What does a production scheduler do?
A production scheduler is in charge of developing manufacturing schedules to achieve short and long term production goals. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to understand the extent of all procedures, identifying the needs of clients, and devising strategies for optimal operations. They must also monitor the company's resources and workforce to ensure that everything runs smoothly in adherence to all schedules, making changes only when necessary. Furthermore, as a production scheduler, it is essential to encourage the workforce to reach goals and deadlines, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Production scheduler responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real production scheduler resumes:
- Lead a Kaizen to improve efficiency and reduce non-value add work in the scheduling department.
- Manage and purchase all MRO material inventory supplies for the production of automotive safety products.
- Design, develop, and manage process of ordering and maintaining materials not migrate into ERP system.
- Supervise NPI chip fulfillment process - manage wafer starts to meet internal qualification and board level build plan.
- Generate prioritize schedules by manufacturing work centers base on MRP requirements, material availability, and capacity constraints.
- Inventory reduction, JIT, OTD ,
- Reduce backlogs and successfully increase OTD.
- Integrate multiple architecture design components onto documentation, IMS/IMS, WBS.
- Ensure that all critical batches, run and complete as scheduled, to avoid SLA impacts.
- Ensure CICS on lines system come down as schedules and ensure production application run within the SLA window.
- Redefine the scheduling process to ensure the best use of the current ERP system to produce an accurate schedule.
- Analyze inventory turns, order patterns to establish material stocking levels require to meet KanBan levels require by customers.
- Develop a consolidate WBS using a combination of ship's WBS (SWBS) and the shipyard's WBS.
- Prepare dispatch list by product, by work center, by dates, shortage & WIP reports, production metrics.
- Receive customer EDI releases and analyze the release data and take the appropriate action to ensure that the information is correct.
Production scheduler skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Production Schedulers are proficient in Customer Service, MRP, and Continuous Improvement. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Production Schedulers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 12%
Coordinated organizational communication between Customer Service and Manufacturing departments.
- MRP, 7%
Provided raw material requirements in weekly buckets to sister manufacturing facility utilizing MRP, master schedules and inventory levels.
- Continuous Improvement, 6%
Partnered with the Distribution Center management team to identify continuous process improvement opportunities and work on the implementation.
- ERP, 5%
Maintain inventory and Conduct quarterly inventory cycle counts to maintain transparency and promote ERP integrity.
- Production Planning, 4%
Managed Production Planning position, schedule and coordinate product through complete manufacturing production cycle process.
- Lean Manufacturing, 3%
Evaluated the production operations using Lean Manufacturing Techniques.
Most production schedulers use their skills in "customer service," "mrp," and "continuous improvement" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential production scheduler responsibilities here:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a production scheduler 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." Production schedulers often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "planned all production with customer orders in sap and communications to production floor. "
Customer-service skills. Many production scheduler duties rely on customer-service skills. "material recording clerks may interact with customers in order to respond to problems or complaints.," so a production scheduler will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways production scheduler responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "provided oversight and support as necessary to ensure that customer delivery dates and quality expectations were met. "
Detail oriented. production schedulers are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to production scheduler responsibilities, because "material and product inspecting clerks must pay attention to detail when checking items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot." A production scheduler resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "create detailed and concise specifications of customer orders. "
Math skills. production scheduler responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "material recording clerks may need to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." This resume example shows what production schedulers do with math skills on a typical day: "analyzed production specifications and plant capacity data and performs mathematical skills to determine manufacturing processes, tools, and labor hour. "
The three companies that hire the most production schedulers are:
- Pilgrim's91 production schedulers jobs
- JBS USA27 production schedulers jobs
- Anheuser-Busch25 production schedulers jobs
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Compare different production schedulers
Production scheduler 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between production schedulers and material coordinator. For instance, production scheduler responsibilities require skills such as "continuous improvement," "production planning," "lean manufacturing," and "customer demand." Whereas a material coordinator is skilled in "logistics," "purchase orders," "production schedules," and "data entry." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Material coordinators earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $41,571. On the other hand, production schedulers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $51,443.The education levels that material coordinators earn slightly differ from production schedulers. In particular, material coordinators are 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a production scheduler. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Production scheduler vs. Materials planner
Usually working in a manufacturing setting, a materials planner's role is to manage the supply flow and inventory of materials. Their responsibilities revolve around liaising with vendors and other external agencies, processing purchase orders, monitoring the quality of supplies to ensure it is according to the standards, and coordinating with various teams to learn their needs. Furthermore, as a planner, it is essential to devise strategies to resolve any issues, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that production scheduler responsibilities requires skills like "production supervisors," "master production schedule," "lean six sigma," and "strong analytical." But a materials planner might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "supply chain," "purchase orders," "logistics," and "material planning."
On average, materials planners earn a higher salary than production schedulers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, materials planners earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $69,067. Whereas production schedulers have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $51,443.materials planners earn similar levels of education than production schedulers in general. They're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Production scheduler vs. Material analyst
A materials analyst is responsible for managing the assets and materials of an organization, ensuring the adequacy of office inventories to support business operational functions. Materials analysts identify cost-reduction materials by coordinating with trusted suppliers and third-party vendors. They handle the distribution of goods and order processes according to the company's supply chain management. A materials analyst must have excellent organizational and analytical skills, especially in conducting data and statistical analysis to obtain high-quality materials that would meet the customers' demands.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a production scheduler is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "production orders," "production supervisors," and "master production schedule," while a typical material analyst is skilled in "supply chain," "logistics," "part numbers," and "purchase orders."
Material analysts make a very good living in the automotive industry with an average annual salary of $68,903. On the other hand, production schedulers are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $51,443.When it comes to education, material analysts tend to earn similar degree levels compared to production schedulers. In fact, they're 3.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Production scheduler vs. Planning coordinator
As planning coordinators, there are certain skills that this job requires to accomplish their responsibilities. They mostly work at the non-profits and health care facilities. Working as planning coordinators, it is expected that your communication skills are good, excellent customer service skills, and detail-oriented. Moreover, as a planning coordinator, part of their job is to focus on patient care, treatment plans, and medical records. This job is complex, and it's not limited to patient care but also managing financial statements and providing good customer service throughout.
Types of production scheduler
Updated January 8, 2025
