanced planning systems or comparable constraint-based planning.
Working knowledge of ERP systems, manufacturing data, inventory controls, MRP, replenishment, scheduling, traceability, and statistics.
Excel skills, including pivot tables.
Power BI reporting and modeling skills.

Nice To Haves

Preferred experience with IBP/ITP processes.

Responsibilities

Lead production planning system strategy and execution, IBP integration with production, and fiber utilization across the Cable manufacturing network.
Translate demand into production plans that account for capacity, materials, and inventory.
Supervise planning system analysts by setting priorities, managing workloads, assessing performance, and coaching.
Direct production planning system reliability, scheduling accuracy, troubleshooting, and issue resolution.
Ensure planning models and data accurately reflect manufacturing constraints, items, bills of material, routes, orders, work in process, and inventory.
Prioritize system enhancements and deployments, and coordinate IT/vendor support, alerts, and backups.
Oversee requirements, model and data integrity, SQL/Oracle interfaces, testing, user acceptance, and release readiness.
Improve planning tools, reporting, controls, and workflows using Lean/Six Sigma principles.
Ensure training, documentation, and reports support reliable system use.
Develop and maintain fiber consumption strategies that maximize conversion efficiency from raw material to finished goods.
Analyze fiber yield performance, identify loss drivers, and implement corrective action plans.
Optimize systematic use of short fiber lengths to minimize scrap and increase usable output.
Define and track metrics related to fiber utilization, scrap, and yield.
Partner with Commercial teams to understand product-mix impacts on fiber utilization and recommend alignment opportunities.
Partner with Supply Chain to align purchasing and stocking strategies with optimized consumption plans.
Collaborate with the Fiber Department to execute the fiber utilization strategy.
Build cross-training, documentation, and support coverage while balancing daily support with improvement projects.
Manage planning assumptions, data ownership, and escalation paths with Manufacturing, Commercial, Supply Chain, Finance, and IT.
Serve as the primary operations interface between IBP Supply Planning, ITP, and Cable production planning.
Work with the production planning team to resolve scheduling conflicts within delegated authority.
Escalate major service, capacity, inventory, or system risks with recommendations.
Keep forecasts, schedules, and fiber plans aligned with business priorities.