Material Planner

For more than 115 years, Ferrara has created sugar confections that enable moments of sweetness, celebration, and connection for candy lovers of all generations. Today, the company is the #1 sugar confectioner in the United States. Ferrara boasts a passionate team of nearly 9,000 employees creating and delivering hundreds of products sold under 20 popular brands like Brach’s, NERDS, SweeTARTS, Laffy Taffy, and Trolli to more than 66 million U.S. households annually and popular Dori snacking products under brands such as Dori, Gomets, Pettiz, and Yogurte 100 in Brazil. Additionally, Jelly Belly, known world-wide for its confections, was acquired in November of 2023. Material Planner Job Location: Chicago This role is based out of our corporate HQ located in downtown Chicago and will be a hybrid in-person/remote role. Want to make an impact? The Material Planner will play a critical role in ensuring that materials and components are available to meet production schedules while maintaining optimal inventory levels. This position requires strong analytical skills, the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, and a solid understanding of supply chain processes in the CPG industry. This position will collaborate between various vendors and internal manufacturing facilities to ensure we have all materials available to support production. Ways you will make a difference Material Planning & Forecasting: Develop and maintain accurate material forecasts and inventory plans to support production schedules. Work closely with demand planners, production, and suppliers to ensure the timely availability of materials. Inventory Management: Monitor and manage inventory levels of raw materials and components, ensuring alignment with production requirements while minimizing excess stock and obsolescence. Supplier Coordination: Communicate with suppliers to ensure on-time delivery of materials, resolve any supply chain disruptions, and manage lead times. Production Support: Collaborate with the production team to ensure materials are available to meet production timelines. Adjust material orders and quantities based on changes in production schedules or demand. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Act as the key liaison between procurement, production, logistics, and other departments to ensure smooth material flow and supply chain coordination. ERP System Management: Maintain and update material planning data within the ERP system, ensuring accurate and real-time information for all stakeholders. Support the reconciliation of invoices by collaborating with the Accounts Payable, Procurement and Warehousing Teams. Skills that will make you successful Comfortable in working with large data sets and complex Excel formulas. Able to translate data analysis into insights and action. Willing to collaborate with cross-functional teams. Clear written and verbal communication. Takes initiative to drive process improvement. Ability to think strategically, understanding the bigger picture of the supply chain and its impact on the overall business. Problem solving ability. Holds themself accountable to make the right decisions and deliver results. Able to manage time with multiple priorities. Basic project management skills to lead and contribute to supply chain improvement initiatives. Eager to learn and ask questions. Experiences that will support your success Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, STEM, or combination of education and experience. 2+ years of experience in supply chain, preferably in the CPG industry. SAP experience preferred. Experience with Business Intelligence tools (SAP BOBJ, etc.) preferred. Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel required. Proficiency with the rest of the Microsoft Office suite. Familiarity with data visualization tools (Tableau, PowerBI, etc.) preferred. What We Offer At Ferrara, we're proud to support our employees with comprehensive benefits that enhance health, financial wellness, and include paid time off (PTO). Eligible employees may also receive an annual bonus based on company performance. Compensation The salary range for this position is $68,625 to $96,075 annually. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees, employment decisions and opportunities at Ferrara will be based on merit, qualifications, and abilities, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital or civil union status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, military or veteran status, disability, handicap, genetic information, pregnancy (childbirth or related medical condition), or on any other basis prohibited by law. #J-18808-Ljbffr