Inventory Planning Manager

Position Overview

Based in New Orleans, Reily Foods Company – known for iconic brands like French Market Coffee, Luzianne Iced Tea, Blue Plate Mayonnaise, Swans Down Cake Flour, and Carroll Shelby Chili – is seeking an Inventory Planning Manager responsible for overall inventory control at its Knoxville facility. The role includes managing cycle counting, physical inventory processes, purchasing, receiving, batch order creation and processing, as well as secondary responsibility for developing and executing manufacturing production plans and schedules to ensure timely material and finished goods flow.

Key Responsibilities

• Purchasing of materials, ingredients, and packaging for the Knoxville facility.
• Source alternative suppliers for critical materials and ingredients.
• Serve as the point of contact between corporate supply chain and plant.
• Ensure proper inventory control of materials, ingredients, and packaging to guarantee availability for production while minimizing downtime from "outages".
• Act as the Plant Representative for Approval Routing Forms and initiate New Item/Item Modification Checklists.
• Manage and champion projects and initiatives such as vendor changes and technology upgrades.
• Initiate "change forms" for new packaging or ingredients, formula changes, and label changes.
• Provide leadership, management, and training to the team to facilitate success across all functions.
• Monitor new product or rework demands and collaborate with Production Supervisors and Managers to effectively schedule production.
• Lead the Receiving department.
• Own traceability of all items in the ERP system.
• Partner with other Operations Leaders for efficient production scheduling at the Knoxville facility.
• Produce required reports for Production Supervisors and Managers.
• Follow all safety procedures and participate in safety training. Maintain safe and efficient use of equipment and report any injury, accident, or unsafe condition immediately.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Proven experience in leading and developing a high-performing team to meet company standards and expectations.
• A minimum of five years of relevant experience including inventory control systems, processes, and purchasing of raw materials and packaging.
• Experience in production planning, with food manufacturing experience considered a plus.
• Prior experience in production scheduling.
• Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent experience.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; experience in D365 and Power BI is a plus.
• Limited travel and a flexible work schedule as needed.