Inventory planner education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an inventory planner. Inventory planners usually study business, marketing, or supply chain management. 74% of inventory planners hold a bachelor's degree, and 12% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,975 real inventory planner resumes to see exactly what inventory planner education sections show.

The most common colleges for inventory planners are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online inventory planner courses to help get the education required to be an inventory planner.

There are certain inventory planner certifications that you should consider. These inventory planner certifications include Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP).

What education do you need to become an inventory planner?

What degree do you need to be an inventory planner?

The most common degree for inventory planners is bachelor's degree, with 74% of inventory planners earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 12% and associate degree degree at 8%.

Bachelor's, 74%

Associate, 12%

Master's, 8%

High School Diploma, 4%

Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become an inventory planner?

You should major in business to become an inventory planner. 42% of inventory planners major in business. Other common majors for an inventory planner include marketing and supply chain management.

Business, 42%

Marketing, 7%

Supply Chain Management, 6%

Management, 6%

Other Majors, 39%

Most common colleges for inventory planners

Inventory planners often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Pennsylvania State University, and Ohio State University. Here are the most common colleges for inventory planners in the US based on their resumes.

Inventory planner common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	14.29%
Pennsylvania State University	12.44%
Ohio State University	6.91%
Northern Illinois University	5.99%
Western Washington University	5.99%

Show more common inventory planner colleges

Best majors for inventory planners

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	42.3%
2	Marketing	6.6%
3	Supply Chain Management	6.0%
4	Management	5.6%
5	Accounting	5.5%

Show more common inventory planner majors

Best colleges for inventory planners

The best colleges for inventory planners are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Boston College.

An inventory planner with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for inventory planners. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become inventory planners.

1. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

5. Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, OH • Private

In-state tuition

$11,105

Enrollment

13,729

6. Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$39,216

Enrollment

1,303

7. Morgan State University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$7,900

Enrollment

6,404

8. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

9. Siena Heights University

Adrian, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$27,124

Enrollment

2,035

10. University of Akron

Akron, OH • Private

In-state tuition

$11,463

Enrollment

13,676

20 best online courses for inventory planners

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2. Supply Chain Management A-Z: Operations & Logistics Basics

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Supply Chain Management Basics: An MBA style course to boost your career as a business operations & logistics manager...

3. Financial Accounting - Inventory Costs

4.3

(254)

Mastering Inventory Costs & Flows: An In-Depth Guide to Accounting for Inventory in Business Operations...

4. RA: Data Science and Supply chain analytics.(A-Z with R)

4.5

(322)

Learn R,Supply-chain Data Science, Inventory Optimization,Big Data forecasting, Machine learning and Revenue Management...

5. SAP MM Materials Management (beginner to expert level)

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Master SAP Materials Management module with practical implementation steps. Prepare and crack SAP MM Certification exam...

6. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service

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Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...

7. Laravel 9 - Build Complete Inventory Management System A-Z

4.5

(666)

In This Course, You Will Build Two Different Projects With Laravel 9 including Inventory Management System A-Z...

8. eBay Drop Shipping Guide with No Inventory - Work From Home

(9,490)

Learn exactly how to work from home purely selling and drop shipping on e Bay. No up front inventory! Basic to Advanced!...

9. PHP for Beginners to Inventory POS Sales Project - AdminLTE

4.2

(392)

Create Inventory POS System Project With Billing by use of Bootstrap Responsive Admin LTE Dashboard With PHP PHP7 MYSQL...

10. SAP Materials Management (MM) Super User Training

4.6

(614)

Complete Beginner and Intermediate Purchasing & Inventory Management Training - Perform all the task in SAP in no time...

11. Unity RPG Inventory Systems Asset Pack: Behind The Scenes

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Review and integrate an RPG-Style Inventory System. All Code Base Provided As A Flexible Asset Pack...

12. Create POS System - Inventory & sales with PHP 7 & adminLTE

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(282)

Learn how to create a POS system with inventory management and billing using PHP 7 and Admin LTE...

13. RA: Data Science and Supply Chain analytics. A-Z with Python

4.4

(840)

Learn Python, Supply Chain Data Science ,Linear Programming, Forecasting, Pricing and Inventory Management...

14. Procurement & Supply Planning tools and techniques.

4.4

(310)

Learn how to Make purchasing strategies ,MRP, forecast, inventory policies and techniques to minimize supply costs...

15. Master Blazor Development: Build Inventory Management System

4.5

(435)

Learn Blazor Server, Entity Framework Core, and ASP.NET Core Identity for Full Stack Web Development...

16. SAP MM (Materials Management) Consultant Level Course

(306)

Learn SAP Material Management module from scratch. Purchasing, Schema Determination, Material Master, Goods Receipt, etc...

17. SAP MM -Material Management Simplified For Beginners

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Exclusively designed SAP MM Training for End-Users, MM-Super-users , SAP Beginner to become SAP MM Consultant, S4 HANA...

18. Supply Chain Fundamentals: Logistic & Transportation

4.5

(577)

Learn the Fundamentals of Logistic, Warehouse, Inbound, Picking, Packing, transportation and apply it to any ERP system...

19. Ultimate TALLY ERP 9 with GST - TALLY with Accounting [2022]

4.5

(781)

Practical hands-on training on the core concepts like accounting, inventory, Payroll with practical hands-on...

20. Practical Pharmaceutical Supply Management: LMIC Focus

4.4

(2,385)

Pharmaceutical Supply Mastery: From Procurement to Efficient Distribution...

Top 10 most affordable universities for inventory planners

The most affordable schools for inventory planners are Baruch College of the City University of New York, suny farmingdale, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for inventory planners are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for inventory planners.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

5. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

6. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

7. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

8. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

9. Dickinson State University

Dickinson, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$6,768

Cost of attendance

15,506

10. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for inventory planners

The hardest universities for inventory planners to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Boston College.

Some great schools for inventory planners are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for inventory planners based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

6. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

8. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

10. Brandeis University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

31%

SAT average

1,398

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for inventory planners

The easiest schools for inventory planners to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, notre dame college, and lim college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an inventory planner without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for inventory planners.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

3. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

4. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

5. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

6. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

7. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

8. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

9. Lewis-Clark State College

Lewiston, ID • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,009

10. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

Average inventory planner salary by education level

Inventory planners with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $86,053 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, inventory planners earn a median annual income of $73,800 compared to $66,494 for inventory planners with an Associate degree.

Inventory planner education level	Inventory planner salary
Master's Degree	$86,053
High School Diploma or Less	$62,937
Bachelor's Degree	$73,800
Some College/ Associate Degree	$66,494

Inventory planner education FAQs

What is the best college for Inventory Planners?

Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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