Production Planner jobs
In any manufacturing/production situation, from a workshop to a high-volume production line, there is a fine balance between producing items much faster than they can be sold and going too slow to keep up with demand. In the ideal zone there needs to be a slight leeway, with any slack taken up by warehousing, but since this has a series of cost implications of its own, it needs to be minimised.
The production planner will be in charge of ensuring productivity is always at an optimal level to meet all demands while cutting out overproduction. Where products are perishable or otherwise time-sensitive this would simply not be an option as overproduction is pure waste. But even making things that will sell eventually but slowly will be a drain on the company’s credit and cash flow.
Using materials requirements planning (MRP) software and systems, the production planner will stay in tune with current stock levels, raw materials availability and customer demands to ensure that as productivity rises and falls, all stock levels are optimised. The planner will be in touch with several parties on a regular basis, most notably forecasters, sales and marketing teams, warehousing staff, suppliers and the factory floor. This is all to gain the best possible insight into the ability to meet customer demand and to guide productivity as it rises and falls throughout the year.
The skills required
The main personal characteristic of a production planner will be a logical, analytical mindset. This he or she will engage to perform the mental juggling act that is production planning. Business understanding will be highly valued, as there is little to distinguish running a business and keeping abreast of the costs and planning production based on the best intelligence. Plans will be being made weekly or monthly, but they will always be subject to change as the situation changes – the good planner will be able to take these changes, and all their after-effects and permutations, in their stride.
There are several popular MRP solutions on the market, and there is a good chance any large company will use one of them, so experience in using one would certainly help. A good working knowledge of all the main spread sheet and word processing solutions will also be helpful for analysis and communication.
Production Planner Jobs in Woking
Woking is a town in London’s commuter belt, about 21 miles (34 km) from the centre of the capital. It is a prosperous town with a population of about 60,000 in the town itself, but its borough as a whole is home to around 100,000. The Kenwood electronics company was founded in the town by, you guessed it, Ken Wood.
The town has international fame thanks to motor sport. It has been home to McLaren racing since the 1980s after moving from Colnbrook near Heathrow Airport. The racing division of McLaren has a fantastic facility for building its Formula One racing cars in the town, and they have recently opened a state-of-the-art factory for building their road cars, one of which wouldn’t leave you much change out of £200,000. Both factories are notable by their cleanliness, which makes the average operating theatre or satellite laboratory look a little grubby.
Woking is well served by road, rail and air, and its hi-tech industries mean that expertise in many fields is often sought. For our part, Production Planner vacancies have been filled of late, and development seems to be continuing apace.
There are a couple of notable references to Woking in popular culture. In HG Wells’s The War of the Worlds, it is Horsell Common, just north of the town, where the aliens first land, and the town has a 7m high tripod statue in honour of this distinction. Wells wrote the story whilst staying in Woking. It was also the birthplace of The Jam’s Paul Weller, and was the inspiration for their hit single A Town Called Malice. Comedians Sean Lock and Harry Hill and TV cook Delia Smith were also born here.
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Production planner recruitment at Cast UK
Whether you’re working for a company looking for a production planner or you’re an experienced production planner yourself, Cast UK wants to hear from you. We deal with talent at this level of expertise every day, and we know exactly what kinds of candidates clients are looking for. Your manufacturing operation could really benefit from forming a relationship with Cast UK – please call us on 0333 121 3345 or get in touch here for more info.
For production planners looking for new challenges – please follow the link below and register your details with us. We know there are companies looking for your talents right now, so it could be the smartest thing you can do for your career.
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