Inventory & Production Scheduling Planner

POSITION SUMMARY

The Inventory & Production Scheduling Planner coordinates raw materials, packaging, work-in-process, and finished-goods inventory with customer demand and plant capacity. This role develops practical production schedules, confirms material availability, maintains accurate system data, and communicates changes across Operations, Sales, Procurement, Quality, Warehousing, Shipping, and Farming. The planner helps the plant deliver the right product, in the right quantity, at the right time—while reducing shortages, excess inventory, changeovers, downtime, and product loss.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and maintain daily and weekly production schedules based on customer orders, demand priorities, available inventory, labor, equipment capacity, sanitation requirements, and shipping commitments.
• Translate sales demand and customer specifications into executable washline, packing, repack, and finished-goods plans.
• Monitor raw potato, packaging, work-in-process, and finished-goods inventory in FusionWare and supporting planning tools; investigate and correct discrepancies promptly.
• Confirm that required bags, cartons, labels, RPCs, pallets, ingredients, and other packaging materials are available before production is released.
• Coordinate with Procurement and suppliers on replenishment needs, lead times, shortages, substitutions, and at-risk materials.
• Partner with Operations and Maintenance to account for line rates, product yields, planned downtime, changeovers, staffing constraints, and equipment availability.
• Coordinate with Quality and Food Safety to ensure scheduled products meet specifications, hold/release requirements, traceability expectations, and shelf-life or lot-control requirements.
• Maintain accurate item, lot, location, allocation, and scheduling information; support cycle counts, physical inventories, inventory adjustments, and root-cause review.
• Prioritize FIFO/FEFO inventory use where appropriate, identify aging or distressed inventory, and recommend timely disposition or production actions.
• Communicate schedule updates, shortages, order risks, and recovery plans through daily planning meetings and clear written updates.
• Track actual production against plan, including throughput, yield/packout, schedule attainment, downtime, material usage, and completion status.
• Support continuous-improvement work focused on inventory accuracy, schedule stability, service levels, reduced waste, and improved planning processes.
• Create and maintain standard work, planning calendars, reports, and documentation needed for consistent execution and cross-training.
• Perform other related duties as assigned in support of plant and business priorities.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma or equivalent required; associate or bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, operations, logistics, or a related field preferred.
• Two or more years of experience in inventory control, production planning, scheduling, supply chain, warehousing, or manufacturing operations preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of inventory transactions, material requirements, production flow, and order fulfillment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and experience using an ERP, inventory, or production-management system; FusionWare experience is an asset.
• Ability to analyze data, balance competing priorities, identify risks, and make timely, practical recommendations.
• Strong organization, attention to detail, follow-through, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments and remain composed when schedules or priorities change.

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• Experience in fresh produce, food manufacturing, packing, agriculture, or another perishable-goods environment.
• Understanding of FIFO/FEFO, lot traceability, cycle counting, food-safety controls, customer specifications, and production-capacity planning.
• Experience building dashboards, reports, or scheduling tools and interpreting demand, yield, downtime, and inventory data.
• Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills are beneficial but not required.