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Job Description
Yard & Port Operations Planning Manager - Industrial Manufacturing ilocatum - 5.0 Little Rock, AR Job Details Full-time $120,000 - $130,000 a year 1 day ago Benefits Health insurance Dental insurance 401(k) Paid time off Vision insurance Qualifications Rail operations supervision Managing logistics operations teams Cycle counting inventory management Metrics Reporting Reporting and dashboarding tools Dispatching Managing supply chain management teams Manufacturing facility Data management Leading team collaboration initiatives Managing rail transportation teams Cross-functional team management Cross-functional communication Excel data analysis Full Job Description Manager, Yard and Port Operations Planning Little Rock, Arkansas A large-scale heavy industrial manufacturing and logistics operation in Little Rock, Arkansas is seeking a Manager of Yard and Port Operations Planning to lead integrated planning, inventory visibility, dispatch readiness, and cross-functional operational coordination across yard, rail, truck, barge, and port activities. This is a plant-based leadership role. The primary function is translating production schedules, inventory flow, customer priorities, and logistics activity into an executable daily and weekly operating plan across yard, port, rail, and dispatch operations.
Schedule:
Full-time, plant-based. Role requires availability to support shift-based operations, weekend coverage, and customer-critical shipment schedules as needed.
Compensation:
$120,000 - $130,000 Per Year What You'll Do You will lead the daily and weekly integrated planning process across inbound materials, port arrivals, unloading, internal movements, production releases, staging, and outbound customer shipments. Each day involves coordinating operational planning meetings and communicating prioritized move, load, and unload schedules organized by shift, zone, customer priority, and execution owner. Yard and port capacity planning falls within your scope, including storage location management, staging lane assignments, FIFO sequencing, congestion management, and shipment readiness tracking. You will maintain inventory visibility and location accuracy through SAP, ERP, and WMS systems, supported by cycle counts, reconciliation processes, physical verification, and inventory governance routines. You will serve as a planning coordinator across yard operations, rail, port, logistics, supply chain, quality, maintenance, production, and contract management teams. Dispatch readiness is a key output of this role, including loading plan validation, BOL and documentation control, staging coordination, material release tracking, and shipment prioritization. You will monitor and escalate operational risks related to congestion, detention and demurrage, staging capacity, equipment constraints, delayed shipments, and inventory discrepancies. Forecasting manpower, equipment, trailer, crane, forklift, and operational support requirements to meet production and shipment targets is a recurring responsibility. You will use KPI dashboards, reporting tools, and operational metrics to improve planning accuracy, inventory control, dwell time, re-handling rates, and handling cost per ton. Continuous improvement work focused on operational flow, planning discipline, documentation accuracy, and shipment reliability is an ongoing expectation of the role. You will lead and develop a team of planners, inventory coordinators, SAP and WMS coordinators, dispatch support personnel, and documentation staff. Supporting PR and GRN processes, operational documentation, planning records, inventory corrections, and audit-ready operational controls rounds out the scope. Required Qualifications 7 to 10 or more years of experience in yard planning, logistics planning, inventory control, supply chain planning, warehouse or yard management, heavy industrial logistics, manufacturing operations, or a related environment 3 to 5 or more years of leadership experience managing planners, inventory coordinators, documentation staff, or cross-functional operational planning processes Strong working knowledge of yard, rail, truck, barge, port, inventory, and dispatch operations within a manufacturing or industrial environment Hands-on experience with SAP, ERP, or WMS systems including transaction discipline, inventory reconciliation, cycle counts, physical verification, and operational data management Proficiency in Excel, KPI reporting, planning-board management, and analytical problem-solving Ability to work in a plant-based environment supporting shift operations, weekends, and customer-critical shipment schedules Strong communication, coordination, and cross-functional leadership skills Preferred Qualifications Background in heavy industrial manufacturing, steel, pipe, plate, structural steel, rail transloading, port operations, energy infrastructure, or large-scale logistics environments Experience supporting facility start-ups, yard expansions, logistics ramp-ups, or major material flow transformations Familiarity with BOL processes, loading plans, shipment documentation, packing, banding, and dunnage requirements, and customer-specific shipping controls Experience with KPI dashboards, continuous improvement methodologies, 5S, visual management, root-cause analysis, and operational performance systems Exposure to production planning, S&OP processes, contract management, carrier coordination, and demurrage and detention management Compensation and Benefits Medical, dental, and vision insurance 401(k) retirement plan Paid time off
