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.
Inventory planner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real inventory planner resumes:
- 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.
- Review MRP reports daily and adjust inventory levels as needed for manufacturing and warehouse locations.
- Implement MRP planning tool that identify capacity constraints and predict upcoming inventory need and maintain stock requirements.
- Provide quarterly logistics cost analysis that includes information on logistics cost issues and saving opportunities to business management.
- Expedite shipments, prioritize critical POs, cross-site leveling, and resolve other production/supply issues.
- Establish and maintain communication for outs, constrain supply, late POs, and at-risk skus.
- Implement and support new and existing ISO processes.
- Perform work order analysis, including BOM errors, phantom, claim and back-flush components.
- Update manugistics product parameters in supply BOM, resolve issues to balance supply & demand.
- Specialize in planning and purchasing thread, leather, and fabric commodities to meet company production needs.
Inventory planner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Inventory Planners are proficient in Supply Chain, Purchase Orders, and Logistics. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Inventory Planners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Supply Chain, 12%
Conduct forecast analysis of key trends in orders history, supply chain process and proactively identifying and implementing improvements.
- Purchase Orders, 9%
Generate purchase orders to suppliers to support manufacturing, marketing, merchandising, and retail requirements within established inventory budget.
- Logistics, 8%
Research inventory questions, discrepancies and allocations to support effective warehousing, fulfillment and logistics.
- Manage Inventory, 8%
Implemented new process to consolidate containers in oversees distribution warehouses to better manage inventory in domestic warehouses.
- Inventory Planning, 7%
Teamed with inventory planning department and updated forecasts in global database.
- Historical Data, 4%
Research and use historical data to identify trends for use in forecasting current/future products to ensure forecast and purchasing accuracy.
Common skills that an inventory planner uses to do their job include "supply chain," "purchase orders," and "logistics." You can find details on the most important inventory planner responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for an inventory planner to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "material recording clerks may interact with customers in order to respond to problems or complaints." Additionally, an inventory planner resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "negotiated delivery dates with vendors to meet customers' installation dates. "
Detail oriented. Many inventory planner duties rely on detail oriented. "material and product inspecting clerks must pay attention to detail when checking items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot.," so an inventory planner will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways inventory planner responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "maintain all purchase order standard item comments based on blueprints and detailed instructions that are necessary to produce quality parts. "
Math skills. This is an important skill for inventory planners to perform their duties. For an example of how inventory planner responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "material recording clerks may need to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an inventory planner: "analyzed market trends, distribution and sales statistics to determine monthly and annual inventory strategies for $17 million distribution center. ".
Communication skills. A big part of what inventory planners do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to inventory planner responsibilities because "material recording clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, or managers and need to convey their company’s needs effectively." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical inventory planner tasks: "facilitated communication channels between the sales groups and corporate logistics to drive improved demand forecast. "
The three companies that hire the most inventory planners are:
- Advance Auto Parts40 inventory planners jobs
- Williams Sonoma15 inventory planners jobs
- Schwan's12 inventory planners jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable inventory planner resume templates
Build a professional inventory planner resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your inventory planner resume.
Compare different inventory planners
Inventory 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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an inventory planner are more likely to require skills like "supply chain," "purchase orders," "manage inventory," and "inventory planning." On the other hand, a job as a master scheduler requires skills like "customer service," "program management," "continuous improvement," and "microsoft project." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Master schedulers tend to make the most money working in the energy industry, where they earn an average salary of $78,633. In contrast, inventory planners make the biggest average salary, $81,394, in the technology industry.On average, master schedulers reach similar levels of education than inventory planners. Master schedulers are 3.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Inventory 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 some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that inventory planner responsibilities requires skills like "supply chain," "manage inventory," "inventory planning," and "historical data." But a material coordinator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "data entry," "shipping receiving," and "material inventory."
Material coordinators earn a lower average salary than inventory planners. But material coordinators earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $41,571. Additionally, inventory planners earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $81,394 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Material coordinators tend to reach similar levels of education than inventory planners. In fact, they're 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Inventory planner vs. Supply technician
In a warehouse setting, a supply technician is responsible for handling all the incoming and outgoing products, ensuring accuracy in inventory and logistics. Most of the time, they are in charge of maintaining and keeping records, loading and unloading shipments and deliveries, verifying invoices, and processing documents. A supply technician often works under the supervision of a manager or supervisor, and it is essential to report any complicated issues that need to be resolved. Furthermore, one must adhere to the policies and regulations and maintain a safe environment for everyone.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, inventory planners are more likely to have skills like "supply chain," "logistics," "manage inventory," and "inventory planning." But a supply technician is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "patients," "inventory management," and "rehabilitation."
Supply technicians earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $50,167. Comparatively, inventory planners have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $81,394.Most supply technicians achieve a similar degree level compared to inventory planners. For example, they're 3.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Inventory planner vs. Production scheduler
A production scheduler is in charge of developing manufacturing schedules to achieve short and long term production goals. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to understand the extent of all procedures, identifying the needs of clients, and devising strategies for optimal operations. They must also monitor the company's resources and workforce to ensure that everything runs smoothly in adherence to all schedules, making changes only when necessary. Furthermore, as a production scheduler, it is essential to encourage the workforce to reach goals and deadlines, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between inventory planners and production schedulers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an inventory planner might have more use for skills like "supply chain," "purchase orders," "logistics," and "manage inventory." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of production schedulers require skills like "customer service," "continuous improvement," "lean manufacturing," and "material availability. "
In general, production schedulers earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $51,443. The highest-paying industry for an inventory planner is the technology industry.In general, production schedulers hold similar degree levels compared to inventory planners. Production schedulers are 2.5% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of inventory planner
Updated January 8, 2025
