PRODUCTION SCHEDULER I

Production Scheduler

The Production Scheduler plays a vital role in supporting manufacturing efficiency and ensuring raw materials and finished goods are available on time, making the team's contribution essential to our success.

The role is accountable for production planning, demand forecasting, inventory management, capacity planning, materials requirements planning (MRP), and schedule execution. The Production Scheduler drives continuous improvement efforts that improve service levels, reduce waste, enhance inventory accuracy, and increase plant profitability while maintaining compliance with all food safety, quality, and regulatory standards.

Key Areas of Accountability

• Production Scheduling
• Demand Planning & Forecasting
• Capacity Planning
• Raw Material Requirements Planning
• Inventory Optimization
• KPI Reporting & Analysis
• MRP System Management
• Food Safety & Quality Compliance
• Continuous Improvement
• Cross-Functional Communication
• Waste Reduction & Yield Management
• Customer Service Support

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Production Planning & Scheduling

• Explain how developing and maintaining production schedules directly supports operational objectives, reinforcing the importance of this duty.
• Coordinate production requirements with Operations, Maintenance, Quality Assurance, Procurement, Warehousing, and Logistics teams to foster teamwork and shared success.
• Review sales forecasts, customer orders, inventory positions, and production capacities to develop achievable manufacturing schedules.
• Identify potential production bottlenecks, labor constraints, equipment limitations, and capacity issues.
• Recommend schedule adjustments to optimize throughput, labor utilization, equipment efficiency, and customer service performance.
• Monitor schedule attainment and communicate deviations, risks, and recovery plans to plant leadership.
• Ensure accurate communication of production schedules to operational teams in advance of shift startup activities.
• Balance production priorities while minimizing downtime, changeovers, inventory exposure, and product aging.

Demand Planning & Forecasting

• Collaborate with Sales, Customer Service, Supply Chain, and Operations teams to develop accurate demand forecasts.
• Analyze historical trends, promotional activity, seasonal variability, and customer demand patterns.
• Translate forecasted demand into production and inventory requirements.
• Support the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process through data analysis and production planning recommendations.
• Proactively identify supply or production risks that may negatively affect customer service levels.

Materials Management & Inventory Control

• Ensure sufficient raw materials, packaging materials, ingredients, and finished goods inventory are available to support production schedules.
• Monitor inventory levels and adjust replenishment requirements based on customer demand and production needs.
• Analyze inventory trends and identify opportunities to optimize inventory investment.
• Coordinate with Procurement to ensure timely acquisition of required materials.
• Investigate and resolve material shortages, stock discrepancies, and supplier delays.
• Support inventory accuracy through cycle counts, reconciliation activities, and process improvements.
• Maintain proper inventory rotation and FIFO compliance.

Capacity Planning

• Evaluate production capacity requirements based on demand forecasts and operational constraints.
• Analyze staffing levels, equipment availability, processing capabilities, and shift capacity.
• Develop recommendations to optimize operational throughput and resource allocation.
• Communicate capacity concerns and scheduling conflicts to leadership proactively.
• Support strategic planning initiatives involving line expansion, production growth, and capital improvement projects.

KPI Management & Reporting

• Develop and maintain key performance indicator reporting systems and dashboards.
• Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly operational reports for management review.
• Monitor and report:
• Scheduling KPIs
• Schedule Attainment
• Production Plan Compliance
• Capacity Utilization
• Customer Order Fill Rate
• Inventory KPIs
• Inventory Accuracy
• Inventory Turns
• Days on Hand
• Raw Material Availability
• Operational KPIs
• Production Efficiency
• Labor Productivity
• Yield Performance
• Waste and Shrink
• Downtime Impact
• Analyze KPI trends and recommend corrective actions.
• Present operational analysis and recommendations to plant leadership.

Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) Management

• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of ERP and MRP planning systems.
• Ensure Bills of Material (BOMs), work centers, routings, item masters, production yields, and planning parameters remain up to date.
• Monitor system-generated demand signals and purchasing requirements.
• Validate inventory transactions to ensure system accuracy.
• Lead efforts to improve planning system effectiveness and reporting capabilities.
• Support implementation and optimization of ERP/MRP enhancements.

Food Safety & Quality Compliance

• Ensure planning and scheduling activities comply with all company food safety and quality requirements.
• Support compliance with USDA, FDA, HACCP, SQF, GMP, and customer-specific standards where applicable.
• Coordinate with Quality Assurance regarding product holds, quality concerns, and production restrictions.
• Ensure traceability requirements are maintained through proper lot control and material tracking.
• Participate in internal audits, customer audits, regulatory inspections, and corrective action initiatives.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve scheduling processes, material utilization, inventory management, and production efficiency.
• Participate in root cause analysis investigations and corrective action implementation.
• Utilize Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Continuous Improvement methodologies to improve business performance.
• Lead or participate in projects focused on waste reduction, process standardization, and operational excellence.
• Support plant cost reduction initiatives through improved planning practices.

Waste Management & Yield Improvement

• Monitor raw material utilization and production yields.
• Analyze waste streams, yield losses, inventory shrinkage, and unknown variances.
• Provide reporting and recommendations to Operations leadership.
• Collaborate with Operations to identify opportunities for material recovery and process improvements.
• Support profitability improvements through effective inventory and yield management.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Develop effective working relationships across all departments.
• Maintain ongoing communication with Operations Managers, Shift Managers, Team Leaders, Procurement personnel, Customer Service, and Supply Chain partners.
• Facilitate planning meetings and communicate critical schedule changes.
• Promote accountability, teamwork, and collaboration throughout the organization.
• Support departmental and company objectives through professional leadership and example.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position does not typically have direct supervisory responsibility but may provide functional leadership, training, guidance, and coordination to cross-functional teams and operational stakeholders.

Education & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, Logistics, or related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Minimum three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in production scheduling, production planning, supply chain planning, or manufacturing operations.
• Experience in a food manufacturing or consumer packaged goods environment.
• Experience working with ERP and MRP systems.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Preferred

• Experience within protein processing, meat manufacturing, refrigerated foods, poultry, or further-processing operations.
• APICS/ASCM certifications (CPIM, CSCP) or equivalent professional certifications.
• Experience supporting