Production Planning & Client Relations Manager

Country United States / US City GRAND RAPIDS (MI) Workplace location GRAND RAPIDS-PAULSTRA (MI-USA) Domain Logistics Type of contract Regular position Experience Minimum 3 years

Activities

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

· Oversee daily customer service operations including order entry, scheduling, updates, and issue resolution.

· Collaborate with Production, Planning, Purchasing, and Logistics teams to align customer orders with

production capacity and material availability.

· Lead weekly and daily production planning meetings; communicate priorities and constraints to internal

stakeholders.

· Monitor order progress and proactively address delays, bottlenecks, or capacity conflicts.

· Ensure accurate input and maintenance of customer purchase orders, forecasts, and delivery requirements.

· Analyze customer demand patterns to support forecasting and production planning.

· Improve processes involving order management, communication flow, and production schedule visibility.

· Manage escalations, customer complaints, and service recovery actions.

· Generate and review key customer and production planning metrics.

· Maintain strong relationships with key accounts to understand expectations and future requirements.

· Support continuous improvement initiatives related to lead times, schedule adherence, and customer

satisfaction.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

· Directly supervise the Customer Service team across multiple sites

· Responsible for staffing, performance management, training, and development of team members.

· Refer to the Organizational Chart for detailed reporting structure.

QUALIFICATIONS:

· Strong understanding of production planning, scheduling, and manufacturing processes.

· Excellent communication and customer relationship-management skills.

· Ability to balance customer expectations with operational capabilities.

· Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.

· Leadership mindset with the ability to motivate and guide teams.

· High attention to detail and time-management skills.

· Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

· Knowledge of ERP/MRP systems.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

· Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain, Operations Management, or related field (preferred).

· - 3–5+ years of experience in customer service within a manufacturing environment.

· - Experience in production planning or scheduling strongly preferred.

· - Prior supervisory or team-lead experience recommended.

COMPUTER SKILLS:

· Proficiency in ERP/MRP systems (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar).

· Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, reporting).

· Familiarity with CRM platforms and customer portals.

· Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

· APICS CPIM or CSCP certification (preferred).

<