Associate-Material Planner

At Trane Technologies® we Challenge Possible. Our brands – including Trane® and Thermo King®  - create access to cooling and comfort in buildings and homes, transport and protect food and perishables, connect customers to elevated performance with less environmental impact, dramatically reduce energy demands and carbon emissions, and innovate with a better world in mind. We boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world.
 

Position Summary:

The Material Planner is an active team member in planning and scheduling the delivery of material from suppliers.  This highly tactical position is responsible to monitor the flows of buy items, guarantee availability of components in order to avoid material shortages and production downtime, as well as to manage inventory levels to meet our customer service and inventory targets.

 

Position Responsibilities:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following.  Other duties may be assigned.

• Perform timely, cost-conscious procurement of production/inventory/MRO items.
• Receive and analyze requisitions to determine quantity, specifications and delivery requirements.
• From approved supplier list, recommend and select suppliers to fulfill scheduled plant deliveries.
• Responsible for the on-boarding of new selected suppliers relative to material planning.
• Ensure up-to-date ABC classification is maintained for planning, and other key inputs into the PFEP process
• Ensure optimal inventory levels and safety stock are maintained for their parts
• Coordinate with Quality Assurance to resolve quality issues with suppliers.
• Maintain proactive shortage identification and management - help flag root causes & corrective actions.
• Identify total cost and cash flow opportunities with suppliers.
• Analyze and select parts for KanBan and Supplier replenishment.
• May lead and direct others to accomplish desired organizational objectives.
• Expedite deliveries to meet and exceed scheduled critical requirements.
• Maintain material plan at the time fence to ensure continuity of supply.
• Coordinate with production planners for solutions when parts cannot be delivered as promised.
• Maintain and continuously evaluate supplier performance and escalate to Procurement when issues occur.
• Resolve invoicing discrepancies with suppliers and accounting.
• Analyze material and capacity availability to provide customer promise dates for sales orders.
• Maintains item master lead time information based upon process improvements, current constraints, total current demand by product family, and priority information.
• Manage internal and SOMI/VMI material to meet schedules.
• Interface with required functional groups to resolve challenging delivery requirements.
• Communicate forecasts and replenishment plans to supplier.
• Review open requirements, monitoring vendor performance and expediting where necessary. Ensure that problems relating to delivery, quality or pricing are promptly conveyed to the supplier and resolved in a timely manner.
• Productivity: identify and implement cost reduction/productivity projects to meet the corporate initiatives/goals. Maintain pipeline and financial records for reporting and tracking productivity.

 

Key Competencies and Success Factors:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.

• Maintain product knowledge in terms of options, substitutions, critical functions/components, etc.
• Understand material specifications in terms of substitutions, quality, engineering requirements, etc.
• Maintain basic knowledge of supplier processes and capabilities.
• Understand special test/witness certification requirements and actions to achieve certification.
• Understanding of Kanban and JIT systems.
• Able to rely on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals.
• Broad working knowledge and experience with ISO procedures.
• Must possess a strong customer service orientation and must provide dedicated support of internal and external customer requirements.
• Relationship Management- Works collaboratively with cross-functional stakeholders - Team player who demonstrates patience, flexibility and honesty
• Self-starter, who is able to plan and manage his/her own work, takes initiative and strives to meet deadlines
• Must be a strong written and verbal communicator, able to communicate to various audiences effectively
• Team oriented, must have the ability to work cohesively with others.
• Must be able to work well with external suppliers.
• Must possess ability to work well in a manufacturing environment.
• Must be detail-oriented and self-motivated, able to work with minimal supervision.
• Must be able to work in a fast-paced, multi-tasked environment.

 

Experience and Skills Required:

• Masters degree in supply chain, Operations, Engineering or related field.
• Language: Fluent in English is mandatory - French skills can be a bonus
• Considerable knowledge of industry related supply base.
• Skilled in production and supplier scheduling.
• Knowledgeable of supplier processes and capabilities.
• Able to provide direction and training to peers as needed.
• Computer proficient with AS400 and Microsoft Office applications
• Basic mathematical skills
• Experience with rate based or flow line (non-MRP) and job shop manufacturing environments.
• Experience in operations, inventory management, MRP and lean manufacturing processes.
• Experience with visual management systems.

Timing:

• Based in Modugno (BA)
• No travel forecasted

We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits and programs that help our employees thrive in both their professional and personal lives. We are proud of our winning culture which is inclusive and respectful at its core. We share passion for serving customers, caring for others, and boldly challenging what’s possible for a sustainable world.

We are committed to achieving workforce diversity reflective of our communities. We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, national origin, pregnancy, age, marital status, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any legally protected status.