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The differences between demand planners and inventory planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a demand planner, becoming an inventory planner takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a demand planner has an average salary of $82,287, which is higher than the $65,504 average annual salary of an inventory planner.
The top three skills for a demand planner include supply chain, customer service and logistics. The most important skills for an inventory planner are supply chain, purchase orders, and logistics.
| Demand Planner | Inventory Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $82,287 | $65,504 |
| Hourly rate | $39.56 | $31.49 |
| Growth rate | 28% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 27,351 | 37,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A demand planner specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop forecast models that will help determine a supply chain's demands. They are also responsible for monitoring the inventory of products, maintaining knowledge and awareness on the latest trends, producing progress reports and presentations, establishing demand plans, and detecting any changes in the forecast, reporting them to management right away. Furthermore, as a demand planner, it is essential to coordinate with everyone in the team, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.
An inventory planner is an individual who is responsible for creating effective inventory plans and strategies to maximize profitability for an organization. Inventory planners are required to produce documents that detail the quantity specifications of the organization's product or equipment. They must maintain their files updated about the inventory by recording them into the organization's databases to avoid possible discrepancies. Inventory planners must also predict future inventory needs and producing plans for buying based on forecasts and sales data.
Demand planners and inventory planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Demand Planner | Inventory Planner | |
| Average salary | $82,287 | $65,504 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $109,000 | Between $45,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Entegris |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a demand planner and an inventory planner in terms of educational background:
| Demand Planner | Inventory Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between demand planners' and inventory planners' demographics:
| Demand Planner | Inventory Planner | |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.5% Female, 43.5% | Male, 53.0% Female, 47.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 11.1% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 7.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 11% |