Production Planner

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. specializes in manufacturing packaging components and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare items. Headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, West supports customers across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In 2018 alone, West reported sales of $1.7 billion, delivering roughly 112 million components and devices daily to enhance healthcare delivery worldwide.

Role Overview

The Production Planner is responsible for devising and implementing short to mid-term supply planning activities that ensure production schedules align with customer demand, inventory targets, and manufacturing capabilities. This role involves overseeing the entire production planning process to optimize machine utilization, manage scheduling challenges, and collaborate across functions for smooth manufacturing operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and coordinate production schedules to support customer orders, maintain safety stock replenishment, and meet business objectives.
• Maximize utilization of machines and tooling to fulfill production output plans and ensure material availability for customers.
• Work closely with Customers, Customer Success, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing teams to manage orders inside and outside typical lead times for Make-to-Order products.
• Manage prioritization requests between Supply Chain and Commercial teams, ensuring timely review and completion.
• Identify and review excess, expired, or risky inventory in collaboration with commercial and operational teams.
• Assess production capacity limitations and aid engineering projects with recommendations, including coordinating tool qualification schedules and raw material impacts.
• Coordinate with production to promptly clear MRB materials, reducing write-off risks.
• Maintain accuracy of planning master data, and regularly produce and update KPI dashboards and reports.
• Review short and mid-term planning runs for discrepancies, troubleshoot problems, and guide Plant Supply Chain to resolutions.
• Support quality investigations relating to production impacts and collaborate to fulfill customer demands, while suggesting process improvements.
• Lead monthly Supply Chain Operations meetings, and actively participate in daily to quarterly supply chain meetings to analyze KPI trends and drive corrective actions.
• Perform additional assigned duties as necessary.

Educational Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, or a related field.

Experience and Skills

• 5 to 8 years in supply chain or production planning within a highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Experience using MRP and SAP PP modules, including master production scheduling, rough cut capacity planning, and resource allocation.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel and report generation.
• Strong analytical abilities to evaluate production and supply chain data.
• Capability to operate independently and strong capacity for learning.
• Collaborative, team-oriented work ethic.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certification from APICS is advantageous.
• Knowledge or experience in Lean, Agile, or Six Sigma methodologies is a plus.
• Project Management certification is beneficial.
• Awareness of and adherence to company SOPs relevant to this role.
• Active involvement in Lean Sigma initiatives to meet organizational targets.
• Compliance with company safety and quality policies at all times.