Planning Manager

Planning Manager

Founded over 35 years ago, First Quality is a family-owned company that has grown from a small business in McElhattan, Pennsylvania into a group of companies, employing over 5,000 team members, while maintaining our family values and entrepreneurial spirit. With corporate offices in New York and Pennsylvania and 8 manufacturing campuses across the U.S. and Canada, the companies within the First Quality group produce high-quality personal care and household products for large retailers and healthcare organizations. Our personal care and household product portfolio includes baby diapers, wipes, feminine pads, paper towels, bath tissue, adult incontinence products, laundry detergents, fabric finishers, and dishwash solutions. In addition, we manufacture certain raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of these products, including flexible print and packaging solutions.

Guided by our values of humility, unity, and integrity, we leverage advanced technology and innovation to drive growth and create new opportunities. At First Quality, you'll find a collaborative environment focused on continuous learning, professional development, and our mission to Make Things Better®.

We are seeking a Planning Manager for our First Quality Home Care Products, LLC company located in Salt Lake City, UT. This position will be responsible for overseeing all plant-level materials planning, production scheduling, inventory control, and finished goods deployment. This role ensures alignment between production, supply chain, and distribution to meet operational targets, minimize waste, and maintain optimal inventory levels.

The position provides leadership to a team supporting planning and inventory functions and plays a key role in operational efficiency and cost control.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Lead plant material requirements planning (MRP) processes.
• Develop and manage production schedules to meet customer demand and capacity constraints.
• Validate minimum order quantities (MOQs) and validate production run rates
• Coordinate cross-functionally with operations, procurement, and distribution.
• Oversee inventory accuracy and control processes for raw materials and finished goods.
• Execute the product lifecycle management (PLM) plan to ensure on-time production for new item launches and reduce material obsolescence
• Oversee the material disposal process and approval
• Communicate daily planning kpi's, analyze trends, and implement plans to improve efficiencies
• Monitor and confirm production order variances.
• Manage material yield performance and waste reduction initiatives.
• Approve and oversee raw material disposal processes.
• Manage vendor defect returns and corrective actions.
• Lead and develop a team of salaried and hourly direct reports.
• Promote continuous improvement initiatives within materials and inventory functions.

The ideal candidate should possess the following:

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, Operations, Business, or related field preferred. Equivalent combination of education and relevant manufacturing experience will be considered in lieu of a degree.
• 5+ years of experience in manufacturing materials management, production control, or supply chain leadership.
• Sig Sigma certification
• APICS certification plus
• Strong understanding of SAP systems and other shipping platforms.
• Experience with inventory control, variance analysis, and waste reduction.
• Leadership experience managing cross-functional teams.
• Production planning and scheduling
• Inventory optimization
• Cost control and waste management
• Data analysis and SAP proficiency
• Leadership and team development
• Cross-functional collaboration

Work Environment:

• Primarily office
• Frequent interaction with contractors and cross-functional teams
• May require schedule flexibility based on project needs

What We Offer You

• Competitive base salary and bonus opportunities
• Paid time off (three-week minimum)
• Medical, dental and vision starting day one
• 401(k) with employer match
• Paid parental leave
• Child and family care assistance (dependent care FSA with employer match up to $2500)
• Bundle of joy benefit (year's worth of free diapers to all team members with a new baby)
• Tuition assistance
• Wellness program with savings of up to $4,000 per year on insurance premiums
• ...and more!

First Quality is committed to protecting information under the care of First Quality Enterprises commensurate with leading industry standards and applicable regulations. As such, First Quality provides at least annual training regarding data privacy and security to employees who, as a result of their role specifications, may come in to contact with sensitive data.

First Quality is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification, or protected Veteran status.