Job Description

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today, we manufacture thousands of products, generate an excess of $2B in revenue, and employ approximately 9,000 associates worldwide. At AFL, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train each individual, investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth, let us connect you to your next career opportunity.

What We Offer:

• Flexible time off policy
• 401K Company match (up to 4% - dollar for dollar)
• Professional development, training, and tuition reimbursement programs
• Excellent medical, dental, vision, and life insurance policy options
• Opportunities for career advancement with an industry leading company!

We are seeking a Planning Manager to join our team in Duncan, South Carolina The Planning Manager will be a member of the operations team responsible for overseeing all scheduling and planning processes. They will work closely with manufacturing, supply chain, and sales to generate accurate production plans and schedules that meet customer needs while also optimizing resources, material utilization, and costs.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the master planning process (forecasting through order fulfillment) for manufacturing ensuring that each phase is accurate and reflective of capacity, material supply, and other constraints.
• Ensure that plan outputs provide users with the relevant information they need to execute the plans including production line schedules and material and resource requirements.
• Provide inputs and support for the annual business plan and the monthly sales & operations planning process by modeling production line capacity, identifying opportunities, and correcting schedule conflicts. Work closely with the operations and sales teams to develop and implement joint plans to relieve constraints and meet business plan objectives including sourcing to other global facilities.
• Closely monitor production schedule performance daily and throughout the month. Utilize schedule analytics to proactively identify and communicate schedule constraints and areas of focus. Work with the operations team to make necessary adjustments that minimize customer impact.
• Execute projects to improve schedule accuracy, scheduling models, workflows, data integrity, reporting, and the functionality needed to meet business objectives and advance operational performance.
• Provide supervision and direction to scheduling team including performance oversight and skills development. Cultivate an environment of teamwork, customer service, and continuous improvement.
• Measure schedule performance to highlight customer satisfaction, capacity and inventory utilization, financial responsibility, and workflow/technology opportunities. Utilize these metrics to drive continuous improvement initiatives and investment decisions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or Mathematics MBA a plus.
• Strong background in master planning with four or more years of experience with increasing responsibility.
• Ability to oversee the master planning process with emphasis on demand management and master production scheduling in a lean, discrete, build-to-order manufacturing environment with relatively short lead times.
• Demonstrated ability to apply advanced scheduling techniques including constraint management to optimize throughput.
• Experience leading the sales and operations planning process to determine the optimal use of capacity in support of customer demand and business performance.
• Hands-on understanding of the complexities and challenges that arise in the day-to-day process of creating detailed production schedules for manufacturing.
• Practical experience and knowledge of the material requirements planning process including inputs, outputs and methods used to create material demand information.
• Practical understanding of inventory management processes including finished goods/consignment replenishment methods, accuracy controls, and schedule inputs.
• Practical understanding of shop floor production controls including inputs required for scheduling and work-in-process tracking and controls.
• Able to develop, implement, and improve all closed-loop planning and control processes needed to optimally meet customer demand with available materials, labor, and production capacity.
• Solid understanding of basic statistics and analytical methods to measure and monitor planning processes and system performance.
• Working knowledge of lean manufacturing including a basic understanding of six sigma methods and techniques.
  • Certified Six-Sigma green-belt or higher is a plus.
  • APICS certifications a plus.
• Experience in the ongoing assessment and continuous improvement of the planning process and associated systems using established performance evaluation benchmarks.
• Experience with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems preferably Oracle R12 related manufacturing modules.

• Experience with forecasting, planning, scheduling, and shop floor control systems such as APS, MES, MOM etc.
• Experience in the identification, implementation, and improvement of IT systems to better support the planning, scheduling, and control processes.
• Experience with cable and wire preferred
• Intermediate or higher user of MS Office including Excel, Outlook, Access, and Word applications.

Working Conditions

• Factory office environment with occasional weekend and off-shift support required.

Personal Qualities

• Self-starter with integrity and confidence who strives to achieve even the most challenging objectives with limited supervision.
• Team player with well-developed leadership and interpersonal skills that is comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic, cross-functional, and multi-cultural environment.
• Results-oriented professional that is comfortable in a challenging professional environment where complex problem solving is required.
• Strong communicator with the ability to convey complex issues in simple terms to all levels of the organization.
• Strong analytical, time management, and technical writing skills.