Production planner vs production clerk

The differences between production 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 production planner and a production clerk. Additionally, a production planner has an average salary of $60,390, which is higher than the $32,281 average annual salary of a production clerk.

The top three skills for a production planner include customer service, MRP and ERP. The most important skills for a production clerk are basic math, data entry, and safety procedures.

Production planner vs production clerk overview

	Production Planner	Production Clerk
Yearly salary	$60,390	$32,281
Hourly rate	$29.03	$15.52
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	68,717	241,271
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

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 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.

Production planner vs production clerk salary

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

	Production Planner	Production Clerk
Average salary	$60,390	$32,281
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $81,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Newark, CA	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Washington	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Intuitive Surgical	Rich Products
Best paying industry	Energy	Manufacturing

Differences between production planner and production clerk education

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

	Production Planner	Production Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Production planner vs production clerk demographics

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

	Production Planner	Production Clerk
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%	Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2%
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, 10.3% 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 production planner and production clerk 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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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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Production planner vs production clerk skills

Common production planner skills

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