Inventory planner vs production planner

The differences between inventory 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 inventory planner and a production planner. Additionally, an inventory planner has an average salary of $65,504, which is higher than the $60,390 average annual salary of a production planner.

The top three skills for an inventory planner include supply chain, purchase orders and logistics. The most important skills for a production planner are customer service, MRP, and ERP.

Inventory planner vs production planner overview

	Inventory Planner	Production Planner
Yearly salary	$65,504	$60,390
Hourly rate	$31.49	$29.03
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	37,034	68,717
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does an inventory planner do?

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.

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.

Inventory planner vs production planner salary

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

	Inventory Planner	Production Planner
Average salary	$65,504	$60,390
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $93,000	Between $44,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	San Bruno, CA	Newark, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Entegris	Intuitive Surgical
Best paying industry	Technology	Energy

Differences between inventory planner and production planner education

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

	Inventory Planner	Production Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Inventory planner vs production planner demographics

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

	Inventory Planner	Production Planner
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 53.0% Female, 47.0%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	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%	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 inventory planner and production planner duties and responsibilities

Inventory planner example responsibilities.

Develop process to manage import orders to manage time and inventory more effectively JDA E3 certify.
Participate in SIOP meeting and coordinate with all function teams and regional/global team to achieve corporate KPI.
Develop and implement purchasing and contract management, policies and procedures and manage ISO documents and improvements.
Review stock levels, imbalances and data integrity in JDA to ensure the supply plan is generating accurate information.
Handle complex monthly reconciliations and daily/weekly journal entries to ensure AR balance accuracy.
Facilitate communication channels between the sales groups and corporate logistics to drive improve demand forecast.

Show more

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.

Show more

Inventory planner vs production planner skills

Common inventory planner skills

Supply Chain, 12%
Purchase Orders, 9%
Logistics, 8%
Manage Inventory, 8%
Inventory Planning, 7%
Historical Data, 4%

Common production planner skills

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

Inventory Planner vs. similar jobs

Inventory Planner related careers

Inventory Planner related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z