Production Planning Manager

Gates Corporation • Siloam Springs, AR

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Gates is seeking a Planning Manager for its Siloam Springs, Arkansas plant. The role leads production planning and scheduling to meet customer demand while balancing manufacturing capacity, material availability, and inventory levels. The manager works closely with Operations, Materials, Procurement, Customer Service, Engineering, Quality, and other teams to develop production plans, resolve scheduling and material challenges, and improve efficiency.

The position focuses on improving planning processes, optimizing inventory, and keeping production on track in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. It also leads and develops the planning and scheduling team, supports continuous improvement, and uses data-driven decision-making to manage changing priorities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in production planning, scheduling, materials management, or supply chain in manufacturing operations.
• Strong understanding of production planning, scheduling, inventory management, material requirements, and manufacturing capacity.
• Experience managing planning and scheduling in manufacturing with multiple product lines, SKUs, or changing customer requirements.
• Ability to balance made-to-order and made-to-stock demands while managing inventory, capacity, and delivery commitments.
• Demonstrated experience identifying production constraints and implementing solutions to improve scheduling, material availability, and on-time delivery.
• Experience using ERP/MRP systems for production schedules, inventory, and material planning.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including analysis of production, inventory, and supply chain data.
• Strong problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and adapt to changing production demands in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without current or future company sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• Open to relocating to the Siloam Springs, Arkansas area; relocation support is available for qualified candidates.

Responsibilities

• Lead production planning and scheduling to meet customer orders while balancing capacity, materials, and inventory.
• Develop and maintain production schedules using customer demand, forecasts, inventory, equipment capacity, and operational priorities.
• Partner with Operations to adjust schedules, manage changing priorities, and minimize customer delivery disruptions.
• Identify and resolve labor, equipment, material, and capacity constraints.
• Coordinate with Procurement and Materials to ensure raw materials are available and prevent shortages.
• Monitor raw material, work-in-process, and finished goods inventory to maintain appropriate stock levels, reduce excess inventory, and improve accuracy.
• Support Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) by evaluating demand changes, capacity, inventory needs, and risks.
• Maintain planning data in ERP/MRP systems, including lead times, lot sizes, safety stock, and production requirements.
• Review system-generated planning recommendations and address issues to maintain reliable schedules.
• Track KPIs such as on-time delivery, schedule attainment, inventory turns, backlog, material shortages, and capacity utilization.
• Analyze planning performance and identify opportunities to improve scheduling accuracy, inventory management, and efficiency.
• Lead continuous improvement using Lean manufacturing, root cause analysis, and problem-solving techniques.
• Develop and implement standardized planning procedures.
• Lead, coach, and develop the planning and scheduling team by setting expectations, providing feedback, and supporting professional growth.
• Build working relationships across Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Customer Service, and Finance to align plans with business objectives.
• Promote a collaborative, accountable, results-driven environment focused on problem-solving and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision insurance, and other voluntary benefit options; benefits begin on the first day of the month immediately following the date of hire.
• Three weeks of paid vacation.
• Eight sick days.
• Eleven paid holidays.
• 401(k) company matching up to 6%.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Employee discounts.
• Relocation support for qualified candidates open to relocating to the Siloam Springs, Arkansas area.

What This Job Offers

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