Production Materials Planner

Trace3 · United States

  • Junior
  • Full-time
  • $94,745 – $116,093
  • Posted 2026-09-22
  • Confirmed live on 25 September 2026

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Job description

Who is Trace3?

Trace3 is a leading Transformative IT Authority, providing unique technology solutions and consulting services to our clients. Equipped with elite engineering and dynamic innovation, we empower IT executives and their organizations to achieve competitive advantage through a process of Integrate, Automate, Innovate.

Our culture at Trace3 embodies the spirit of a startup with the advantage of a scalable business. Employees can grow their career and have fun while doing it!

Trace3 is headquartered in Irvine, California. We employ more than 1,200 people all over the United States. Our major field office locations include Denver, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Lexington, Los Angeles, Louisville, Texas, San Francisco.

Ready to discover the possibilities that live in technology?

Come Join Us!

Street-Smart - Thriving in Dynamic Times

We are flexible and resilient in a fast-changing environment. We continuously innovate and drive constructive change while keeping a focus on the “big picture.” We exercise sound business judgment in making high-quality decisions in a timely and cost-effective manner. We are highly creative and can dig deep within ourselves to find positive solutions to different problems.

Juice - The “Stuff” it takes to be a Needle Mover

We get things done and drive results. We lead without a title, empowering others through a can-do attitude. We look forward to the goal, mentally mapping out every checkpoint on the pathway to success, and visualizing what the final destination looks and feels like.

Teamwork - Humble, Hungry and Smart

We are humble individuals who understand how our job impacts the company's mission. We treat others with respect, admit mistakes, give credit where it’s due and demonstrate transparency. We “bring the weather” by exhibiting positive leadership and solution-focused thinking. We hug people in their trials, struggles, and failures – not just their success. We appreciate the individuality of the people around us.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Production Materials Planner is responsible for translating Trace3 sales pipeline, booked customer orders, vendor lead times, and current inventory into an executable material and shipment plan. This role balances two equally important objectives: securing equipment early enough to protect customer delivery dates while avoiding unnecessary inventory, warehouse congestion, carrying cost, and aging exposure.

Working across Sales, Purchasing/Procurement, Operations, Warehouse, Finance, and vendor partners, the Planner proactively identifies supply risks, stages vendor shipments, determines when direct-to-customer shipment is appropriate, and maintains clear visibility to material status from forecast through fulfillment. This is a planning and coordination role within a technology value-added reseller (VAR) environment; it is not a traditional manufacturing production-scheduling position.

SUMMARY OF ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Analyze sales pipeline, booked orders, expected close dates, customer requested dates, historical demand, current inventory, and vendor lead times to forecast equipment requirements and create time-phased material plans.

• Determine when equipment should be ordered, released, expedited, delayed, or de-expedited to support on-time customer delivery while minimizing excess inventory and unnecessary warehouse dwell time.

• Monitor inventory by SKU, manufacturer, project, and customer commitment; identify shortages, excess, slow-moving, aging, or potentially obsolete inventory and recommend corrective action.

• Coordinate with vendors and distributors on order acknowledgements, committed ship dates, partial shipments, allocation constraints, lead-time changes, staged releases, and other supply exceptions.

• Evaluate and coordinate vendor-direct / drop-ship opportunities when appropriate to reduce handling, freight, warehouse touches, and cycle time while ensuring customer and project requirements are met.

• Maintain visibility to open purchase orders and customer orders; proactively resolve past-due, at-risk, or mismatched dates and communicate recovery plans to affected stakeholders.

• Partner closely with Sales and delivery teams to validate forecast timing and distinguish likely demand from committed demand so purchasing actions are aligned to business risk and customer need.

• Collaborate with Warehouse and Operations to plan inbound volume, receiving timing, staging requirements, and outbound shipment priorities based on warehouse capacity and customer schedules.

• Partner with Finance and Procurement to monitor inventory exposure, excess and obsolete inventory, returns, cancellations, and restocking impacts while supporting inventory performance objectives.

• Maintain accurate planning data in ERP/MRP and related systems, including lead times, promised dates, reorder or safety-stock parameters where applicable, order quantities, and relevant supplier information.

• Develop and m

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