Operation Planner

The Hershey Company; Pekan Nanas; On-site; MYR 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global food company in Malaysia is seeking a Supply & Operations Planner to develop and implement production plans and inventory strategies. This role requires strong analytical skills, effective communication, and a minimum of 5 years of experience in supply chain management. The Supply & Operations Planner will coordinate product supply and manage inventories to achieve company goals and facilitate customer service. This individual will work closely with various departments to optimize operations and address challenges.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in supply chain focusing on production planning and materials management.
• Fluent in English (oral and written).
• Strong PC skills and understanding of statistics.

Responsibilities

• Develop and communicate detailed production schedules.
• Manage finished goods inventories for assigned items.
• Coordinate product supply to ensure sufficient availability.

Skills

Production planning

Inventory management

Strong communication skills

Analytical skills

Teamwork

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering or Business

APICS, CPIM certification preferred

Tools

SAP

MS Office (particularly Excel)

Job description

Summary

The primary purpose of a Supply & Operation Planner is to develop and implement a production plan and inventory management strategy to support customer service goals and achieve the company’s financial goals. The Supply & Operations Planner is responsible for effectively matching the Company’s demand with the plant’s diverse production lines, in order to optimize customer service, plant productivity, and inventory turns. This position requires the expertise of maintaining a balance between plant optimization and customer service. The Operations Planner is an effective communicator and negotiator who positively influences the day‑to‑day resource scheduling decisions that ultimately impact customer service and company profitability. This position works closely with the Plant’s Manufacturing Manager, Maintenance, Q.A, Engineering, Employee Relations and serves as the plant’s liaison with Material Control. This position is considered to be an Individual Contributor role, but teamwork, effective communication, and the ability to work accurately under tight time constraints and critical components of success are essential.

Major Duties/Responsibilities

• Detailed Scheduling – Develop and communicate detailed production schedules for assigned operations to support higher‑level master production schedules. Provide input and analysis to assist in optimizing long‑term planning strategy of operations.
• Master Scheduling – Schedule finished goods production for each assigned product group. This schedule is developed using Manugistics Supply recommendations based upon scheduling parameters and system settings the supply planner has developed and maintains in the system to support sales goals, inventory financial targets, as well as minimizing the age of product when shipped to a customer. Communication, coordination, and negotiation required for successful execution of these schedules occur as appropriate.
• Product Supply Coordination – Coordinate activity that impacts Hershey Foods, ensuring a constant and sufficient product supply. Analyze and evaluate current manufacturing facilities to determine required additional manufacturing capacity to support sales demand. Maintain and effectively use the PLM process to review items for executional feasibility and risks, communicating potential issues to internal customers in a timely fashion. Incorporate feasibility status projects into plans and schedules. This role also serves as project champion for all assigned intermediate (halb) items. Minimize loss due to affected and unsellable product by maintaining sufficient but not excessive inventory for assigned items. When product supply is inadequate, shortages are managed through availability checks and replenishment lead‑times. These situations are communicated with Customer Service, Sales, Marketing, and other internal customers.
• Inventory Management – Manage and control finished goods inventories for assigned items. Manage item versions to support the marketing program and/or an even flow‑through basis across all stock‑keeping locations. Investigate sudden changes in available inventory in a timely manner to determine the cause and take appropriate actions. Identify items to support surge strategy and communicate build plans with all involved parties using appropriate system settings. Monitor items in surge to ensure efficient flow for product both physically and in the system. Inventory availability and supportability issues are communicated to all appropriate areas. Accommodate seasonal builds appropriately through the use of system settings and undo settings when the season is over. Effectively use the Manu DRP and deployment tools and their settings to efficiently deploy product throughout the network to meet customer service.
• Miscellaneous Planning Duties – Perform other duties necessary for successful product supply planning. Manipulate production plans and finished goods schedules to achieve operational.
• Miscellaneous Tasks – Participate in department and company initiatives requiring the expertise of a supply planner. Activities could include but are not limited to consensus seasonal teams.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering or Business, preferably emphasizing Logistics or Supply Chain Management or equivalent. APICS, CPIM certification preferred.
• Minimum 5 years in supply chain area with particular focus on production planning/scheduling and materials management disciplines.
• Basic working knowledge of Supply Chain Management Principles.
• Extensive understanding of production planning and inventory management theory, obtained through a college degree in this area or through training.
• Basic demand creation and understanding of forecasting and statistics, financial and operational impacts.
• Strong PC skills, including the use of MS Office products (particularly Excel), as well as proficiency in using SAP or a similar ERP package.
• Strong mathematical skills.
• Fluent in English (oral and written).
• Strong teamwork skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to interface with all levels in various departments.
• Strong problem‑solving, analytical, and communications (verbal‑written) skills.
• Self‑motivated and able to prioritize multiple demands and manage volatile/changing conditions.