Production Planner

Description

Job Title: Production Planner

Department: Production

Methods Machine Tools was established in 1958 with three employees and a handful of refurbished machines. Since then, the company has become one of the largest privately owned machine tool importers in North America.

Job Summary: The Production Planner is responsible for analyzing customer order intake and creating structured, resource-aligned production plans that drive efficient operations and support on-time delivery. Operating at the front end of the Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process, this role evaluates material availability, labor capacity, and production constraints across a multi-site environment. The planner creates executable plans in the ERP and ServiceNow system and hands them off to local site operations and materials teams for execution and real-time coordination. This position plays a key role in ensuring schedule predictability, inter-site alignment, and operational readiness.

Key Responsibilities:

• Analyze order intake and demand signals to generate structured, achievable production plans in support of business goals and customer delivery requirements.
• Coordinate production planning across multiple sites, taking into account site-specific capabilities, labor availability, and inventory levels.
• Convert approved orders into work orders or job travelers in the ERP system (Infor CSI), including validated BOMs, routings, and lead times.
• Collaborate with local Production Managers, Materials Teams, and Supply Chain to ensure plans are clear, executable, and aligned with site constraints.
• Participate in SIOP reviews, providing planning inputs such as backlog analysis, capacity alignment, and material readiness status by site.
• Monitor plan performance using standard KPIs (e.g., schedule adherence, planned vs. actual labor hours) and recommend improvements.
• Maintain ERP planning master data, including lead times, work center calendars, and resource availability, ensuring accuracy across all locations.
• Support process improvement and consistency by aligning planning methods across all facilities within the matrixed environment.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, and Procurement teams to ensure readiness of orders before plan release.

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Business, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 3+ years of experience in production planning in a manufacturing environment, preferably with multi-site or matrixed operations.
• Proficiency in ERP systems (Infor CSI preferred) including job creation, BOM/routing configuration, and production planning modules.
• Understanding of SIOP, production capacity planning, and order-to-ship workflows.
• Effective in cross-functional collaboration with Engineering, Sales, Procurement, and Plant Operations.
• Familiarity with lean manufacturing and standard work principles.
• Analytical and detail-oriented, with strong communication and organizational skills.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• None

Travel Requirements: 

Approximately 25%, including visits to other manufacturing sites to support alignment and planning validation.

Physical Requirements: 

• Prolonged periods of desk/computer work.
• Ability to walk manufacturing floors and assess operations.
• Occasional lifting of up to 25 lbs.
• Adherence to PPE and safety protocols required on shop floors.

Additional Information

This job description is designed to provide an overview of basic skills, experiences and education required to perform the job and is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. In instances where educational degrees are required, the company will take into consideration factors such as additional experience, training, or certifications in lieu of specific educational requirements.

Methods Machine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.