Production And Inventory Specialist

Production And Inventory Control Specialist

The Production and Inventory Control Specialist manages inbound material receiving and inspection, ERP/MRP transactions, production planning and scheduling, shop order processing, and inventory control. This role ensures that materials are available when needed, production records remain accurate, and manufacturing orders move through the operation according to schedule in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the receipt of raw materials, components, purchased parts, subcontracted work, and other incoming materials to support ongoing production needs.
• Verify incoming shipments against purchase orders, packing slips, receiving documents, and applicable specifications to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Inspect incoming materials for correct quantity, identification, condition, and required documentation, and record inspection results accurately.
• Identify and document damaged, short, over, incorrect, or nonconforming materials, and maintain detailed discrepancy and inspection records.
• Process receiving transactions in the ERP/MRP system and route properly labeled materials to inventory, inspection, or production locations.
• Ensure materials are not released to production until all required inspection steps and documentation requirements are satisfied.
• Maintain accurate planning, inventory, purchasing, receiving, and production transactions within the ERP/MRP system.
• Enter and maintain production orders, shop orders, receipts, transfers, material issues, returns, completions, and inventory adjustments in the system.
• Monitor system-generated material requirements, exception messages, and MRP recommendations, and take appropriate action to resolve issues.
• Correct data-entry errors and transaction inconsistencies while preserving data integrity for part numbers, quantities, locations, lead times, and planning parameters.
• Generate reports related to inventory status, production status, shortages, past-due orders, and receiving activity to support decision-making.
• Develop and maintain production schedules based on customer requirements, project priorities, material availability, labor and equipment capacity, and established lead times.
• Translate customer orders, project requirements, and demand forecasts into clear, actionable production schedules.
• Monitor production progress, lead times, backlog, past-due orders, and upcoming requirements to keep operations on track.
• Identify schedule conflicts, capacity constraints, and material shortages before they impact delivery performance, and propose corrective actions.
• Adjust production schedules as priorities, customer requirements, material availability, or shop-floor conditions change.
• Maintain accurate planning information and production priorities in the ERP/MRP system to align shop-floor activity with business needs.
• Create manufacturing shop orders from approved customer orders, bills of material, routings, engineering requirements, and production schedules.
• Verify that required drawings, specifications, bills of material, routings, work instructions, and production documentation are released before issuing shop orders.
• Confirm accurate part numbers, quantities, operations, due dates, material requirements, and labor requirements for each shop order.
• Allocate materials and release shop orders according to schedule, then monitor order status through completion and closure.
• Process shop-floor transactions including material issues, labor entries, operation completions, returns, scrap, and other required updates.
• Ensure completed shop orders are closed accurately and reflected correctly in the ERP/MRP system.
• Maintain accurate inventory records for raw materials, purchased components, work-in-process, and finished goods.
• Monitor inventory levels to identify shortages, excess inventory, obsolete materials, and potential stockouts, and recommend corrective actions.
• Perform cycle counts and support physical inventory activities and audits to verify inventory accuracy.
• Investigate inventory discrepancies and process approved inventory adjustments in a timely and controlled manner.
• Maintain proper inventory locations, part identification, labeling, and traceability for serialized or lot-controlled materials.
• Ensure materials are accurately issued, returned, transferred, and consumed, and maintain assigned minimum/maximum levels and reorder points.
• Collaborate with production, purchasing, engineering, and quality teams to resolve material, scheduling, and inventory-related issues.
• Use Microsoft Excel and other reporting tools to analyze data, identify trends, and support continuous improvement in production and inventory control.

Essential Skills

• Associate degree, technical degree, or an equivalent combination of education and manufacturing experience preferred.
• At least 3 years of experience in production control, inventory control, materials management, manufacturing planning, or a closely related field.
• Experience working in a manufacturing environment with an ERP/MRP system.
• Working knowledge of inventory control, material flow, production planning, and scheduling principles.
• Ability to read and interpret bills of material, engineering drawings, routings, and work instructions.
• Strong organizational skills with a high level of attention to detail and accuracy.
• Analytical problem-solving skills to identify issues in schedules, inventory, and transactions and implement effective solutions.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills to collaborate with cross-functional teams and document transactions and discrepancies.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, for data entry, reporting, and analysis.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt to changing production requirements.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in a capital equipment, engineered-to-order, project-based, or contract manufacturing environment.
• Experience working with complex multi-level bills of material and managing serialized or lot-controlled inventory.
• Hands-on experience with MRP planning and demand management processes.
• Experience coordinating subcontracted or outside-processing work, including tracking and documentation.
• Experience using advanced Microsoft Excel functions, including pivot tables, reporting tools, and data analysis techniques.
• APICS/ASCM certification or a related materials-management certification.
• Familiarity with shipping and receiving processes and documentation.
• Experience in ERP/MRP configuration or continuous improvement of planning and inventory workflows is a plus.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Chaska, MN.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $28.00 - $36.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Chaska, MN.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 10, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

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