Inventory & Material Planning Specialist

The Inventory & Material Planning Specialist supports a shipping-into-production operation by coordinating customer demand, production-control activities, material availability, supplier follow-up, shortage resolution, and customer communication. This role reviews customer portals, release information, quarterly forecasts, current-day schedules, inventory, open orders, and supplier commitments to help ensure materials are available to meet customer and production requirements.

The specialist works closely with customers, suppliers, carriers, and internal departments, and leadership to communicate risks, support recovery actions, maintain accurate information, and provide responsive customer service. Success requires strong organization, urgency, attention to detail, follow-through, and the ability to escalate issues before they impact delivery, production, or customer confidence.

Key Responsibilities

Review customer portals, releases, quarterly forecasts, current-day schedules, and documentation to understand demand, schedule priorities, and order requirements.

Compare customer demand against inventory, open orders, supplier commitments, safety stock, and production-support needs to identify shortages, risks, or data discrepancies.

Monitor email, shortage tickets, and customer communication channels; respond with urgency, accurate information, and strong follow-through.

Coordinate with suppliers to confirm material availability, monitor acknowledgments and delivery dates, expedite shortages, and support planned or urgent adjustments needed to meet forecast and daily demand.

Communicate demand changes, delivery requirements, shortage risks, shipment timing, and recovery actions to customers, suppliers, internal teams, and leadership.

Support shipping-into-production requirements by coordinating material availability, shipment priorities, carrier communication, delivery appointments, packaging information, and shipping documentation.

Maintain accurate program records, system data, inventory information, shortage tracking, supplier updates, customer requests, action items, and follow-up documentation.

Coordinate with Purchasing, Receiving, Accounts Payable, Quality, Operations, and suppliers to help resolve purchase order, receipt, invoice, quantity, pricing, delivery, or quality discrepancies.

Participate in customer calls and cross-functional meetings to provide updates, understand customer needs, support issue resolution, and maintain customer confidence.

Support supplier performance tracking, corrective-action follow-up, process documentation, and continuous-improvement activities related to material flow, inventory accuracy, service reliability, and customer value.

Success Measures

Forecasts, customer releases, and current-day schedules are reviewed consistently.

Shortages, material risks, and customer requests are tracked and followed through to resolution.

Inventory, system data, supplier updates, and customer communication are accurate and timely.

Material availability, shipment priorities, and production-support needs are communicated and escalated before they impact delivery.

Key performance areas include on-time delivery, inventory accuracy, customer satisfaction, material availability, supplier performance, and timely shortage resolution.

Qualifications

Required:

Experience in material planning, production control, traffic management, or inventory control

Experience using ERP/MRP systems, Traffic Management Systems (TMS) or customer portals

Comfortable using Microsoft Excel, Teams and Outlook, and participating in customer calls.

Experience expediting materials, resolving shortages or coordinating shipment priorities.

Strong communication, organization, follow-up, attention to detail, and logical problem-solving skills.

Ability to coordinate with suppliers, internal departments, customers, and carriers while responding quickly to planned changes or urgent shortages.

Basic math skills and ability to review data, identify discrepancies, and enter or communicate accurate information.

Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, customer-driven environment.

Desired:

Warehouse, packaging, kitting or fulfillment experience

Automotive or shipping-into-production experience

SAP experience

Knowledge of Lean, production material flow, inventory control, supplier performance, or continuous-improvement principles.

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