Production Planning Manager

Manager, Production Planning

Location: Clinton, TN Department: Supply Chain / Operations Reports To: Director of Supply Chain or Operations FLSA Status: Exempt

Why Techmer PM?

We are Techmer PM - the world's foremost materials design firm, creating custom polymers that make up essential products. Through our long-standing partnerships with processors, original equipment manufacturers, and product designers, we've worked for decades to tackle manufacturing and business challenges through sustainable, future-minded solutions.

Position Summary

Techmer PM is seeking an experienced Manager, Production Planning to lead the end-to-end production planning and scheduling function across a complex multi-asset, multi-site batch manufacturing environment. This role is responsible for translating customer demand into executable production plans that optimize on-time delivery, manufacturing capacity, batch size, production sequencing, changeovers, raw material availability, inventory levels, and overall plant efficiency.

The Manager, Production Planning will work closely with Production, Sales, Customer Service, Procurement, Quality, Process Engineering, Technology, and Supply Chain teams to balance customer requirements with manufacturing capabilities and operational constraints.

Success in this role requires the ability to continuously evaluate and make trade-offs between customer priorities, capacity constraints, material availability, equipment capability, product compatibility, changeover requirements, inventory levels, and manufacturing costs.

Key Responsibilities

Integrated Production Planning

• Develop and execute integrated production plans that translate customer demand into optimized batch-production schedules.
• Balance line capacity, production rates, batch sizes, labor availability, maintenance requirements, and raw material supply.
• Optimize production sequencing to reduce product and color changeovers, cleaning requirements, scrap, downtime, and other schedule-related losses.
• Drive improvements in schedule adherence and operational efficiency.

Scheduling Strategy & Prioritization

• Establish scheduling priorities and decision-making rules that balance customer service with manufacturing efficiency.
• Ensure planners build schedules that align with preferred production lines, manufacturing requirements, product restrictions, and operational capabilities.
• Continuously evaluate capacity utilization and opportunities to improve throughput.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Production Planners, Schedulers, and Scheduling Coordinators.
• Establish clear roles, expectations, and standard work processes.
• Develop team capabilities in planning, ERP utilization, analytical problem solving, prioritization, and manufacturing operations knowledge.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Disruption Response & Recovery

• Lead response and recovery efforts for supply chain and production disruptions.
• Develop contingency plans and rapidly re-prioritize production when impacted by:
• Equipment failures
• Raw material shortages
• Quality issues
• Labor constraints
• Urgent customer requirements
• Coordinate cross-functional responses to minimize service disruptions.

SIOP & Business Planning

• Support the monthly Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning (SIOP) process.
• Provide accurate capacity, inventory, and production data.
• Identify potential operational constraints and recommend solutions to support business objectives.

ERP & Planning Systems Ownership

• Serve as the functional owner of production-planning processes within ERP and planning systems.
• Establish master-data standards and maintain data integrity.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual planning activities and improve system functionality.
• Partner with IT and business stakeholders to enhance planning tools and processes.

Performance Visibility & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and maintain dashboards, reporting, and KPIs related to planning performance.
• Monitor schedule adherence, OTIF performance, lead times, production efficiency, and capacity utilization.
• Identify opportunities to reduce changeovers, improve scheduling effectiveness, and enhance overall manufacturing performance.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Success in this role will be measured through:

• On-Time Delivery (OTD) / On-Time In-Full (OTIF)
• Schedule Adherence
• Past-Due Orders
• Customer Requested Date Attainment
• Production Schedule Stability
• Capacity Utilization
• Changeover Frequency and Changeover Hours
• Planned vs. Actual Production Rates
• Expedite and Emergency Schedule Changes
• Material-Related Schedule Disruptions
• Inventory and Work-In-Process (WIP) Performance
• Planning-Related Downtime
• ERP and Order Accuracy

Education & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, Engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and manufacturing experience.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in production planning, scheduling, supply chain, or manufacturing operations.
• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop Production Planners, Schedulers, and/or Scheduling Coordinators.
• Demonstrated experience in made-to-order, batch-process, or high-mix manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and production scheduling methodologies.
• Experience managing constrained-capacity production schedules.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex operational requirements and make sound prioritization decisions.

Preferred

• 3+ years of leadership or supervisory experience.
• Experience in plastics, compounding, chemicals, or other process/batch manufacturing environments.
• APICS/ASCM CPIM or CSCP certification.
• Lean Manufacturing and/or Six Sigma experience.
• Experience with advanced planning and scheduling systems.
• Experience using Microsoft Dynamics 365 or similar ERP platforms.

Skills & Competencies

• Production Planning & Scheduling
• Capacity Planning & Constraint Management
• Batch Manufacturing & Production Sequencing
• MRP/ERP Systems
• Inventory & Materials Management
• Data Analysis & KPI Management
• Analytical Decision Making
• Manufacturing Cost Awareness
• Continuous Improvement
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Customer-Focused Problem Solving
• Change Management
• Team Development & Coaching
• Strong Written & Verbal Communication Skills
• Ability to Make Effective Decisions Under Changing Priorities and Time Constraints

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary range established and commensurate with experience, qualifications, leadership background, and overall fit for the role.
• Eligible for annual incentive and bonus opportunities where applicable.
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, 401(k), paid time off, and company-sponsored wellness programs.
• Final compensation package will be determined based on relevant experience, technical expertise, and demonstrated leadership capability.

Salary range for this position is $115,000-$140,000 per year and salary will be dependent upon previous experience.