Job Overview

The Materials Planning Manager leads end-to-end planning activities, including demand planning, production planning, inventory management, MRP, and capacity planning. This role ensures customer demand is translated into executable production and material plans while balancing inventory, service, cost, and operational objectives. The position partners closely with Operations, Procurement, Sales, Logistics, Finance, and Engineering to drive business performance, continuous improvement, and execution excellence. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Lead demand, supply, production, inventory, and capacity planning processes. 
• Translate forecasts into achievable production and material plans. 
• Manage MRP processes and planning parameters to support accurate execution. 
• Identify and mitigate material, capacity, and supply chain risks. 
• Support S&OP/IBP processes by aligning demand, supply, inventory, and capacity plans. 
• Optimize inventory levels, safety stock, and replenishment strategies. 
• Drive reductions in excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory. 
• Develop short- and long-term capacity plans to support business growth. 
• Participate in Tiered Management, escalating risks and driving corrective actions. 
• Apply Lean, PDCA, and root-cause problem-solving methodologies to improve planning performance. 
• Monitor key metrics including inventory turns, on-time delivery, schedule attainment, capacity utilization, and MRP execution. 
• Lead, coach, and develop the planning team while fostering accountability and continuous improvement. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Engineering, or related field. 
• 5–7 years of experience in supply chain, production planning, materials management, or manufacturing planning. 
• 1–3+ years of leadership experience. 
• Strong experience in demand planning, supply planning, inventory management, MRP, and capacity planning. 
• Manufacturing experience preferred. 
• Experience with S&OP/IBP processes and Lean principles preferred. 

Nice to have 

• Master Scheduling 
• Supply Chain (planning/scheduling) 

Skills 

• Strong knowledge of supply chain planning, inventory management, MRP, capacity planning, and S&OP. 
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems (SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, or similar). 
• Advanced Excel, analytical, and problem-solving skills. 
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and leadership capabilities. 
• Ability to drive cross-functional alignment, accountability, and continuous improvement. 

Success Measures 

• Inventory Turns 
• On-Time Delivery (OTD) 
• Production Schedule Attainment 
• Supply Plan Adherence 
• MRP Performance 
• Capacity Utilization 
• Excess & Obsolete Inventory Reduction 

Core Expectation: Convert demand into executable plans, proactively identify constraints, drive issue resolution through Tiered Management, and continuously improve planning performance using Lean disciplines. 

Job Requirements

• Analyzing and approving purchase orders, coordinating logistics and warehouse operations, and ensuring material supply meets production requirements with minimum stock levels while optimizing costs.
• Providing direction according to established policies and management guidance, administering company policies directly affecting operations, and recommending policy changes.
• Executing inventory plans to meet business objectives and monitoring continuous improvement programs and initiatives.
• Ensuring data accuracy in Material Requirement Planning (MRP) systems, developing and implementing system enhancement plans and initiatives.

What your background should look like

Generally requires Bachelors degree in appropriate field with a minimum of 8 years of experience; Masters degree or higher or local equivalent may be preferred at this level