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The differences between planning specialists and supply chain planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a planning specialist and a supply chain planner. Additionally, a supply chain planner has an average salary of $80,668, which is higher than the $69,170 average annual salary of a planning specialist.
The top three skills for a planning specialist include customer service, logistics and project management. The most important skills for a supply chain planner are supply chain, customer service, and supply chain planning.
| Planning Specialist | Supply Chain Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $69,170 | $80,668 |
| Hourly rate | $33.25 | $38.78 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 31,008 | 36,145 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A planning specialist is responsible for monitoring the project management procedures of an organization's operations, ensuring that the team meets budget goals and deadline deliverables. Planning specialists coordinate with suppliers and other third-party vendors for materials needed in the operations, as well as inspecting the efficiency and performance of equipment to prevent delays. They also manage the team's adherence to production schedule, task delegations, and output deliveries. A planning specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing progress reports and performing other related administrative duties.
The job of supply chain planners, or logisticians, is to plan, develop, and schedule project management tools in support of an organization's operations. They are responsible for managing and monitoring inventories, forecasting production and sales levels, and tracking response time and delivery performance. Other duties include analyzing the levels of finished products, developing and monitoring production plans, and generating reports. Supply chain planners are also responsible for supervising other team members and ensuring that customer service best practices are followed.
Planning specialists and supply chain planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Planning Specialist | Supply Chain Planner | |
| Average salary | $69,170 | $80,668 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $97,000 | Between $58,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rockville, MD | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a planning specialist and a supply chain planner in terms of educational background:
| Planning Specialist | Supply Chain Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between planning specialists' and supply chain planners' demographics:
| Planning Specialist | Supply Chain Planner | |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.5% Female, 50.5% | Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 11.3% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 10% |