Materials Planner

Aquent; Beaverton (OR); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent in Portland, OR is seeking an experienced Materials Planner to own material planning across a broad product portfolio. You will translate demand into material plans, manage forecasts, and partner with Sourcing, Manufacturing, and Analytics to reduce risks and improve supply chain responsiveness.

In this hybrid role, you will lead seasonal readiness, analyze performance data, and drive improvements across planning processes while balancing supply constraints with customer needs.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in supply planning, materials planning, or related supply chain function.
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Planning, Manufacturing, Logistics, or related field or equivalent experience.
• Strong understanding of materials requirements planning (MRP), demand translation, production planning, capacity management, and supply chain metrics.
• Experience managing material forecasts and assessing forecast accuracy, completeness, and risk.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage material forecasts by integrating demand and cross-functional inputs into actionable supply requirements.
• Translate finished-goods demand into material supply plans across long-, mid-, and short-range horizons.
• Monitor plan health, identify forecast gaps and drivers, and mitigate supply and delivery risks.
• Evaluate forecast completeness, accuracy, and fidelity while maintaining accountability to key planning metrics.
• Prioritize materials using segmentation, service levels, risk, and feasibility.
• Establish and improve material lead-times, commitments, and supply strategies.

Skills

MRP

Forecasting

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Data analysis

Planning systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain

Tools

SAP ERP

MRP software

Excel

Job description

Materials Planner

Location: Portland, OR (PHK)

Contract: 12 months

Schedule: Hybrid

Experience: 5+ years

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Materials Planner to support materials planning across a large, complex portfolio of products. This role will own a defined sport and material classification, ensuring the material plan is healthy, accurate, actionable, and aligned to finished-goods demand.

The Materials Planner will serve as a key connector across Planning, Product Supply Chain, Sourcing, Manufacturing, Material Development, and other cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate combines strong materials planning expertise with analytical thinking, sound judgment, and the ability to influence stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.

What You'll Do

• Develop and manage material forecasts by integrating demand and cross-functional inputs into actionable supply requirements.
• Translate finished-goods demand into material supply plans across long-, mid-, and short-range planning horizons.
• Monitor plan health, identify forecast gaps and drivers, and proactively mitigate supply and delivery risks.
• Evaluate forecast completeness, accuracy, and fidelity while maintaining accountability to key planning metrics.
• Prioritize materials and actions using segmentation, service levels, risk, strategic importance, and operational feasibility.
• Establish and improve material lead-time, commitment, staging, and supply strategies to increase flexibility and reduce risk.
• Partner with Sourcing, Supplier Management, Manufacturing, and Material Development teams to identify sourcing, capacity, and material alternatives.
• Lead seasonal readiness across assigned product and material categories.
• Identify risks and opportunities and coordinate cross-functional actions to resolve issues.
• Represent Materials Planning in cross-functional meetings, strategic initiatives, and stakeholder engagements.
• Lead strategic projects and process improvements that strengthen planning capabilities and supply chain responsiveness.
• Analyze performance metrics and business data to develop insights and drive continuous improvement.
• Partner with Technology and Analytics teams to improve planning capabilities, data transparency, and decision-making.
• Communicate complex planning issues clearly and influence stakeholders toward actionable solutions.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of experience in supply planning, materials planning, manufacturing planning, or a closely related supply chain function.
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Planning, Manufacturing, Logistics, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong understanding of materials requirements planning (MRP), demand translation, production planning, capacity management, and supply chain metrics.
• Experience managing material forecasts and assessing forecast accuracy, completeness, and risk.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and mitigate material availability, capacity, sourcing, lead-time, and delivery risks.
• Understanding of manufacturing processes and the ability to evaluate capacity, sourcing, or lead-time strategies.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data and business context to make informed recommendations.
• Proven stakeholder management and cross-functional communication skills.
• Ability to influence partners without direct authority and build alignment across diverse teams.
• Strong project or initiative leadership experience, including the ability to drive change and continuous improvement.
• Ability to prioritize effectively, navigate ambiguity, and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong presentation skills, both verbal and visual.
• Experience working with diverse, cross-functional, and potentially global teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in footwear, apparel, accessories, sporting goods, retail, or consumer products.
• Experience supporting products with a large number of SKUs and complex material requirements.
• Experience with seasonal planning and readiness processes.
• Experience working directly with suppliers, manufacturing partners, sourcing, or material development teams.
• Experience with material segmentation, critical-material tracking, or similar supply chain risk-management processes.
• Experience leading cross-functional transformation, process improvement, or change initiatives.
• Familiarity with modern supply chain planning, forecasting, ERP, MRP, or analytics platforms.
• Experience working with global or virtual teams.
• Passion for sport, consumer products, or innovative product creation.

What Makes You Successful

You are a strategic yet detail-oriented planner who can move between high-level supply chain strategy and day-to-day material risks. You use data to understand what is happening, business context to understand why it matters, and strong stakeholder relationships to determine what needs to happen next.

You are comfortable challenging the status quo, working through ambiguity, and driving change. Most importantly, you can turn complex material and supply challenges into clear priorities and actionable plans that help teams deliver products on time.

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