fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers.
With over $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife’s portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™, a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation.
To learn more about fairlife and its complete line of products, please visit fairlife.com.
job purpose:
The Materials Planner is a member of the Coopersville Supply Planning team and is responsible for ensuring materials are available to support the site production schedule. The role develops and maintains short- and mid-range material plans by translating production requirements, inventory positions, supplier lead times, and usage trends into clear replenishment actions. This position partners closely with Production Planning, Operations, Procurement, Logistics, Quality, Warehouse, and suppliers to protect customer service, minimize production disruption, and maintain healthy inventory levels. The Materials Planner drives value through accurate planning, disciplined execution, proactive risk communication, and continuous improvement of material planning processes and data.
responsibilities:
- Own material requirements planning and replenishment for assigned raw materials, ingredients, and packaging components supporting the Coopersville production schedule.
- Convert production plans, bills of material, inventory balances, supplier lead times, and safety-stock targets into timely purchase or replenishment requirements.
- Monitor material availability daily, identify shortages or excess exposure, and communicate risks early with recommended actions and clear escalation paths.
- Partner with Procurement and suppliers to confirm supply, resolve shortages, manage lead-time constraints, and support recovery plans when supply is at risk.
- Collaborate with Production Planning and Operations to align material availability with schedule changes, line priorities, trials, and startup needs.
- Maintain accurate planning parameters and master data, including lead times, order quantities, safety stocks, planning calendars, and other material settings.
- Monitor purchase orders, inbound deliveries, inventory transactions, and consumption to identify exceptions and support timely resolution with Procurement, Logistics, Warehouse, and suppliers.
- Develop and execute material run-out, phase-in, and phase-out plans for formula, packaging, supplier, or finished-good bill-of-material changes.
- Proactively manage slow-moving, obsolete, expired, or at-risk inventory and facilitate cross-functional action to reduce write-offs and storage constraints.
- Create and maintain Excel-based planning tools, reports, and analytics that improve visibility to coverage, shortages, inventory health, and supplier performance.
- Provide planning coverage for other materials or supply planning responsibilities as needed and maintain clear standard work for assigned processes.
- Demonstrate sound judgment, attention to detail, urgency, and proactive communication in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
- Identify and lead continuous improvement opportunities that strengthen planning accuracy, data quality, supplier communication, and cross-functional execution. Brings a curiosity for the details along with a determination to pursue continuous improvement opportunities in alignment to the company’s growth objectives.
skills/qualifications required:
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Analytics, or a related field, or four years of relevant experience.
- Three to five years of professional experience in Supply Chain, manufacturing, procurement, inventory control, or a related function.
- Materials planning, MRP, inventory planning, or production-support planning experience preferred.
- Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including the ability to organize, analyze, reconcile, and communicate planning data. Experience with pivot tables, lookups, formulas, data validation, and large data sets strongly preferred.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills with close attention to detail and data accuracy.
- Ability to organize competing priorities, manage exceptions, and follow issues through to resolution.
- Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with the ability to work effectively across Operations, Procurement, Logistics, Quality, Warehouse, Planning, and external suppliers.
- Ability to handle ambiguity, adapt to changing production requirements, and work effectively in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.
- Experience with ERP or MRP systems preferred.
- Experience creating data visualization tools in Power BI preferred but not required.
- High level of integrity, ownership, transparency, and accountability.
food safety Requirements:
- Notify supervision of any repairs or adjustments that are required that may affect product quality or food safety.
- Understand, observe, and comply with the handling and usage of the color-coded container policy while in the Production Areas.
- Perform all duties necessary to meet Company, Customer and/or Government requirements/standards as prioritized by the Company.
- Ability to initiate action to prevent the occurrence of nonconformities relating to Food Safety and the Quality of the product, processes, quality system, or safety system.
- Identify and record any problems relating to Food Safety and the Quality of the ingredients, processes, quality system, or safety system.
- Control further processing or delivery of nonconforming product in terms of Food Safety and Quality issues until the deficiency or unsatisfactory condition has been corrected.
- In the event of absence, another employee with the same skill level will assume the duties and responsibilities as required.
how fairlife nourishes you:
At fairlife, we believe in better - and that includes how we support our people. We offer a comprehensive suite of benefits and wellbeing resources designed to support you physically, emotionally, socially, and financially, both in and out of work.
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, effective day one!
- Supplemental health plans (hospital indemnity, accident, and critical illness insurance)
- Paid Time Off to recharge and support work-life balance
- Paid parental leave & adoption assistance (up to $10,000)
- Parental support & family care benefits, including childcare resources and lactation support
- 401(k) to support retirement planning with up to 9% in employer match
- Wellness reimbursement (up to $500 for qualified wellbeing expenses)
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for emotional wellbeing and work-life support
- Company-paid life insurance and short-term disability
- Employer HSA funding (for HDHP participants)
- Tuition reimbursement (up to $10,000) and student loan repayment ($200/month)
- Learning & development programs to unlock your full potential
- Rewards & recognition, matching gifts, free product, and Business Resource Groups
fairlife’s nour!sh program is designed to meet you where you are - supporting your individual wellbeing journey while enabling you to do your best work every day.
position location: Coopersville, MI
reports to: Sr. Supply Planning Manager – East Region
travel requirements: Less than 10%
exempt/nonexempt: Exempt *Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.
Base pay range:
$60,000 - $80,000 USD
fairlife, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. All qualified applicants and employees will be given equal opportunity. Selection decisions are based on job-related factors.
In addition to its nondiscrimination commitment, the Company will also provide reasonable accommodation of qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the Company. If you have a disability and would like to request accommodation in order to apply for a position with us, please email careers@fairlife.com.
For Recruitment Agencies
At fairlife, we manage the majority of our hiring internally through our dedicated Talent Acquisition team, which is actively engaged in direct candidate sourcing. Most of our roles are filled through applications submitted via our careers site or through direct outreach by our team.
As our recruitment is primarily handled in-house, we work only occasionally with external agencies, and only those on our existing, pre-approved vendor list. At this time, we are not reviewing or expanding that list.
Unsolicited resumes or submissions from external agencies not authorized by our Talent Acquisition team will be considered direct candidate applications. As such, fairlife will not assume responsibility for any placement fees associated with these submissions.