Product planner vs production clerk

The differences between product planners and production clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a product planner and a production clerk. Additionally, a product planner has an average salary of $94,669, which is higher than the $32,281 average annual salary of a production clerk.

The top three skills for a product planner include product development, product planning and product line. The most important skills for a production clerk are basic math, data entry, and safety procedures.

Product planner vs production clerk overview

	Product Planner	Production Clerk
Yearly salary	$94,669	$32,281
Hourly rate	$45.51	$15.52
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	85,346	241,271
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does a product planner do?

Product planner positions require a battery of skills, including decisiveness, stress management, leadership, organization, communication, statistics, business operations, computer literacy, and problem-solving, to name a few. Those who choose this career will be required to involve internally-focused decisions, steps, and tasks necessary to develop a successful product.

What does a production clerk do?

Production clerks are involved with parts, warehousing, and inventory management operations. Those who choose this career path will be required to review and distribute production, work, and shipment schedules, as well as confer with department supervisors in order to determine the progress of work and completion dates. Production clerks also compile reports on things like work progress, inventory levels, cost, and production issues.

Product planner vs production clerk salary

Product planners and production clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Product Planner	Production Clerk
Average salary	$94,669	$32,281
Salary range	Between $71,000 And $124,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Apple	Rich Products
Best paying industry	Technology	Manufacturing

Differences between product planner and production clerk education

There are a few differences between a product planner and a production clerk in terms of educational background:

	Product Planner	Production Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Product planner vs production clerk demographics

Here are the differences between product planners' and production clerks' demographics:

	Product Planner	Production Clerk
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8%	Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 7.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between product planner and production clerk duties and responsibilities

Product planner example responsibilities.

Manage company MRP purchases including contractor and consultant contract review.
Perform financial forecasting, leveraging MRP to plan performance of products and evaluate ROI of raw materials.
Task with supervising raw materials suppliers for computer test equipment construction using several ERP systems.
Support implementation of new ERP system (MFGPRO Eb2) relate to engineering procurement systems and processes.
Set up KANBAN to assure the steady flow of parts without stock outs as well as growing inventories.
Work collaboratively with purchasing, production, engineering, quality control, BOM analysts, buyers, and suppliers.

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Production clerk example responsibilities.

Flight line expediter ensures maintenance accomplishment and sortie production by managing, controlling and directing allocate resources and personnel.
Clean windows, glass partitions, and mirrors with water and other cleaners with sponges and squeegees.
Coordinate with multiple sewing facilities to expedite late customer orders.
Ship via fed ex and ups.
Observe and follow GMP guidelines ensuring product quality.
Perform cycle counting of WIP and complete inventories.

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Product planner vs production clerk skills

Common product planner skills

Product Development, 9%
Product Planning, 7%
Product Line, 7%
Logistics, 5%
MRP, 4%
Product Management, 4%

Common production clerk skills

Basic Math, 16%
Data Entry, 16%
Safety Procedures, 8%
Math, 8%
Production Reports, 4%
GMP, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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