Planner Jobs Near Me

5 Common Career Paths For a Planner

Buyer

A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products. They also conduct extensive research for market and price trends while considering the highest quality standards. Buyers should also possess strong analytical skills to create purchase orders and statistical analysis.

Planner/Buyer

The role of buyers/planners is to ensure that office materials and equipment are well-supplied within their organization. They decide and purchase the materials needed for use or resale by their organization. They are responsible for evaluating prospective suppliers based on their cost, product quality, and delivery times. They are also the ones who negotiate contracts specifying the payment terms, price, and delivery schedules. Most employers prefer their buyer to have earned a bachelor's degree with a major in operations management or business management.

Team Leader

Team leaders are responsible for managing a team for a specific project or work component. They primarily guide the team members and ensure that they are still working towards the set goals. Team leaders create strategies to reach goals, cascade the goals and strategies to team members, assign tasks, conduct periodic check-ups on the roadmap towards the goals, foster an engaging work environment, motivate and coach team members, monitor team performance, evaluate the strategies and come up with mitigating plans as needed. They are also responsible for reporting the team's progress to higher management.

Merchandise Planner

A merchandise planner is responsible for monitoring the adequacy of stock inventories and requesting purchase orders by researching current market trends to meet customer demands. Merchandise planners assist with marketing campaigns and promotional offers of the business, selling goods and services to the customers based on their needs and budget requirements. They also write sales reports, inspect the validity of merchandise, and maintain an attractive visual display of items. A merchandise planner resolves and escalates customer complaints timely, processes replacements, and issues refunds as needed.

Production Planner

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.

Illustrated Career Paths For a Planner