Order Planner

Position Summary

The Order Planner coordinates the release and execution of customer orders in support of our USDA Warehouse Operation in Henderson, Colorado. This role reviews demand, inventory availability, warehouse capacity, and shipping commitments to build a practical daily order plan. The planner works closely with warehouse operations, inventory control, customer service, and transportation to identify constraints early, maintain accurate system records, and help deliver complete and on-time orders.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and maintain daily and near-term order plans based on customer requirements, inventory availability, labor and dock capacity, carrier schedules, and service commitments.
• Review open orders for completeness, allocation, holds, due dates, special handling, and fulfillment readiness; resolve exceptions with the appropriate teams before release.
• Prioritize and release orders or waves in the ERP/WMS in coordination with warehouse leadership, balancing throughput, cutoffs, and customer priorities.
• Monitor order progress from release through picking, packing, staging, and shipment; adjust plans and communicate changes when conditions shift.
• Partner with inventory control to investigate shortages, lot or date restrictions, location issues, and discrepancies that may affect fulfillment.
• Coordinate with transportation and customer service on shipping windows, appointment requirements, order changes, and at-risk deliveries.
• Maintain accurate planning data, order status, and exception notes in applicable systems; prepare clear daily work queues and handoff reports.
• Analyze backlog, release timing, order aging, fulfillment exceptions, and capacity trends; recommend process improvements supported by data.
• Follow customer contracts, food safety requirements, inventory handling rules, and applicable standard operating procedures.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of three years of experience in warehouse operations, warehouse planning, logistics, inventory control, or supply chain operations.
• Experience working with an ERP, WMS, or warehouse execution system.
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced distribution environment.