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Location analyst vs planning analyst

The differences between location analysts and planning analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a location analyst, becoming a planning analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a planning analyst has an average salary of $68,137, which is higher than the $55,631 average annual salary of a location analyst.

The top three skills for a location analyst include data integrity issues, market trends and financial models. The most important skills for a planning analyst are project management, customer service, and data analysis.

Location analyst vs planning analyst overview

Location AnalystPlanning Analyst
Yearly salary$55,631$68,137
Hourly rate$26.75$32.76
Growth rate19%11%
Number of jobs13,51992,380
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age3744
Years of experience64

What does a location analyst do?

A location analyst is responsible for the many aspects of an organization's business operations. As a location analyst, you will be performing a variety of duties including property planning, marketing, and market intelligence, and site research. In addition, you will manage and facilitate the collection of data, map market share on behalf of corporate clients, and manage the requirements for location planning. You will also be responsible for generating sales forecasts for extensions and new stores, and interpreting and predicting consumer behavior using the latest analyst tools and templates.

What does a planning analyst do?

As a planning analyst, you will be responsible for designing and implementing a company's business and marketing strategies with the goal of driving profits and reducing costs. You will propose measures to enhance an organization's overall efficiency, and guide managers on ways to strengthen profit margins through risk awareness reduced costs, and increased revenues. Other duties include conducting risk analyses to identify areas of potential failure, maintaining the business continuity program, and handling internal and external corporate communications with the investment community and industry analysts.

Location analyst vs planning analyst salary

Location analysts and planning analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

Location AnalystPlanning Analyst
Average salary$55,631$68,137
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $79,000Between $49,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Rhode Island
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Automotive

Differences between location analyst and planning analyst education

There are a few differences between a location analyst and a planning analyst in terms of educational background:

Location AnalystPlanning Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Location analyst vs planning analyst demographics

Here are the differences between location analysts' and planning analysts' demographics:

Location AnalystPlanning Analyst
Average age3744
Gender ratioMale, 36.0% Female, 64.0%Male, 53.4% Female, 46.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 14.1% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 12.6% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%12%

Differences between location analyst and planning analyst duties and responsibilities

Location analyst example responsibilities.

  • Analyze and forecast sales, manage inventory levels and determine distribution strategy to all Marshalls stores.
  • Evaluate sales and inventory performance in order to maintain open-to-buy projections, vendor forecasts and properly allocate merchandise
  • Transform data into stories through effective use of data visualization, simplification and understanding of intend audiences.

Planning analyst example responsibilities.

  • Manage 160 footwear SKUs across 3700 stores to ensure optimal inventory depths during peak time frames.
  • Reduce work in process inventory by use of KANBAN system which also lead to improve customer service.
  • Manage suppliers (KPI's) to deliver target cost, service and quality levels in each operating center.
  • Manage cross-functional team which successfully create a manual for ISO 9000 certification and develop a training program for new hires.
  • Lead monthly and quarterly EAC forecasting and consolidate forecasts in support of corporate financial reporting.
  • Prepare requests for quotes (RFQ) and requests for improvement (RFI) for distribution to existing and potential suppliers.
  • Show more

Location analyst vs planning analyst skills

Common location analyst skills
  • Data Integrity Issues, 44%
  • Market Trends, 19%
  • Financial Models, 18%
  • Analysis Support, 15%
  • GIS, 2%
  • Windows, 1%
Common planning analyst skills
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Logistics, 6%
  • Strong Analytical, 5%
  • SQL, 5%

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