Assistant planner vs production planner

The differences between assistant planners and production planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an assistant planner and a production planner. Additionally, an assistant planner has an average salary of $80,357, which is higher than the $60,390 average annual salary of a production planner.

The top three skills for an assistant planner include strong analytical, purchase orders and allocation strategies. The most important skills for a production planner are customer service, MRP, and ERP.

Assistant planner vs production planner overview

	Assistant Planner	Production Planner
Yearly salary	$80,357	$60,390
Hourly rate	$38.63	$29.03
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	13,753	68,717
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does an assistant planner do?

An assistant planner is responsible for assisting the chief planner in identifying services and activities to help business functional operations and processes. Assistant planners usually coordinate with various departments to connect projects and develop business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the business and increase profitability. They also reach out to potential clients, discuss the services offered by the company, and prepare contracts for partnerships. An assistant planner must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in focusing on techniques that would help the business achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

What does a production planner do?

Production planners or schedulers are employees who take charge of the timeliness and accuracy of the production process. The planners develop production schedules which detail the tasks that need to be done to meet the set completion date. They emphasize the goods and materials necessary in the production phase. It is their job to make sure that the working space is well-maintained for optimal performance. They also manage the flow of information during production.

Assistant planner vs production planner salary

Assistant planners and production planners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Assistant Planner	Production Planner
Average salary	$80,357	$60,390
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $125,000	Between $44,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	Monterey, CA	Newark, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Belk	Intuitive Surgical
Best paying industry	Media	Energy

Differences between assistant planner and production planner education

There are a few differences between an assistant planner and a production planner in terms of educational background:

	Assistant Planner	Production Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Assistant planner vs production planner demographics

Here are the differences between assistant planners' and production planners' demographics:

	Assistant Planner	Production Planner
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 34.8% Female, 65.2%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 7.1% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 7.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between assistant planner and production planner duties and responsibilities

Assistant planner example responsibilities.

Manage product flow in apparel category; determining order quantities and generating purchase orders for new and replenishment orders.
Used EDI for customer order releases and shipping information.
Price, negotiate and book shipments with customers and brokers via phone, email tenders and EDI.
Facilitate ISO audits as a lead quality inspector and maintain documentation revision and version control in adherence with ISO standards.
Create marketing campaigns through Volusion e-Commerce software, MyEmma email campaigns, USPS mail, & Facebook to drive revenue sales.
Analyze and recap sales results and inventory forecasts and present business recaps to senior management at quarterly update meetings.

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Production planner example responsibilities.

Manage large supply base consolidations for both production parts and MRO items.
Manage customer accounts from small first time customers to large OEM's.
Manage and update inventory plan base on ABC and MTO statistic data.
Provide leadership and manage production JCL analyst team supporting and recovering of production job streams.
Track managed backlog dollars, OEM, finish product, and make to order specialty products.
Supervise NPI chip fulfillment process - manage wafer starts to meet internal qualification and board level build plan.

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Assistant planner vs production planner skills

Common assistant planner skills

Strong Analytical, 8%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Allocation Strategies, 6%
GIS, 5%
Inventory Productivity, 5%
Inventory Management, 5%

Common production planner skills

Customer Service, 11%
MRP, 9%
ERP, 5%
Logistics, 4%
Continuous Improvement, 4%
On-Time Delivery, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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