Production Planning Manager

Thorne•Summerville, SC

19h

About The Position

At Thorne, the Production Planning Manager coordinates multi-site production activities and the daily execution of scheduled items in NAV software. The position follows department procedures, current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to support product consistency and quality and the efficient use of company resources. The role works with the Master Scheduler, Procurement, Purchasing, outside manufacturers, the warehouse, QC Lab, QA, and manufacturing to align production plans, materials, inventory, and capacity with demand.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
Three to five years of related experience and/or training, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret technical procedures or governmental regulations.
Ability to follow instructions and communicate effectively with supervisors, fellow employees, and vendors.
Ability to present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, and to communicate concise, understandable messages.
Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, and percentages.
Ability to solve practical problems involving concrete variables where standardization is limited.
Ability to interpret written, oral, diagrammatic, or schedule-based instructions.
Strong knowledge of Microsoft products such as Word and Excel.

Responsibilities

Assess long-range production needs and translate them into a weekly production plan.
Review raw material availability and production activities, including outside contract manufacturing resources, to schedule production of Thorne products.
Develop long- and short-range product forecasts considering seasonality, demand patterns, and potential product movements.
Develop and execute programs independently or as part of a team, as required.
Collaborate with the Master Scheduler and Procurement to ensure production has required materials and resources and meets established objectives and customer service goals.
Monitor daily and weekly production schedules against forecasted demand.
Develop and maintain demand forecasts using historical sales data, market trends, and customer inputs.
Manage planning parameters in response to changes in customer demand, inventory levels, or capacity constraints.
Manage the department’s change management system, ensuring changes are documented, reviewed, approved, and implemented with cross-functional stakeholders.
Track production planning metrics to measure performance, identify improvement opportunities, and support service, inventory, and operational efficiency goals.
Review on-hand inventory and work with Purchasing to plan additional production for anticipated inventory needs.
Facilitate production planning activities and meetings as required.
Administer short-range requirements, update new data, and manage changes.
Communicate with Purchasing about outside manufacturers’ delivery expectations and changes, and request expedited purchases of materials and packaging components as needed.
Coordinate material, packaging, and component flow with the warehouse, QC Lab, QA, and manufacturing group.
Provide Master Scheduler updates to manage and maintain the backorder report and At Risk Report.
Maintain a professional attitude under stress or deadlines, exercise sound judgment, and suggest improvements and innovative solutions.