Production Planner

BMI Merchandise•Cinnaminson Township, NJ

52d•$60,000 - $65,000•Hybrid

About The Position

At BMI Merchandise ®, we’re in the business of fun! And we take it pretty seriously! BMI Merchandise, founded in 1986 has evolved to become the amusement industry's leader in redemption technology and a top distributor of products. We source and distribute trendy toys, electronics, candy, gifts, and novelty items to amusement and family entertainment centers worldwide. The Production Planner owns the daily and weekly production schedule and the information that drives it. This role extracts demand and order data from the ERP and business intelligence reporting environment, builds a production plan that sequences work against customer due dates and available capacity, and ensures that the commercial and operational sides of the business are working from the same picture. The position sits between customer commitments and shop-floor capability. The person in it must be comfortable stating what the line can realistically produce and by when, and then holding that plan accountable through consistent measurement. Success is defined less by the production of reports than by the quality of the decisions those reports enable.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in production planning, scheduling, materials planning, or a closely related operations role within a manufacturing environment
Working proficiency in an ERP system, including order, inventory, routing, and bill-of-material data structures
Strong Excel skills and practical experience with a business intelligence platform, including building and maintaining reports rather than only consuming them
Demonstrated ability to define, baseline, and report operational KPIs
Clear written and verbal communication, with the judgment to know what each audience needs to hear and when
Ability to operate effectively amid competing priorities and incomplete information
Bachelor's degree in supply chain, operations management, business, industrial engineering, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience such as military service in a planning, logistics, operations, or maintenance role will be considered

Nice To Haves

Exposure to lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other structured continuous improvement methodologies preferred
Experience supporting or participating in a sales and operations planning process preferred

Responsibilities

Assemble and maintain the recurring reporting set that supports production planning — open order backlog, due-date exposure, material availability, and line output — drawing from the ERP system and business intelligence tools, and own the accuracy of that reporting at the source
Sequence production orders against customer due dates, available capacity, and material readiness using the organization's planning tools
Identify scheduling conflicts early, present trade-offs, and escalate promptly when a commitment cannot be met without a decision above the Planner's authority
Rebalance the plan as priorities, material shortages, or unplanned downtime change conditions during the week
Publish the production plan on a fixed cadence to both sales and operations, in a format each audience can act on
Lead or contribute to the recurring production review, covering what is scheduled, what is at risk, and what has changed since the prior cycle
Define, build, and maintain the KPI set that describes line performance, including schedule attainment, run time and uptime, changeover time, output per labor hour, and on-time delivery to promise
Establish baselines, report trends, and provide enough interpretation of KPI data for leadership to act on
Partner with sales administration to align production commitments with customer demand, including reviewing incoming order volume for feasibility, communicating realistic lead times, and coordinating expedites, partial shipments, and date changes
Serve as trained back-up for sales order entry, providing coverage during absences and periods of peak volume