Material controller vs production planner

The differences between material controllers 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 a material controller and a production planner. Additionally, a production planner has an average salary of $60,390, which is higher than the $41,064 average annual salary of a material controller.

The top three skills for a material controller include computer system, purchase orders and hazardous materials. The most important skills for a production planner are customer service, MRP, and ERP.

Material controller vs production planner overview

	Material Controller	Production Planner
Yearly salary	$41,064	$60,390
Hourly rate	$19.74	$29.03
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	93,578	68,717
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does a material controller do?

A material controller coordinates the movement of materials between departments. This position's duties include creating records of materials' movements in the company, negotiating with vendors, carrying out safety checks, and ensuring operations follow company and industry regulations. They must work in collaboration with other departments in the company to perform their duties effectively.

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.

Material controller vs production planner salary

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

	Material Controller	Production Planner
Average salary	$41,064	$60,390
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $68,000	Between $44,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	Lancaster, CA	Newark, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Aviation Technology Group	Intuitive Surgical
Best paying industry	Energy	Energy

Differences between material controller and production planner education

There are a few differences between a material controller and a production planner in terms of educational background:

	Material Controller	Production Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Material controller vs production planner demographics

Here are the differences between material controllers' and production planners' demographics:

	Material Controller	Production Planner
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 71.8% Female, 28.2%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.9% 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 material controller and production planner duties and responsibilities

Material controller example responsibilities.

Manage and coordinate customer delivery commits between production, engineering and logistics.
Assist to establish EDI with vendors.
Perform cleaning duties, range from cleaning sales floor to cleaning windows.
Provide training in SPC, wafer cleaning, final inspection and reactor operations.
Enter data into RF scanner to load and manipulate data and to produce reports.
Prepare and update weekly material report, material requirement planning (MRP) and end of life (EOL) report.

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.

Material controller vs production planner skills

Common material controller skills

Computer System, 12%
Purchase Orders, 11%
Hazardous Materials, 10%
FAA, 6%
MSDS, 5%
Inventory Control, 4%

Common production planner skills

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

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Office and Administrative Industry
Material Controller
Material Controller vs Production Planner

Updated January 8, 2025

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