Material Planning Specialist

Material Planner Job Summary: The Material Planning Specialist is responsible for ensuring the timely availability of materials, effective production planning, and optimal inventory levels to support uninterrupted manufacturing operations and customer delivery commitments. The role works closely with Procurement, Stores, Production, Quality, Logistics, and Sales to align demand, capacity, material availability, and production schedules. The position supports efficient utilization of manufacturing resources, reduces inventory and operational costs, and contributes to on-time delivery, quality, and overall plant performance. Job Responsibilities Develop and maintain weekly and monthly production plans based on customer demand, order backlog, capacity, and material availability. Perform material requirements planning (MRP) and coordinate with Procurement to ensure timely availability of raw materials, components, and bought-out items. Monitor inventory levels for raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods to prevent shortages, excess inventory, and obsolescence. Coordinate with Stores to maintain inventory accuracy and ensure timely material movement to the production floor. Review production capacity, machine availability, manpower, and workload to support achievable production schedules. Release, hold, prioritize, and reschedule work orders based on material availability, production capacity, customer requirements, and quality status. Monitor daily production progress against plan and identify potential bottlenecks, delays, or material shortages. Expedite critical materials and coordinate corrective actions with Procurement, Production, Quality, and Logistics to protect customer delivery commitments. Support routing, loading, scheduling, and dispatching activities to optimize manufacturing workflow and resource utilization. Coordinate import, export, freight, and logistics requirements with relevant internal teams and external partners. Track and report key planning and inventory performance indicators, including schedule adherence, on-time delivery, inventory turnover, WIP levels, and material availability. Identify and drive continuous-improvement opportunities related to planning accuracy, inventory optimization, throughput, and logistics costs. Ensure all activities are conducted in line with Flowserve’s safety, quality, ethics, integrity, and operational-excellence standards. Main Objectives Ensure uninterrupted production through proactive material and capacity planning. Support achievement of customer on-time delivery commitments. Optimize inventory investment while maintaining appropriate material availability. Improve production schedule adherence and capacity utilization. Minimize production delays caused by material shortages, capacity constraints, or planning gaps. Strengthen collaboration among Procurement, Stores, Production, Quality, Logistics, and Sales. Support cost reduction through efficient inventory, freight, and resource planning. Respond effectively to demand changes, urgent orders, machine downtime, and other operational disruptions. Job Requirements Education Diploma or Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, or a related technical discipline. Experience Six to eight years of relevant experience in material planning, production planning, manufacturing operations, supply chain, inventory management, or industrial engineering. Experience in a manufacturing or industrial environment is preferred. Experience working with MRP/ERP systems, production schedules, work orders, and inventory transactions is preferred. Technical Skills Strong understanding of material requirements planning, production planning, inventory control, and capacity planning. Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Outlook, Word, Teams, and SharePoint. Ability to analyze demand, inventory, production capacity, and operational data. Knowledge of manufacturing processes, routing, scheduling, work-center loading, and shop-floor operations. Familiarity with logistics, freight coordination, import/export processes, and supplier follow-up is an advantage. Competencies Planning and Prioritization: Ability to organize multiple priorities, manage schedules, and respond effectively to changing operational needs. Analytical Thinking: Ability to analyze data, identify trends, anticipate risks, and make sound planning decisions. Problem Solving: Proactive approach to resolving material shortages, capacity constraints, production delays, and delivery risks. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Ability to work effectively with Procurement, Stores, Production, Quality, Logistics, Sales, and Finance. Ownership and Accountability: Demonstrates responsibility for commitments, follows through on actions, and drives results. Adaptability: Comfortable working in a dynamic environment with changing customer requirements and operational priorities. Communication Skills: Ability to communicate planning priorities, risks, and actions clearly to stakeholders. Continuous Improvement Mindset: Identifies opportunities to improve efficiency, inventory control, planning accuracy, and operational performance. Integrity and Compliance: Upholds high standards of safety, ethics, quality, and company policies.