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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Internal Planner

💰 $55,000 - $95,000

Supply ChainPlanningManufacturingLogisticsOperations

🎯 Role Definition

The Internal Planner owns short- and mid-term production and material planning to meet customer demand while minimizing inventory, lead time and costs. This position drives the Master Production Schedule (MPS), executes Material Requirements Planning (MRP) actions, resolves supply exceptions, and partners daily with production supervisors, procurement and engineering to keep the factory flowing. The Internal Planner is central to S&OP execution, on-time-in-full (OTIF) performance, and continuous flow and efficiency improvements.

Primary SEO keywords: Internal Planner, production scheduling, inventory planning, MRP, ERP, capacity planning, supply chain planning, shop floor scheduling.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Material Planner / Materials Coordinator
  • Production Coordinator / Production Scheduler
  • Supply Chain Analyst / Operations Scheduler

Advancement To:

  • Senior Planner / Master Scheduler
  • Planning Team Lead or Planning Supervisor
  • Supply Chain Manager or Operations Manager
  • S&OP Manager / Demand Planning Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Procurement Specialist / Buyer
  • Quality or Continuous Improvement roles (Lean / CI Facilitator)
  • Logistics / Distribution Planner

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  1. Develop, maintain and execute the Master Production Schedule (MPS) and daily shop floor schedule to meet demand commitments, prioritize work, and maximize throughput while minimizing changeover time and unscheduled downtime.
  2. Run Material Requirements Planning (MRP) and ERP planning cycles (SAP, Oracle, Infor JD Edwards, or equivalent) and take ownership of MRP exception resolution including expedited PO releases, cancellation, rescheduling and demand smoothing.
  3. Translate sales orders, forecasts and S&OP outputs into detailed production orders and work center schedules; reconcile demand with available capacity and materials.
  4. Monitor on-time-in-full (OTIF), schedule attainment, backlog and inventory KPIs; identify root causes of misses and implement corrective actions with production and procurement.
  5. Create and maintain short-term and medium-term capacity plans; coordinate with production managers to level loads, sequence production, and plan tool/equipment availability and changeovers.
  6. Manage inventory targets (safety stock, reorder points, cycle stock) and drive inventory optimization programs to reduce excess and obsolescence while avoiding stockouts.
  7. Coordinate with procurement to ensure timely supplier deliveries, raise and follow up on purchase orders, and manage supplier lead-time variability and expedited shipping when required.
  8. Execute daily/weekly planning meetings and communication routines (plan board, priority lists, production hold lists) that align production, maintenance, quality and logistics teams.
  9. Maintain and update Bills of Material (BOM), routings, lead time assumptions and planning parameters in the ERP system to ensure accurate planning output.
  10. Expedite critical orders, manage order lifecycle from release through completion, and own escalation to leadership when supply or capacity risks threaten customer delivery.
  11. Collaborate with demand planners to refine forecasts and ensure transfer of consensus demand to production plans; participate in S&OP and pre-S&OP review sessions.
  12. Prepare and distribute production and material status reports, KPI dashboards, and exception reports using Excel, Power BI, or Tableau to support data-driven decisions.
  13. Work with engineering and new product introduction (NPI) teams to plan material and capacity requirements for product launches and phase-ins, including first-off runs and production ramp-up planning.
  14. Lead root-cause analysis for recurring planning issues (variance analysis, scrap, rework) and drive corrective actions through cross-functional teams.
  15. Verify order completion, update WIP and finished goods inventory records, and coordinate transfer/warehouse movements to support timely shipping.
  16. Schedule and manage subcontractor/outsourced operations where applicable, ensuring alignment with internal production schedules and quality requirements.
  17. Enforce production control processes and documentation, including order acknowledgments, schedule change logs, and traceability records for compliance and audit readiness.
  18. Apply Lean and continuous improvement methodologies to reduce lead times, reduce work-in-process, and improve flow through value-stream mapping and Kaizen events.
  19. Communicate schedule constraints, delivery risks and mitigation plans to sales, customer service and stakeholders to manage customer expectations and reduce emergencies.
  20. Maintain strong relationships with logistics and transportation teams to coordinate internal moves and outbound shipments to support on-time customer deliveries.
  21. Maintain contingency and fallback plans for critical components, alternate suppliers, and crisis scenarios to minimize supply chain disruptions.
  22. Participate in ERP upgrades, system testing, and process redesign efforts to improve planning efficiency and data integrity.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist continuous improvement teams with planning-related metrics and baseline data for Kaizen events.
  • Support production changeovers, tooling availability tracking, and preventive maintenance coordination when required.
  • Provide training and documentation for standard planning processes and ERP planning transactions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced experience with MRP/ERP systems (SAP PP/MM, Oracle Cloud, Infor, JD Edwards or similar) — setup, executing MRP runs, and resolving exceptions.
  • Master Production Scheduling (MPS) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) expertise.
  • Production scheduling and capacity planning across multiple work centers, including finite/infinite scheduling experience.
  • Strong inventory management skills: safety stock optimization, reorder point calculation, ABC/XYZ analysis, and cycle count support.
  • Forecast reconciliation and experience working within S&OP frameworks to translate demand into supply plans.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, complex formulas, macros) for planning and analysis.
  • Data analysis and KPI reporting skills; experience with Power BI, Tableau or equivalent visualization tools.
  • Familiarity with APS/Kinaxis/RapidResponse or other advanced planning systems is a plus.
  • Knowledge of supply chain math and statistical basics used in forecasting and inventory optimization.
  • Basic SQL or data-query skills to extract and manipulate planning data from ERP systems.
  • Experience managing BOMs, routings, lead-times, and supplier order management.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent cross-functional communication — able to convey planning impacts to production, procurement, sales and leadership.
  • Strong problem-solving and root-cause analysis ability with a bias for action and measurable outcomes.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to balance daily fires with medium-term planning responsibilities.
  • Attention to detail and discipline to maintain accurate planning parameters and documentation.
  • Stakeholder management and negotiation skills when prioritizing constrained supply across competing demands.
  • Collaborative mindset — works well in matrix organizations and leads planning meetings effectively.
  • Adaptability to changing demand patterns and production constraints in a fast-paced environment.
  • Continuous improvement orientation; comfortable leading or participating in Lean/CI initiatives.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Business Administration or related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree with APICS certifications (CPIM, CSCP), Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt) or equivalent supply chain certifications.
  • Additional coursework or certificates in Advanced Planning Systems, ERP configuration or data analytics.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Industrial or Manufacturing Engineering
  • Operations Management
  • Business Administration / Logistics
  • Data Analytics for Supply Chain

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of hands-on production planning, material planning, or scheduling experience in a manufacturing, assembly, or distribution environment.

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years of demonstrated experience with MRP/ERP systems, production scheduling, and S&OP processes; experience in high-mix, low-to-medium volume manufacturing or complex assemblies is highly desirable.

Keywords: Internal Planner, Production Planner, Inventory Planner, MRP, MPS, ERP, capacity planning, production scheduling, supply chain planning, S&OP, shop floor scheduling.

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