Material Planner

SUMMARY The Material/Production Planner works cohesively with all Supply Chain functions including Centers of Excellence (COEs) business units, purchasing, materials group, operations and Quality, as required to establish and assure achievement of production execution in compliance with all sales order due dates. Responsible for establishing material and production availability, establishing commitments to customers, and managing all open packaging requirements post sales order entry through packaging completion to meet Sharp’s commitments to our customers. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned. Work closely with COE business unit teams to understand customer requirements, forecasts, order anomalies and/or patterns and understand and oversee material changes and transitions so as not to impact order due dates. Attend customer planning meetings/conference calls, review meeting minutes and email communication, forecasts, open sales order reports and/or planning data as necessary to stay fully informed. Work closely with Customers, Sales, and COE business unit teams to understand customer requirements, forecasts, order anomalies and/or patterns and understand and establish a supply/demand plan. Conduct and attend daily scheduling/operations meetings. Identify material and planning conflicts that could result in compromised customer due dates and communicate immediately to appropriate COE teams and other groups. Responsible for making planning decisions to assure maximum customer satisfaction and attainment of due dates while supporting production flexibility and efficiencies, with proper communication to COE teams and affected functions. Work with scheduling group to review all open orders, material status, machine capacity and packaging timing to meet customer commitments. Communicate any issues/concerns to COE teams immediately. Review MPR action messages and work with purchasing to assure vendor orders are placed within required lead-times and commitment from vendors are received as well as COE teams to assure customer supplied material delivery dates are known and accurate. Assist Account Coordinators as needed by working with incoming receiving groups to help identify correct item and receiving PO# information to allow receipt of customer supplied materials. Follow materials through receipt to incoming inspection assuring all required documents are available to allow material release for packaging. Work with materials group to assure material movement between locations is completed as required and questionable inventory is cleaned up. Responsible for final review of work order readiness, work order maintenance and work order release (to include required back-up documentation) for packaging, and doing so within established planning/scheduling horizons. Responsible to review Item Master, Product Structure and Product Routing data for accuracy and review and communicate to appropriate department where maintenance of information may be required or advised to streamline purchasing, packaging or other functions. Identifies specific opportunities for increase in capacity, continuous improvement, and operational flexibility through equipment acquisition, cross-qualification, or other means Utilize reporting/analytical skills to review Preator (planning system) & QAD (ERP system) data. Interact with the Scheduler and Master Planner to establish clear short, mid, & long-term plan, beginning with customer demand forecast and utilizing methods & models to meet the demand, given the various capacity constraints (people, machines, etc) Manage some Account Coordinator related duties in absence of AC as necessary to meet customer requirements. WORK HOURS: Reasonable accommodation in working start/end hours may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential functions and to assure internal communication. Overtime and weekend work may be required to support operations. TRAVEL: Travel between Sharp sites may be required in support of internal planning meetings. There may be an occasion to travel to a customer site. All travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with company policy. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: None EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, project management, operations or related fields, Associates and 2-3 years of business experience, and/or combination of relevant education and industry experience. MRP knowledge required. APICS Certification preferable. Experience working in an FDA and DEA regulated environment is desirable. Must possess excellent analytical and logical problem solving skills. Experience working in MRP/ERP systems in a manufacturing environment with Bills of Material, Change Controls, Sales Orders, and Word Orders. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills Must be willing to challenge the status quo while being collaborative to work with many functional departments High energy – comfortable working in fast paced environment Strong organizational skills and planning skills required, able to juggle multiple priorities and deadlines Calm under pressure - ability to work through obstacles and crisis effectively and calmly COMPUTER SKILLS: Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel and Project. Must be proficient in use of Excel. Familiar with MRP systems. LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak clearly and effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization. MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume. Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus. REASONING ABILITY: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. Ability to think proactively and anticipate questions or requirements. WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.