What does a capacity planner do?
In the manufacturing industry, a capacity planner is primarily in charge of overseeing production facilities, developing detailed strategies to optimize their daily operations. They gather and review data from different departments, conduct research and analyses to determine the consumer and market demands, and assess production procedures to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems. A capacity planner utilizes their research findings to develop detailed plans and product roadmaps, including recommendations and solutions against problem areas.
Capacity planner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real capacity planner resumes:
- Manage bandwidth usage on copper-base colocation devices, central office switches and routers.
- Manage various projects to implement MRP system correctly and cut supply cost and turn round time from supplier.
- Supervise NPI chip fulfillment process - manage wafer starts to meet internal qualification and board level build plan.
- Develop capacity planning and performance system for all mainframe and Unix systems
- Maintain WAN/LAN IP capacity for S.E.
- Provide ERP training to new personnel.
- Convert a MICS databases to a MXG database.
- Administer, implement and maintain the MICS accounting charge back system.
- Lead product reviews: IBM zSeries for Linux, RLX blade processors.
- Develop and maintain work centers, crewing and calendars in ERP systems.
- Release work orders per MRP while analyzing available production hours against the planned schedule.
- Control by long lead-time risk buys with planning BOM s, driven by forecast.
- Incorporate HP-UX SAR records, consolidating HP-UX and MVS relate information into a single SAS database.
- Track and document customer facing, peering and IP backbone router and switch slot/port and uplink capacity.
- Analyze and implement actions to reduce liability for excess and obsolete materials due to BOM demand changes.
Capacity planner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Capacity Planners are proficient in Infrastructure, Project Management, and SQL. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Capacity Planners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Infrastructure, 15%
Provided technical expertise to assist American Express in managing their Web based infrastructure and determined proper capacity requirements for applications.
- Project Management, 10%
Team expert in project management.
- SQL, 7%
Design / code in SQL / Access / Excel various data storage and analysis tools to aid capacity planners.
- Tableau, 6%
Coordinated with systems analyst team to fully automate run rates and trending data in Tableau.
- Historical Data, 5%
Research and use historical data to identify trends for use in forecasting current/future products to ensure forecast and purchasing accuracy.
- Data Centers, 4%
Contract position for client merging data centers.
Most capacity planners use their skills in "infrastructure," "project management," and "sql" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential capacity planner responsibilities here:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a capacity planner to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what capacity planners do because "material recording clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, or managers and need to convey their company’s needs effectively." Additionally, a capacity planner resume shows how capacity planners use communication skills: "maintained short- and long-range plans; facilitated communications and information sharing as a member and sme on the master planning board. "
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling capacity planner duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "material recording clerks may interact with customers in order to respond to problems or complaints." According to a capacity planner resume, here's how capacity planners can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "participated in engineering reviews for the online banking infrastructure and the customer facing web infrastructure. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for capacity planners to perform their duties. For an example of how capacity planner responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "material and product inspecting clerks must pay attention to detail when checking items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a capacity planner: "master planner prepare and assess detailed project plans and schedules for all stages and facets of space shuttle missions. ".
Math skills. For certain capacity planner responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a capacity planner rely on this skill, as "material recording clerks may need to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what capacity planners do: "analyzed market trends, distribution and sales statistics to determine monthly and annual inventory strategies for $17 million distribution center. "
The three companies that hire the most capacity planners are:
- Federal Reserve Bank14 capacity planners jobs
- Bank of America8 capacity planners jobs
- Meta4 capacity planners jobs
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Compare different capacity planners
Capacity planner vs. Material coordinator
A material coordinator is in charge of processing requisitions and ensuring that all departments receive necessary goods and materials within a company. Aside from this, they must maintain positive engagements with vendors, suppliers, and business partners, negotiate contracts, manage schedules of deliveries, and prioritize cost-efficient goods. It is also a material coordinator's responsibility to keep an accurate record of inventory, secure sensitive data, and coordinate with all departments to ensure that all transactions are efficient and precise.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between capacity planners and material coordinator. For instance, capacity planner responsibilities require skills such as "infrastructure," "project management," "sql," and "tableau." Whereas a material coordinator is skilled in "logistics," "purchase orders," "data entry," and "shipping receiving." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that material coordinators earn slightly differ from capacity planners. In particular, material coordinators are 8.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a capacity planner. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Capacity planner vs. Master scheduler
A master scheduler is in charge of overseeing and developing a company's overall production schedule, ensuring quality and workforce adherence. Their responsibilities revolve around liaising with clients to determine their needs, developing daily schedules and objectives, disseminating scheduling notices, and conducting regular inspections to ensure the completion of projects in a timely and efficient manner. Furthermore, a master scheduler must produce progress reports and encourage workforce members to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that capacity planner responsibilities requires skills like "infrastructure," "project management," "sql," and "tableau." But a master scheduler might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "program management," "continuous improvement," "microsoft project," and "primavera."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Master schedulers tend to reach similar levels of education than capacity planners. In fact, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Capacity planner vs. Production clerk
Production clerks are involved with parts, warehousing, and inventory management operations. Those who choose this career path will be required to review and distribute production, work, and shipment schedules, as well as confer with department supervisors in order to determine the progress of work and completion dates. Production clerks also compile reports on things like work progress, inventory levels, cost, and production issues.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, capacity planners are more likely to have skills like "infrastructure," "project management," "sql," and "tableau." But a production clerk is more likely to have skills like "basic math," "data entry," "safety procedures," and "math."
Production clerks typically earn lower educational levels compared to capacity planners. Specifically, they're 10.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Capacity planner vs. Inventory control lead
An Inventory Control Lead oversees supplies in an organization, aiming to meet market demands and avoid oversupply. They perform regular inspections and assessments, review invoices and other documentation, monitor product distribution operations, and produce regular progress reports. It is their responsibility to address issues and concerns, resolve them promptly, and efficiently maintain smooth workflow operations. Moreover, an Inventory Control Lead manages different teams, encouraging them to reach goals while implementing company policies and guidelines.
Types of capacity planner
Updated January 8, 2025
