Permanent - Material Resource Planner - Ekurhuleni (East Rand) - South Africa

Job Purpose:

The Materials Resource Planner is responsible for ensuring that the right materials, components and resources are available at the right time and in the right quantities to support uninterrupted manufacturing operations. The role coordinates demand planning, material requirements, inventory management and supplier performance while balancing production requirements, working capital and customer service objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain material and resource plans aligned with the production schedule, customer demand and business requirements.
• Translate production requirements, bills of materials (BOMs) and forecasts into material requirements and purchasing requirements.
• Monitor material availability and identify potential shortages, excesses, obsolete stock and supply risks.
• Maintain accurate MRP parameters, including lead times, safety stocks, minimum order quantities and reorder points.
• Generate, review and manage planned and firm purchase orders in accordance with MRP recommendations.
• Liaise closely with Procurement, Production, Warehousing, Quality, Engineering, Finance and Sales/Customer Service.
• Work with suppliers to confirm delivery dates, quantities and capacity commitments.
• Expedite critical or delayed materials to prevent production stoppages.
• Develop and maintain production and material planning schedules.
• Analyse inventory levels and recommend actions to optimise stockholding without compromising production continuity.
• Monitor supplier performance and escalate recurring delivery, quality or capacity issues.
• Manage material changes arising from engineering changes, new product introductions, product discontinuations and changes to production requirements.
• Participate in capacity planning and identify resource constraints that may affect manufacturing output.
• Maintain accurate planning data within the ERP/MRP system.
• Investigate material variances, planning exceptions and root causes of supply disruptions.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives aimed at reducing inventory, improving material availability and increasing planning accuracy.
• Prepare and communicate relevant planning, inventory and supplier-performance reports.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience:

• Diploma, degree or equivalent qualification in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering or a related discipline.
• 3–5 years' experience in materials planning, production planning, supply chain or a similar manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrable experience working with an MRP/ERP system.
• Practical understanding of manufacturing processes, BOMs, routings, lead times and production schedules.
• Experience dealing with suppliers and managing material availability.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, including data analysis and reporting.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in a high-volume or complex manufacturing environment.
• Experience with ERP/MRP platforms 
• APICS/ASCM certification or other relevant supply-chain qualification.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma or continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience in demand planning, capacity planning and inventory optimisation.

Core Competencies

• Planning and organisation: Ability to manage multiple material requirements and competing priorities effectively.
• Analytical thinking: Strong ability to analyse MRP data, inventory trends, demand and supply constraints.
• Problem solving: Able to identify the root cause of material shortages and implement practical solutions.
• Communication: Clear and effective communication with internal stakeholders and external suppliers.
• Attention to detail: High level of accuracy when working with planning data, BOMs, inventory and purchase orders.
• Commercial awareness: Understanding of the relationship between inventory, working capital, production efficiency and customer service.
• Decision making: Able to make timely decisions in response to changing demand and supply conditions.
• Continuous improvement: Proactive approach to improving planning processes, inventory performance and supply reliability.
• Teamwork: Ability to work collaboratively across manufacturing and supply-chain functions.
• Resilience: Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can change quickly.

Key Performance Indicators:

Performance may be measured against:

• Material availability and production continuity.
• MRP/planning accuracy.
• On-time delivery of materials.
• Inventory value and inventory turns.
• Stock-out frequency.
• Excess and obsolete inventory.
• Supplier on-time delivery performance.
• Purchase-order accuracy and adherence to agreed lead times.
• Schedule adherence.
• Planning exception resolution.
• Reduction in material-related production downtime.