External Supply Chain Planner

pladis North America, Inc; Reading (Berks County); On-site; USD 65,000 - 98,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

401(k) Match

Education Assistance

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

EAP

Wellness reimbursement

Employee Discounts

Job summary

pladis is seeking an External Manufacturing Supply Planner to lead short- and long-term supply planning for external manufacturers across North America, supporting brands like Turtles, Flipz, and Godiva. You will manage supplier transactions, balance inventory with service, and drive improvements with cross-functional teams.

The role partners with Procurement, Quality Assurance, R&D, Finance, Logistics, and regional/global stakeholders, reporting to the Senior Supply Chain Planning Manager.

Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of experience in supply chain, contract manufacturing, direct procurement, production planning, or a related field.
• Experience with production planning, scheduling, purchasing, supplier management, inventory control, and shipping/receiving operations.
• Experience managing multiple complex projects and working across internal and external teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and analytics.

Responsibilities

• Own short- and long-term supply planning for externally manufactured product lines, translating forecasts into purchase requirements and purchase orders.
• Manage day-to-day supplier transactions and issue resolution, including PO expediting, delivery-date changes, material constraints, invoice support, quality issues, root-cause follow-up, and corrective actions.
• Monitor finished-goods and material inventory to balance high case-fill performance with working-capital objectives, target ship dates, and critical selling windows.
• Collaborate with external manufacturers and internal stakeholders to ensure supply and business agreements, product specifications, process parameters, and brand requirements are understood and followed.
• Support execution of external manufacturing strategies, supplier-management activities, and compliance with corporate commodity, logistics, inventory, quality, and food-safety requirements.

Skills

Supply planning

Procurement

Inventory management

ERP/MRP systems

Excel

Forecasting

Stakeholder management

Contract management

Negotiation

Education

Bachelor's degree in supply chain or related

Tools

D365

SAP

Microsoft Office

Job description

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you. As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don't compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits. To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivaled opportunities to learn and make an impact.

Purpose

At pladis, we take pride in the quality of our ingredients and the people we hire. We are looking for individuals who share our passion for bringing happiness to consumers and who embody our Winning Traits and Behaviors: purpose-led, agile, collaborative, resilient, and positive.

External Manufacturing Supply Planner – Role Overview

The External Manufacturing Supply Planner leads short- and long-term supply planning and operational execution for external manufacturers supplying pladis brands across the North American market, including Turtles, Flipz, and Godiva. The role helps ensure reliable product availability, strong customer service and case-fill performance, effective inventory and working-capital management, and disciplined execution across planning, purchasing, materials, and supplier operations. Reporting to the Senior Supply Chain Planning Manager, this role partners with external manufacturers and cross-functional teams including Procurement, Quality Assurance, Research & Development, Innovation, Technical, Finance, Logistics, and regional and global stakeholders. The position combines hand-on operational ownership with continuous improvement and advisory support for external manufacturing strategies, new products, supplier qualification, and cost-reduction opportunities.

Key Accountabilities and Deliverables

• Own short- and long-term supply planning for externally manufactured product lines, translating forecasts into purchase requirements and purchase orders that support customer service and business priorities.
• Manage day-to-day supplier transactions and issue resolution, including purchase-order expediting, delivery-date changes, material constraints, invoice support, quality issues, root-cause follow-up, and corrective actions.
• Monitor finished-goods and material inventory to balance high case-fill performance with working-capital objectives, target ship dates, and critical selling windows.
• Partner with external manufacturers and internal stakeholders to ensure supply and business agreements, product specifications, process parameters, and brand requirements are understood and followed.
• Support execution of external manufacturing strategies, supplier-management activities, and compliance with corporate commodity, logistics, inventory, quality, and food-safety requirements.
• Collaborate with Innovation, R&D, Technical, Procurement, Quality, and business teams on new supplier and product qualification, project deliverables, forecast requirements, and launch timelines.
• Participate in cross-functional project calls and operating reviews, providing timely status updates, risks, options, and recommended actions to management and key stakeholders.
• Analyze capacity, demand, inventory, and supplier performance; recommend actions to reconcile gaps and support service, cost, and operational objectives.
• Identify and support process improvements and cost-reduction opportunities across external manufacturing operations, including documentation and reporting of relevant savings and outcomes.
• Maintain accurate planning and supplier documentation, cross-train with team members, and provide flexible support as product and packaging priorities evolve.
• Escalate food-safety, quality, supply, or service concerns promptly to the appropriate supervisor or manager.

Skills and Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of experience in supply chain, contract manufacturing, direct procurement, production planning, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience with production planning, scheduling, purchasing, supplier management, inventory control, and shipping/receiving operations.
• Experience managing multiple complex projects and working across internal and external teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, a technical discipline, or a closely related field.
• Strong working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems such as D365 or SAP.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, with strong Excel capability.
• Strong analytical skills, business acumen, and understanding of forecasting and budgeting.
• Ability to analyze capacity, demand, inventory, service, and cost information and communicate clear recommendations.
• Knowledge of supplier agreements, contract management, compliance requirements, quality processes, and food-safety escalation expectations.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, stakeholder-management, and influencing skills.
• Strong organizational, prioritization, project-management, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, adapt to changing product and packaging needs, and maintain attention to detail.
• Ability to negotiate and support complex supplier contracts and agreements and to capture and report cost savings.
• Results-oriented and accountable, with a focus on service, quality, cost, and business impact.
• Collaborative and team-focused, with the ability to build trust across functions and with external partners.
• Sound judgment and timely decision-making based on business priorities, urgency, and risk.
• Plans effectively, sets priorities, monitors progress, and follows through on commitments.

Additional Job Details

Base starting salary ranges from $65,000 - $98,000 per year. The base pay offered is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and internal equity. This role is also eligible for an annual incentive opportunity, awarded based on individual and company performance.

Benefits include but are not limited to:

• Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental, and Vision Coverage
• Life and Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Supplemental Benefits, including Hospital Indemnity, Accident, and Critical Illness Coverage
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Education Assistance, including Tuition Reimbursement and Student Loan Repayment Programs
• Paid Time Off
• Generous Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Wellness reimbursement program
• Employee Product Discounts

pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.

About pladis

pladis is an ambitious global snacking company and home to much loved brands including McVitie's, GODIVA and Ulker. pladis also owns regional brands Jacob's, Go Ahead, Flipz, Turtles, BN, Verkade and many more products across sweet and savoury biscuits, wafer, cake and chocolate. Formed in 2016, pladis is the proud steward of over 300 years of family baking and confectionery experience. The expertise of our 15,000+ global workforce spans 26 bakeries and factories and is united by our purpose: to bring happiness with every bite. As a responsible business delivering the highest quality products and exceptional service, pladis' products have the potential to reach more than four billion people across the world.