Strategic Procurement & Production Planner

Penn. Food Corporation and Morski Brands; Portage (WI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Penn. Food Corporation and Morski Brands in Portage, Wisconsin, is seeking a Procurement & Planning Manager to lead purchasing, production planning, and inventory control in a regulated food manufacturing environment.

You will ensure timely material availability, collaborate cross-functionally, and drive cost savings while maintaining quality and food safety standards. You should have 5+ years in procurement/planning in manufacturing, strong ERP/MRP experience, supplier management, and the

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, Logistics, Food Science, or related field preferred.
• Five or more years of progressive procurement, production planning, materials management, inventory control, supply chain, or related experience in manufacturing.
• Food manufacturing experience strongly preferred; experience in FDA- and/or USDA-regulated environments is a plus.
• Demonstrated understanding of material requirements planning, production scheduling, supplier management, inventory control, purchasing practices, and manufacturing operations.
• Working knowledge of GMPs, HACCP, FSMA, allergen management, traceability, FIFO/FEFO, sanitation requirements, and food manufacturing quality systems preferred.
• Experience using ERP, MRP, WMS, demand planning, production scheduling, purchasing, inventory reporting, and Microsoft Office tools.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, communication, organizational, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
• Ability to work effectively across Operations, Quality, Warehouse, R&D, Finance, Customer Service, Sales, and leadership teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead purchasing for raw materials, ingredients, packaging, commodities, services, and other production-related supplies.
• Develop and maintain supplier relationships that support quality, service, cost, innovation, supply continuity, and risk mitigation.
• Negotiate pricing, lead times, service expectations, supplier agreements, and cost‑saving opportunities in alignment with business needs.
• Partner with Quality Assurance, Regulatory, R&D, and Operations to ensure suppliers, materials, specifications, documentation, certificates of analysis, and alternate sources meet food safety, customer, and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor supplier performance related to quality, delivery, responsiveness, documentation accuracy, and cost competitiveness; lead corrective actions when performance gaps occur.
• Identify and communicate supply risks, shortages, long lead‑time materials, cost increases, and alternate sourcing opportunities to leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate production plans and schedules that align with customer orders, demand forecasts, material availability, labor capacity, equipment constraints, sanitation requirements, allergen controls, and shelf‑life considerations.
• Coordinate daily and weekly planning activities with Production, Warehouse, Quality, Maintenance, Customer Service, Sales, and leadership teams.
• Use ERP/MRP tools, inventory reports, sales forecasts, and production data to determine material requirements, production priorities, and schedule feasibility.
• Monitor schedule attainment, service levels, material shortages, production changes, and customer demand shifts; develop recovery plans when needed.
• Support new product launches, product transitions, formulation changes, packaging changes, customer onboarding, and commercialization activities by aligning material readiness and production timing.
• Maintain appropriate inventory levels for raw materials, ingredients, packaging, work‑in‑process, and finished goods while minimizing excess, obsolete, expired, or at‑risk inventory.
• Support FIFO/FEFO rotation, lot control, traceability, allergen segregation, temperature control where applicable, and accurate inventory practices.
• Partner with Warehouse and Inventory Control teams to strengthen cycle counting, inventory accuracy, transaction discipline, storage practices, and material flow.
• Analyze usage trends, yields, waste, spoilage, shelf‑life risk, demand variability, and supplier lead times to improve inventory planning and working capital performance.
• Ensure procurement and planning activities support compliance with GMPs, HACCP or food safety plans, FSMA requirements, allergen controls, sanitation standards, and customer audit expectations.
• Establish, monitor, and report key performance indicators such as supplier performance, purchase price variance, inventory turns, schedule attainment, material shortages, forecast accuracy, service levels, and working capital.
• Lead or support continuous improvement initiatives focused on cost savings, material flow, schedule reliability, inventory accuracy, waste reduction, and supply chain responsiveness.
• Build strong communication rhythms with plant leadership, operations teams, and commercial partners to ensure priorities, risks, and changes are clearly understood.
• Coach, train, and develop procurement, planning, inventory, or supply chain team members as assigned.
• Maintain accurate purchasing records, planning files, supplier documentation, inventory reports, and related compliance records.
• This position operates in both office and food manufacturing plant environments and requires regular interaction with production, warehouse, receiving, shipping, quality, procurement, and leadership teams.
• We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in our workplace. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.
• Morski Brands is a private‑label and co‑manufacturing partner built around one idea: make great food easier to bring to market. Based in Portage, Wisconsin, we bring decades of food manufacturing experience together with capabilities across frozen meals, bowls, pouching, IQF formats and co‑packing. Together with Pennsylvania Food Corporation (PFC), our shared manufacturing platform expands those capabilities across frozen bowls, handhelds, wraps and additional retail‑ready formats. Beyond production, our Wisconsin footprint includes 3PL cold‑storage and logistics support, while continued investments in automation, technology and AI are helping us build a smarter manufacturing platform for the future.

Skills

Procurement

Production planning

Inventory management

ERP/MRP systems

Supplier management

Cross-functional coordination

Negotiation

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management or related field

Tools

ERP/MRP software

WMS

Microsoft Office

Job description

Penn. Food Corporation and Morski Brands in Portage, Wisconsin, is seeking a Procurement & Planning Manager to lead purchasing, production planning, and inventory control in a regulated food manufacturing environment.

You will ensure timely material availability, collaborate cross-functionally, and drive cost savings while maintaining quality and food safety standards. You should have 5+ years in procurement/planning in manufacturing, strong ERP/MRP experience, supplier management, and the