Fast Food Retail Production Planner - FMCG, F&B or Manufacturing Environment - Midrand

Introduction

The Production Planner is responsible for coordinating and optimising production planning, inventory management, materials availability, procurement and warehouse operations to ensure that production and customer demand requirements are met efficiently, accurately and cost-effectively.

The role involves developing, maintaining and monitoring short-, medium- and long-term production plans, ensuring the timely availability of raw materials, packaging and components, and aligning production capacity with demand forecasts and operational requirements.

Using SAP or a comparable ERP system, the incumbent will manage production schedules, monitor inventory levels, identify capacity constraints, track key performance indicators and communicate operational risks to relevant stakeholders.

The position is also responsible for minimising excess inventory, obsolete and slow-moving stock, production disruptions and unnecessary write-offs, while driving continuous improvement across manufacturing and supply chain operations.

The incumbent will provide leadership and direction to the Inventory and Materials Planner and Warehouse Team Leaders, promoting accountability, operational discipline, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Duties & Responsibilities

Key Performance Areas and Responsibilities

Production Planning and Scheduling

Develop, maintain and execute production plans in SAP or an equivalent ERP system to meet business demand while maintaining appropriate inventory levels and production efficiencies.

Translate demand forecasts, customer orders and business requirements into achievable production schedules, considering capacity, labour, equipment, material availability, product allergens, product colour impacts and manufacturing constraints.

Ensure the timely completion, distribution, communication and management of production plans.

Develop short-, medium- and long-term production plans, providing visibility of anticipated workloads over a rolling 52-week planning horizon.

Apply rough-cut and finite-capacity planning tools to assess production feasibility and identify potential capacity constraints.

Work with plant leadership and operational teams to resolve capacity challenges and minimise the cost of fulfilling production requirements.

Monitor production plan adherence, including APT% and SKU-level MPS%, and communicate performance against agreed targets.

Attend and coordinate production planning meetings, ensuring that decisions, constraints and corrective actions are documented and communicated.

Communicate production schedule changes, material shortages, capacity limitations and operational risks to relevant stakeholders.

Balance customer service requirements, inventory targets, operational capacity and cost efficiency.

Production Processes, Performance Management and Reporting

Support the development, integration and implementation of business systems, planning processes and operational standards.

Establish, monitor and report key production and inventory performance indicators.

Analyse service-level performance, production losses, inefficiencies and deviations from plan, identifying root causes and recommending corrective actions.

Prepare weekly analyses and reports on finished-goods slow-moving and obsolete stock (SLOB), including potential exposure.

Provide monthly SLOB reporting to management, highlighting financial exposure, stock risks and recommended interventions.

Maintain an accurate write-off tracker and communicate potential and actual write-offs to relevant departments.

Coordinate new product introductions and product discontinuations to minimise obsolete inventory and unnecessary write-offs.

Monitor Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) in conjunction with plant leadership and support initiatives to improve production stability and efficiency.

Identify recurring operational problems, analyse performance trends and implement corrective action plans.

Ensure reporting is accurate, timely and sufficiently detailed to support operational and commercial decision-making.

Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence

Support the development, implementation and monitoring of continuous improvement programmes designed to improve plant efficiency, productivity and supply chain performance.

Identify, evaluate and lead improvements across production planning, inventory management, materials flow and warehouse processes.

Promote lean manufacturing principles to reduce waste, improve resource utilisation and lower total factory costs.

Collaborate with planning, scheduling, procurement, distribution, finance, Quality Assurance, Research and Development, suppliers and customers to improve operational coordination.

Identify opportunities to improve product flow, information flow, production responsiveness and supply chain performance.

Establish measurable improvement objectives, define KPIs and report progress against agreed action plans.

Conduct root-cause analyses, implement corrective and preventive measures, and monitor their effectiveness through weekly and monthly reviews.

Promote standardised business processes, planning tools and performance-management practices.

Encourage accountability, customer satisfaction, continuous improvement and adherence to operational targets.

Buying, Procurement and Supplier Management

Coordinate the sourcing and purchasing of raw materials, packaging materials and production components required to meet manufacturing demand.

Align purchasing activities with approved production plans, demand forecasts, stock requirements and inventory targets.

Monitor material availability and supplier performance to minimise production delays, shortages and excess inventory.

Evaluate suppliers based on cost, quality, reliability, lead times and service performance.

Support supplier negotiations and identify cost-effective purchasing opportunities without compromising quality or operational continuity.

Work closely with procurement, finance, production and quality teams to resolve supply issues.

Monitor replenishment requirements and maintain appropriate stock levels while avoiding unnecessary surplus, waste and working-capital exposure.

Identify potential supply chain disruptions and develop appropriate mitigation plans.

Inventory and Warehouse Management

Oversee inventory planning and warehouse operations to ensure adequate stock availability for production and customer demand.

Monitor raw materials, packaging, components and finished-goods inventory, maintaining accurate stock records and effective stock-control procedures.

Coordinate monthly cycle counts and investigate inventory discrepancies.

Ensure raw material movements are accurately recorded, controlled and reconciled within the applicable inventory systems.

Monitor stock ageing, slow-moving and obsolete inventory, expiry exposure and potential write-offs.

Ensure inventory practices comply with internal controls, audit requirements and applicable SOX controls.

Work with Warehouse Team Leaders to improve warehouse organisation, stock accuracy, material handling and operational efficiency.

Balance inventory replenishment decisions against production continuity, customer service, storage capacity and working-capital requirements.

Coordinate warehousing, production, procurement and distribution activities to support the timely movement of materials and finished goods.

Ensure inventory and warehouse processes comply with relevant quality, safety and operational standards.

Leadership, Team Management and Stakeholder Engagement

Provide leadership, guidance and performance oversight to the Inventory and Materials Planner and Warehouse Team Leaders.

Set clear expectations, establish departmental objectives and monitor performance against agreed KPIs.

Coach and develop team members in production planning, materials planning, inventory control, warehouse management and problem-solving.

Promote effective