Production & Demand Planner

Job Title:

Production & Demand Planner - Chocolate

Department:
Operations

Reporting To:
Director of Operations

Direct Reports:
Production Analyst

Founded in Belgium in 1919, Puratos is growing rapidly with over 10,000 employees in 100 countries, with €3 billion in revenue. Our mission is to move the planet forward by creating innovative food solutions for the health & well-being of people everywhere. Puratos Canada is headquartered in Mississauga. Our ingredients are found in some of the most recognized industrial bakeries, retailers, and food service organizations in the country.

Puratos Canada employs 300 people and has a revenue of $200M.

Role Description

The Production & Demand Planner – Chocolate is responsible for developing, executing, and maintaining a reliable production plan for Richmond manufacturing site. This role ensures the smooth flow of products through the entire production cycle by applying strong planning, scheduling, inventory management, and ERP-driven processes.

Working closely with cross-functional partners—including Production, People & Culture, Maintenance, Purchasing, Receiving, Warehousing, Logistics, Sales, and Supply Chain—the Planner drives stability, supports customer service levels, maximizes production efficiency, and minimizes inventory risks. The role also serves as a key point ‑ of ‑ contact for Sales capacity discussions and provides timely responses to customer or forecast changes.

The position operates with a high sense of urgency and strategic oversight to deliver production excellence while ensuring compliance with all environmental, health & safety, food safety, and regulatory requirements.

Mandate

• Ensure compliance with all local, national, and corporate environmental, health and safety rules and regulations.
• Comply with all local and national food safety and legal requirements.
• Perform all job responsibilities under the strictest consideration of health and safety, food quality and production parameters.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Production Planning & Scheduling

• Plan, schedule, coordinate, and monitor product flow throughout the complete production cycle for Richmond facility.
• Develop time ‑ based production plans using plant lead times, historical performance data, and capacity constraints.
• Monitor daily execution of production plans; troubleshoot and resolve issues promptly.
• Adjust production schedules to mitigate delays, interruptions, equipment constraints, and inventory fluctuations.

Cross-functional Coordination

• Collaborate with Production, People & Culture, Maintenance, Purchasing, Receiving, Warehousing, and Logistics to align plans and ensure efficient operations.
• Provide Maintenance with “windows” for preventative work and downtime planning.
• Serve as a key liaison with Sales to communicate capacity constraints, opportunities, and customer commitments.
• Facilitate regular S&OP Supply cadence meetings to maintain a dynamic feedback loop between operations and Sales.

Demand, Inventory & ERP Management

• Analyze current and upcoming customer orders to prioritize and schedule operations.
• Plan equipment, material, and manpower requirements for manufacturing orders.
• Apply inventory management processes (e.g., min ‑ max) to prevent shortages and excess stock.
• Drive stability within the ERP system across demand, inventory, and production modules.
• Lead responses to major changes in customer demand or forecasts and coordinate adjustments across the supply chain.
• Partner with the Inventory Manager to identify and implement system and process improvements across the supply chain.

Other Responsibilities

• Investigate production issues, conduct root cause analysis, and propose solutions.
• Act as backup to other supervisors/managers as needed.
• Perform all duties in full compliance with safety, environmental, food safety, and quality standards.

Requirements:

• Strong understanding of production planning, purchasing, capacity planning, and machine scheduling with a strategic mindset.
• Solid knowledge of ERP, DRP, MRP, preferably SAP Hana, and demand planning processes.
• Experience in batch manufacturing or consumer packaged goods is an asset.
• Certification in Production & Inventory Management…