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What does a product planner do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

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.

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Product planner responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real product planner resumes:

  • 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.
  • Help production sites facilitate production support issues with appropriate teams; DE, sourcing, supplier, logistics, etc.
  • Lead new product introductions efforts, to include establishing BOM's, sources of supply, negotiating price and delivery.
  • Analyze and develop KanBan finish goods plan to support internal engine assembly operations.
  • Maintain and develop positive business relationships with a customer's key personnel involve in or directly relevant to a logistics activity.
  • Analyze and monitor system generate requirements to make purchasing decisions as well as expedite /de-expedite POs when need.

Product planner skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Product Planners are proficient in Product Development, Product Planning, and Product Line. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Product Planners that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Product Development, 9%

    Directed new product development activities for marketing and engineering teams to deliver projects through demanding schedules.

  • Product Planning, 7%

    Provided day-to-day product planning activities and tactical execution for Network Management performance products and projects.

  • Product Line, 7%

    Coordinated product line start-up activities from engineering to production ensuring smooth transition from new product introduction to volume manufacturing.

  • Logistics, 5%

    Interfaced with Logistics, Scheduler, Configuration Center, Traffic Coordinator and Inventory management.

  • MRP, 4%

    Managed company MRP purchases including contractor and consultant contract review.

  • Product Management, 4%

    Sourced order plans and ensured on-time shipments to customers, driving worldwide product management, including field inventory levels.

Most product planners use their skills in "product development," "product planning," and "product line" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential product planner responsibilities here:

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a product planner to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "material recording clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, or managers and need to convey their company’s needs effectively." Product planners often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "sourced and planned npi builds across multiple product lines for a supplier of optical communication components and subsystems. "

Customer-service skills. Many product planner duties rely on customer-service skills. "material recording clerks may interact with customers in order to respond to problems or complaints.," so a product planner will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways product planner responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "delivered sales orders to customer sites, meeting their original requested delivery dates. "

Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of product planners is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday product planner duties, as "material and product inspecting clerks must pay attention to detail when checking items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "create the detailed level bill of materials (bom's) within the sap system for manufacturing. "

Math skills. A big part of what product planners do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to product planner responsibilities because "material recording clerks may need to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical product planner tasks: "organized all statistics generated by production planning and control functions and activities. "

See the full list of product planner skills

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Compare different product planners

Product planner vs. Expeditor

The role of expeditors is to ensure the timely and efficient preparation and delivery of food. To accomplish this task, they also perform other duties, including managing inventory levels, managing supply requisition, and coordinating with subcontractors. They are also responsible for streamlining interdepartmental communication, monitoring job progress, and collaborating with project managers to collect relevant information about job status. This role requires specific skills and qualifications, including a high school diploma or an associate degree in food service, business management, and hospitality management, relevant work experience, and certifications in CCP, CPSM, or CPPB.

We looked at the average product planner salary and compared it with the wages of an expeditor. Generally speaking, expeditors are paid $54,858 lower than product planners per year.Even though product planners and expeditors are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require logistics, mrp, and production control in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, product planner responsibilities require skills like "product development," "product planning," "product line," and "lifecycle management." Meanwhile a typical expeditor has skills in areas such as "customer service," "cleanliness," "house training," and "team work." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Expeditors earn the highest salaries when working in the construction industry, with an average yearly salary of $46,040. On the other hand, product planners are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $99,439.The education levels that expeditors earn slightly differ from product planners. In particular, expeditors are 9.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a product planner. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Product planner vs. Inventory control lead

An Inventory Control Lead oversees supplies in an organization, aiming to meet market demands and avoid oversupply. They perform regular inspections and assessments, review invoices and other documentation, monitor product distribution operations, and produce regular progress reports. It is their responsibility to address issues and concerns, resolve them promptly, and efficiently maintain smooth workflow operations. Moreover, an Inventory Control Lead manages different teams, encouraging them to reach goals while implementing company policies and guidelines.

On average, inventory control leads earn a $49,514 lower salary than product planners a year.A few skills overlap for product planners and inventory control leads. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "logistics," "mrp," and "erp. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that product planner responsibilities requires skills like "product development," "product planning," "product line," and "lifecycle management." But an inventory control lead might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "inventory adjustments," "physical inventory," "inventory cycle counts," and "inventory control procedures."

On average, inventory control leads earn a lower salary than product planners. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, inventory control leads earn the most pay in the energy industry with an average salary of $55,732. Whereas product planners have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $99,439.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Inventory control leads tend to reach lower levels of education than product planners. In fact, they're 7.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Product planner vs. Material coordinator

A material coordinator is in charge of processing requisitions and ensuring that all departments receive necessary goods and materials within a company. Aside from this, they must maintain positive engagements with vendors, suppliers, and business partners, negotiate contracts, manage schedules of deliveries, and prioritize cost-efficient goods. It is also a material coordinator's responsibility to keep an accurate record of inventory, secure sensitive data, and coordinate with all departments to ensure that all transactions are efficient and precise.

On average scale, material coordinators bring in lower salaries than product planners. In fact, they earn a $54,586 lower salary per year.By looking over several product planners and material coordinators resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "logistics," "mrp," and "production control." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from product planner resumes include skills like "product development," "product planning," "product line," and "lifecycle management," whereas a material coordinator is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "data entry," "shipping receiving," and "cycle counts. "

Material coordinators earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $41,571. Product planners earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $99,439.Most material coordinators achieve a lower degree level compared to product planners. For example, they're 8.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Product planner vs. Inventory control coordinator

An inventory control coordinator is responsible for monitoring the adequacy of office inventory to ensure that the company has enough supplies to support the employees' needs for business operations. Inventory control coordinators manage supply chain systems, conduct inventory checks regularly, write inventory reports, create purchase requests, and file inventory documents on the database. They must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in analyzing the chain processes, and strictly adhere to the company's internal guidelines and regulations.

Inventory control coordinators average a lower salary than the annual salary of product planners. The difference is about $57,910 per year.According to resumes from product planners and inventory control coordinators, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "logistics," "mrp," and "erp. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A product planner uses "product development," "product planning," "product line," and "lifecycle management." Inventory control coordinators are more likely to have duties that require skills in "customer service," "data entry," "inventory control procedures," and "shipping receiving. "inventory control coordinators enjoy the best pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $38,327. For comparison, product planners earn the highest salary in the technology industry.inventory control coordinators reach lower levels of education compared to product planners, in general. The difference is that they're 8.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of product planner

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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