Material Planner

About Us:

Established in 1942, Eriez is a global leader in separation technologies. Our commitment to innovation has positioned us as a driving market force in several key technology areas, including magnetic separation, flotation, metal detection, and material handling equipment. Headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, Eriez designs, manufactures, and markets on six continents through 12 wholly-owned international subsidiaries and an extensive sales representative network.

About the Role:

To ensure materials, components and subcontracted services are available in the correct quantity, at the required quality and at the right time to support the manufacturing plan and customer delivery commitments. The Material Planner uses Sage 200 and Sicon MRP to translate demand into timely supply actions, control inventory and working capital, identify shortages and coordinate recovery actions.

The role requires practical understanding of how item master data, bills of materials (BOMs), manufacturing routings, works orders and external operations create material and subcontract demand. The postholder will maintain accurate planning data and work closely with Purchasing, Production, Engineering, Stores, Quality, Sales and suppliers.

Key Responsibilities:

1. MRP, Manufacturing Data and Works Orders 

• Run and review Sicon MRP within Sage 200; assess recommendations and exception messages, then create, expedite, defer, reschedule or cancel supply actions as required. 
• Review demand from sales orders, forecasts, BOMs, routings, works orders, stock commitments and open purchase orders to protect the production schedule and customer delivery dates. 
• Create, review and maintain BOMs, including component quantities, units of measure, scrap allowances, issue methods, revisions and effective dates. 
• Create, review and maintain routings, including operation sequence, work centres, setup and run times, labour or machine requirements and externally subcontracted operations. 
• Create and maintain works orders, ensuring quantities, due dates, BOM issues, allocations, routing operations and subcontract activities are accurate before release. 
• Understand the end-to-end system flow from item master to BOM and routing, into works-order demand, MRP recommendations, subcontract requirements and linked purchase orders. 
• Maintain accurate lead times, safety stock, order quantities, order multiples, preferred suppliers, make-or-buy settings and stock locations. 

2. Purchasing, Inventory and Supplier Management 

• Raise and maintain purchase orders within delegated authority; obtain acknowledgements, monitor open orders and follow up late or at-risk deliveries. 
• Identify shortages and supply constraints early, maintain clear shortage information and communicate risks, recovery actions and expected delivery dates. 
• Balance material availability with inventory value by identifying excess, obsolete and slow-moving stock and recommending corrective action. 
• Investigate stock discrepancies, allocations, incomplete transactions and data errors that affect MRP accuracy; support cycle counts and reconciliation. 
• Provide suppliers with agreed demand visibility and contribute delivery, quality and responsiveness data to supplier performance reviews. 

Essential Criteria:

• Experience in material planning, production planning, purchasing or supply-chain coordination within a manufacturing environment. 
• Hands-on use of an ERP/MRP system to plan materials and manage purchase and works-order requirements. 
• Practical knowledge of creating and maintaining BOMs, manufacturing routings, works orders and subcontract requirements. 
• Understanding of how external routing operations generate subcontract demand and linked purchase orders, including material dispatch, processing and return receipt. 
• Sound knowledge of MRP, inventory control, lead times, order quantities, stock commitments and supplier constraints. 
• Experience managing shortages, expediting deliveries, resolving transactional issues and communicating supply risks. 
• Strong numerical, analytical and problem-solving skills, with high accuracy and attention to detail. 
• Good Excel skills, including filters, lookups, pivot tables and data analysis; clear communication with suppliers and internal teams. 

Desirable Criteria:

• Practical Sage 200 and Sicon MRP experience covering recommendations, exceptions, planning parameters, BOMs, routings, works orders, purchasing, stock movements and subcontract transactions. 
• Experience in engineer-to-order, make-to-order or low-volume manufacturing, including fabricated, machined, electrical or bought-out components. 
• Experience supporting new product introduction, engineering change control, lean improvement or an ISO 9001 environment. 
• Relevant supply-chain, procurement, business, engineering or manufacturing qualification; CIPS, APICS or CPIM is advantageous. 

• Annual salary of £35-38,000, depending on experience
• Private Medical Insurance, subject to service
• Income Protection, subject to service
• Life assurance
• Salary sacrifice pension scheme with matched employer contributions of up to 6%
• 26 days annual leave, rising to 30 days with service
• Tech scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted retail vouchers