Senior Production Planner

Foster Farms; Livingston (CA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

Foster Farms in Livingston, California seeking a Production Scheduler to create weekly production plans and daily schedules for over a dozen operations, ensuring high order fill rates. The role requires analyzing orders vs estimates, coordinating with marketing for same-week adjustments, and guiding plant supervision to optimize throughput and minimize downtime.

Responsibilities include maintaining a 12-week volume plan, communicating issues with CSR/Sales, and ensuring schedules stay within

Qualifications

• B.S. degree in business, statistics, or related field preferred.
• Scheduling experience in a production environment preferred.
• Excellent communication and organization/planning skills; ability to influence without authority.
• Three-five years production planning, order fulfillment, or related experience preferred.
• Strong computer skills (MS Office, SAP, BW).
• Strong customer service values.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to influence without authority.

Responsibilities

• Manage weekly production plan to maximize plant and operation use while filling customer orders; adjust plans as actual orders differ from estimates.
• Coordinate with marketing/commodity sales to make same-week adjustments in sales to manage incoming meat.
• Direct plant supervision on responses to changes in orders and downtime; instruct weigh/price rooms on order priority and manage finished goods inventory.
• Create daily production schedules for the assigned processing plant without exceeding capacities and minimizing changeovers/overtime.
• Maintain 12-week processing volume planner and adjust volumes to match demand and avoid overtime.
• Communicate supply/production issues with CSR/Sales to keep customers informed of shortages and allocate orders accordingly.
• Evaluate actual orders vs estimates to identify trends affecting longer-term planning.

Skills

Communication

Organization

Planning

Influence without authority

SAP

BW

MS Office

Education

B.S. Degree in business, statistics, or related field

Tools

SAP

BW

MS Office

Job description

Salary is $75,150-$93,950 per year

Purpose of Position

This position is responsible for creating weekly production plans and daily production schedules that will achieve a 99.5% or better order fill rate. Individuals in this position must analyze actual customer orders vs. estimates and ad pulls to manage capacities of more than 13 different operations. They have to direct and influence plant supervision on a daily basis without direct control in order to effectively execute their plans.

Essential Job Functions

• Manage weekly production plan to maximize the use of each plant and operation while effectively filling customer orders. Differences in actual orders versus the estimates will change the overall product availability and plans will have to be adjusted daily.
• Work with marketing and/or commodity sales to make same week adjustments in sales to better manage the incoming meat. Plan for the cooked plant requirements, make sure enough product is available in order for cooked plants to operate efficiently.
• Direct plant supervision on how to respond to changes in customer orders and unplanned equipment downtime. Instruct plant weigh and price rooms on customer order priority and manage finished goods inventory to reduce rework/loss due to shelf life. This requires constant communication with plant and NCDC supervision to understand what is in inventory, what is being returned and what is still required to fill the order so adjustments can be made.
• Create daily production schedules for the assigned processing plant using the information from the weekly production plan. Ensure that schedule does not exceed capacities while minimizing frequency of changeovers and need for overtime.
• Maintain 12-week processing volume planner for the assigned plant. Adjust weekly/daily processing volumes to match current demand, achieve target bird weights, and minimize the need for scheduled overtime. Requires close communication with Live Scheduling to ensure all changes are accounted for and adjustments are made in the field.
• Communicate supply/production related issues with CSR's/Sales to make sure customers are aware of any shortages or other potential issues. Instruct CSRs on order allocation to ensure we maintain control of any supply shortages.
• Evaluate actual customer orders vs. estimates to identify to trends that may require adjustments to longer term planning.

Requirements

• B.S. Degree in business, statistics, or related field preferred
• Previous scheduling experience in a production environment preferred
• Excellent communication, organization/planning skills, ability to influence without authority
• Three-five years production planning, order fulfillment, or related experience preferred
• Ability to solve multifaceted problems in a detailed and decisive manner
• Strong Computer Skills (MS Office, SAP, BW)
• Strong Customer Service values
• Ability to work with minimal supervision
• Ability to influence without authority

Foster Farms ACTION Guiding Principles

• Accountability: Deliver on commitments.
• Collaboration: Achieve more by working as a team.
• Truth-Seeking: Be open-minded and act with humility.
• Initiative: Be proactive and lead with a growth mindset.
• Ownership: Take responsibility for results.
• Nimble: Operate with speed and agility.

Why Join Foster Farms?

This is a high-impact opportunity to shape the future of the ready-to-eat business at a leading food company, directly supporting our mission, vision, and values. You will play a critical role in delivering safe, high-quality food and great moments for millions of families.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.