Production planner vs demand planner

The differences between production planners and demand planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a production planner, becoming a demand planner takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a demand planner has an average salary of $82,287, which is higher than the $60,390 average annual salary of a production planner.

The top three skills for a production planner include customer service, MRP and ERP. The most important skills for a demand planner are supply chain, customer service, and logistics.

Production planner vs demand planner overview

	Production Planner	Demand Planner
Yearly salary	$60,390	$82,287
Hourly rate	$29.03	$39.56
Growth rate	-3%	28%
Number of jobs	68,717	27,351
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	45	41
Years of experience	2	6

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.

What does a demand planner do?

A demand planner specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop forecast models that will help determine a supply chain's demands. They are also responsible for monitoring the inventory of products, maintaining knowledge and awareness on the latest trends, producing progress reports and presentations, establishing demand plans, and detecting any changes in the forecast, reporting them to management right away. Furthermore, as a demand planner, it is essential to coordinate with everyone in the team, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.

Production planner vs demand planner salary

Production planners and demand planners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Production Planner	Demand Planner
Average salary	$60,390	$82,287
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $81,000	Between $61,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Newark, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	Intuitive Surgical	Meta
Best paying industry	Energy	Technology

Differences between production planner and demand planner education

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

	Production Planner	Demand Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Stanford University

Production planner vs demand planner demographics

Here are the differences between production planners' and demand planners' demographics:

	Production Planner	Demand Planner
Average age	45	41
Gender ratio	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%	Male, 56.5% Female, 43.5%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 11.1% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	11%	9%

Differences between production planner and demand planner duties and responsibilities

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.

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Demand planner example responsibilities.

Manage WIP production for the co packers.
Structure and lead quarterly internal quality audits for government DoD programs.
Develop and monitor appropriate KPIs to drive performance and achieve corporate goals.
Manage 700,000 store/DC-SKU combinations across 10 DC's and two restaurant chains using JDA Demand/Fulfill.
Lead cross-functional team that automate ERP planning process to provide near real-time visibility to the stakeholders.
Manage JIT inventory for bottle and can lines along with staying in constant contact with the vendors.

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Production planner vs demand planner skills

Common production planner skills

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

Common demand planner skills

Supply Chain, 15%
Customer Service, 8%
Logistics, 5%
Strong Analytical, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 5%
Demand Forecasts, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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