MATERIAL PLANNER

Material Planner Overall Purpose of the Role: To ensure that the supply of materials meet the production schedule and minimum stock levels to ensure operational and production continuity. • As frequent as daily monitoring of key materials to support work orders • Work closely with Store/Buyers/Production/CS to plan purchase and delivery on time • Able to deliver efficient, effective and flexible solutions to meet production requirements • JIT and working with vendors who are willing to extend “safety/buffer” stocks solutions especially key materials • Minimize inventory holding cost and minimize obsolescence to ensure business is left with minimum liability • Maintains strong relationships both internally and externally to ensure supply of materials meets requirements • Close working with Sales/CS to obtain material forecast for an effective material planning strategy • Sturdy usage pattern and discuss with Buyers/Sales/Store/Vendors to plan material especially customers who do not provide forecast. Key Responsibilities: • Actively contribute to the development and support of material planning processes. Benchmark against best practice and review ways to make continuous improvements • Schedule and control the supply of materials/components to meet production requirements and minimum stock levels • Implement all processes to agreed standards (ISO, AVL, RBA) and targets (Purchasing KPIs, Inventory Turns, identifying areas of improvement) • Plan, develop, implement and evaluate processes for material delivery from supplier • Day-to-day order management and management of deliveries • Devise Daily, Weekly or Monthly shipping plans • Monitor and control inventory levels against agreed target levels • Assess volume requirements against planning assumptions • Efficient in reviewing inventory plans to meet real consumption pattern • Understand and manage risks to minimize impact on production schedule • Take follow up actions in relation to material shortages that affect production • Ensure Material Requirements Planning (MRP) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is accurate and up to date and resolve any issues as required • Proficient with current inventory and purchasing modules. Hands-on use & Crossed trained • Support stock take to validate inventory accuracy • Create regular statistical reports e.g., Material expenditures, Vendors ranking. Analyze and present data to internal and management teams (Usage and Inventory Transaction Reports) • Maintain and upkeep material related documents to ensure documents validity. Documents include Technical Data Sheet, Safety Data Sheet, compliance reports (including but not limited to RoHS, REACH, Halogen-free), External Laboratory reports etc. People Management • Lead and develop other staff in the purchasing function if required Relationship Management • Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to forecast, plan and facilitate on-time materials to the production line as and when required, avoiding disruption to production • Work with cross functional teams to deliver effective solutions • Create and issue forecasts to suppliers • Generate and communicate supplier material delivery schedules to ensure they reflect requirements and meet demands. Support PO issuing and work closely with buyers • Develop and maintain good relationships with suppliers and ensure demand for materials is met and deliveries made on time • Design, develop and implement processes and work with suppliers on continuous improvement initiatives • Support assessment and sourcing of suppliers in conjunction with members of the purchasing team (Supplier Audit, Annual Vendor Performance Evaluation) • Support supplier & customer meetings and negotiations to ensure demand for materials is met Skills and Attributes: • Good communicator with the ability to form and maintain good relationships internally and externally • Strong interpersonal, negotiation and influencing skills • Commercial and financial awareness, with a full understanding of the impact of failure with regards to business costs, production targets and fulfilment of customer orders • Results orientated and organized with the ability to plan and deliver against deadlines • Strong analytical, planning and problem-solving skills • Project management skills • Excellent attention to detail skills • Assertive and self-motivated and able to work under pressure Qualifications and Experience Levels: • Diploma/Degree in business, logistics, inventory management, or a related field preferred • Previous experience in material planning, inventory management, purchasing, or a related position • Knowledge of manufacturing processes and supply chain/logistic management • Understanding of supplier relationships and experience of working with suppliers • Ideally within label printing or manufacturing environment • Good understanding of a variety of manufacturing processes and components • Strong IT systems knowledge and skills including MS Excel skills • Knowledge and experience of using MRP (Material Requirements Planning) systems • Knowledge of lean techniques may be advantageous • Good Excel skills • Fresh graduate or with at least 5 years’ experience in a similar position