Production Planner – Printing & Embroidery

About the role

The position is a key operational role within a South African apparel manufacturing business, responsible for planning, scheduling and monitoring branding production from order receipt through to final dispatch. The planner works across embroidery, sublimation, DTF, UV printing and other methods, ensuring capacity, materials and artwork are aligned to meet tight delivery dates.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare, manage and continuously update the full branding production schedule, covering embroidery, printing, finishing and dispatch.
• Ensure pre‑production readiness by confirming specifications, artwork, stitch counts and material availability before releasing jobs.
• Assess machine, equipment and labour capacity, coordinate internal and outsourced bookings, and flag capacity constraints early.
• Track work‑in‑progress daily, update delivery dates, identify bottlenecks and escalates risks to protect customer commitments.
• Liaise with procurement to secure raw materials, consumables and inks, monitoring stock‑on‑order and supplier lead times.

Required profile

• Previous production planning experience in clothing, branding, embroidery, printing or a related manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of production workflow, capacity forecasting and critical‑path management.
• Excellent organisational, analytical and problem‑solving abilities with high attention to detail.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and able to maintain accurate data in planning tools such as Infor M3.

Required skills

• Microsoft Excel
• Infor M3 (or similar ERP planning system)