Senior Specialist – Production Planning
Defy Appliances · Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
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- The Senior Specialist – Production Planning is responsible for developing, maintaining, and optimizing the master production schedule to ensure manufacturing output meets demand requirements while balancing capacity, material availability, and inventory targets.
- The role acts as a key link between sales forecasting, materials management, and shop-floor operations to enable a smooth, cost-efficient production flow.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Develop and maintain the Master Production Schedule MPS across product lines, aligning output with the demand plan and available capacity.
- Translate the sales and operations plan S&OP into executable weekly and daily production schedules.
- Monitor production capacity, identify constraints and bottlenecks, and propose corrective actions to protect schedule adherence.
- Coordinate closely with materials, imports, and steel planning teams to ensure component and raw-material availability supports the production plan.
- Manage finished-goods and work-in-progress inventory levels against agreed targets to avoid shortages and excess stock.
- Track and report key planning metrics — schedule adherence, plan attainment, on-time output, and inventory turns — and drive continuous improvement.
- Lead production-planning input into daily and weekly operations reviews, escalating risks to the Head – Materials.
- Support new product introductions NPI and engineering changes by integrating them into production schedules.
- Maintain accurate planning parameters in the ERP/MRP system lead times, lot sizes, BOMs, routings.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field.
- Minimum 5 years of production-planning or materials-planning experience, preferably in a manufacturing or appliances/FMCG environment.
- Strong working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems e.g., SAP and advanced proficiency in Excel.
- Solid understanding of S&OP, capacity planning, and inventory-management principles.
- APICS/CPIM certification is an advantage.
KEY COMPENTENCIES
- Analytical and data-driven decision-making
- Strong planning, prioritization, and problem-solving skills
- Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder communication
- Attention to detail with the ability to work under tight deadlines
- Leadership and mentoring capability
Closing Date 21 August 2026