Production Planner

About the role

The Production Planner is responsible for translating sales forecasts, customer orders, and engineering specifications into an efficient, optimized master production schedule. This role ensures the timely availability of raw materials, components (such as coils, compressors, sheet metal, and blowers), and assembly resources to meet strict delivery deadlines while optimizing inventory levels and factory capacity utilization.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop, maintain, and execute the Master Production Schedule (MPS) for HVAC equipment lines (e.g., AHUs, FCUs, chillers, or ductwork) based on customer demand, sales forecasts, and inventory targets.
• Sequence production orders to minimize changeover times, optimize machine utilization, and balance workloads across fabrication, assembly, and testing lines.
• Monitor daily production progress against the schedule, identifying bottlenecks, equipment downtime, or material shortages early and implementing corrective action plans.
• Run and analyze MRP reports to ensure timely procurement and release of raw materials, standard parts, and customized components.
• Coordinate closely with Procurement and Purchasing teams to track vendor lead times and expedite critical HVAC components (e.g., specialized motors, electronic controls, copper tubing).
• Maintain optimal inventory levels of work-in-progress (WIP) and finished goods to prevent stockouts while avoiding excess holding costs.
• Partner with Design and Applications Engineering to ensure Bill of Materials (BOMs) and routing sheets are accurate and released on time for custom or engineered-to-order (ETO) HVAC units.
• Liaise daily with Production Supervisors, Quality Control, and Warehouse teams to align daily output targets and resolve floor-level disruptions.
• Manage rush orders or schedule changes effectively, assessing the impact on capacity and communicating revised delivery dates to Sales and Project Management teams.
• Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as Schedule Adherence, On-Time Delivery (OTD), Inventory Turnover, and Production Lead Time.

Requirement:

• Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of production planning and inventory control experience, preferably within a discrete manufacturing or HVAC/heavy equipment industry.
• Proficient in ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or equivalent manufacturing software).
• Strong command of Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, data analysis).
• Good understanding of Bill of Materials (BOM), MRP logic, and shop floor routing.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and numerical skills.
• Strong cross-functional communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• High attention to detail with the ability to multitask in a fast-paced, deadline-driven manufacturing environment.
• Able to communicate in Mandarin.