- The core task: distribute production schedules or work orders to departments. It heads the task list in the next section.
- Typical entry education: high school diploma or equivalent. 37% of survey respondents say a new hire needs a high school diploma or equivalent.
- Related work experience at entry: none. On-the-job training: moderate-term on-the-job training.
- One certification applies: CPIM. CPIM is from Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM).
- Median pay for production, planning, and expediting clerks: $59,650. The 10th to 90th percentiles run $40,080 to $86,000.
- Projected change through 2035: -1.3%. Annual openings: about 32,600.
A production planner turns demand into a schedule a plant can run. O*NET’s tasks describe the cycle: reviewing work orders, schedules and staffing tables to work out the people and materials needed, distributing production schedules to departments, and revising them when a design change, a shortage or a backlog interrupts the plan.
The other half is materials. Planners requisition and maintain the inventory production needs, arrange delivery of supplies and parts to keep the flow moving, and work with vendors and customers to clear delays. The Handbook describes the expediting side as keeping in contact with vendors so that supplies and equipment ship on time. Inventory control specialist and materials planner are titles in the same occupation, so this page covers inventory planning too.
The tasks O*NET rates most important for production, planning, and expediting clerks:
- Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments.
- Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, or engineering.
- Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities.
- Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules.
- Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays.
- Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands.
Job titles in the same O*NET occupation: Expeditor, Inventory Control Specialist, Material Requirements Planner, Materials Coordinator, Materials Planner, Production Assistant, Production Clerk, Production Controller, Production Planner and Production Scheduler. Source: O*NET
OnLine, 43-5061.00, read 2026-09-23.
O*NET’s task list for production, planning, and expediting clerks is a planning loop: distributing production schedules and work orders to departments, reviewing schedules, work orders and staffing tables to work out personnel and materials requirements, and revising the schedule when design changes, shortages or backlogs interrupt it.
Keeping materials flowing is the other half. Planners arrange delivery, assembly or distribution of supplies and parts to meet the schedule, requisition and maintain the inventories production needs, and confer with vendors, customers and colleagues to resolve delays.
The Handbook describes the same work from the clerk’s side: production, planning, and expediting clerks manage the flow of information, work and materials, set schedules, estimate costs, keep track of materials and write orders for new ones, and expediting clerks stay in contact with vendors so supplies ship on time.
Main Responsibilities
- Distribute production schedules and work orders
- Work out personnel and materials requirements from orders and schedules
- Revise schedules around shortages, backlogs and design changes
- Arrange delivery of parts and supplies to keep production moving
- Requisition and maintain production inventories
- Coordinate with vendors and customers to clear delays
Who They Work With
Management, marketing, sales, production and engineering, which O*NET names as the groups planners collaborate with when schedules change, plus vendors and customers.
Where And When They Work
The Handbook says material recording clerks usually work in an office inside a warehouse or manufacturing plant, and most work full time.
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks, What They Do and Work Environment. Read 2026-09-23.
BLS counts production planners inside production, planning, and expediting clerks, which also includes schedulers, expediters, materials planners and inventory control specialists. The figures here are for that whole occupation.
The median for production, planning, and expediting clerks is $59,650 a year. The middle half
earns $47,820 to $75,000, and the full range runs from $40,080 at the 10th percentile to $86,000 at the 90th, across
390,160 jobs. The production planner salary page breaks that down by state, metro area,
industry and employer type.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national. Read 2026-09-23.
BLS lists a high school diploma as the typical entry education, and the Handbook says some employers prefer production, planning, and expediting clerks with a college degree and that training can take up to six months. For a planner aiming at materials management or plant leadership, a bachelor’s in supply chain management is the degree that leads there.
What BLS Says Entry Takes
Typical entry requirements for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks, BLS Employment Projections | Typical entry education | High school diploma or equivalent |
|---|
| Related work experience | None |
|---|
| On-the-job training | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
|---|
BLS lists a high school diploma as the typical entry education. The Handbook says training can take up to six months, and that production clerks typically learn how their company operates before they write production and work schedules.
Majors
Supply chain management, operations management or business; the Handbook notes that some employers prefer production, planning, and expediting clerks with a college degree.
Degree Levels That Lead In
What O*NET's respondents in the occupation said a new hire needs:
Education a new hire needs, O*NET 43-5061.00, top three answers | Education Level | Share Of Respondents |
|---|
| High school diploma or equivalent | 37% |
|---|
| Some college, no degree | 21% |
|---|
| Less than high school diploma | 19% |
|---|
Sources: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 (entry
requirements); O*NET OnLine, 43-5061.00, education section, top three
answers. The O*NET figures are survey responses from workers in the occupation, not a legal requirement.
CPIM is ASCM’s planning and inventory credential: its modules cover sales and operations planning, demand, supply, inventory and detailed schedules, which is this job.
Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)
CPIM: Certified in Planning and Inventory Management
Planning and inventory inside the operation: supply chain strategy, sales and operations planning, demand, internal and external supply, inventory, detailed schedules, distribution, and quality and continuous improvement.
- Who It Is For
- ASCM names the people it is for by task: ERP users and IT staff, planners at any level of the planning hierarchy, sales and operations planning teams, and anyone doing master production scheduling, material requirements planning, capacity planning or manufacturing inventory control.
- Eligibility
- None. ASCM sets no education or experience requirement; anyone can buy an authorization to test.
- Exam
- One exam of 150 questions (130 scored, 20 unscored pretest) in 3.5 hours, scored from 200 to 350, with 300 or more passing. It is taken at a Pearson VUE center or online. The content runs across nine modules.
- Cost
- ASCM lists the exam at $1,265 for members with its certification upgrade and $1,755 for everyone else.
- Renewal
- Stays valid while you earn 75 professional development points every five years. Holders aged 62 or older can convert a current certification to a lifetime designation, which ends the five-year maintenance cycle.
Source: ASCM, CPIM page, exam details, FAQs and exam handbook, read 2026-09-23.
The CPIM guide: the exam module by module, the full cost and how to keep it.
ASCM membership is optional, though members pay less. You buy an authorization to test, which expires six months after purchase (12 months when bought in a bundle), and ASCM recommends about 100 hours of study per exam. A candidate who fails must wait 14 full days before retaking the same exam.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One; titles from
O*NET OnLine and the Handbook.
The qualities the Handbook names as important for production, planning, and expediting clerks:
- Organization. Keeping schedules, orders and inventory records accurate.
- Problem-solving. Re-planning around shortages and backlogs.
- Communication. Working across production, sales, engineering and vendors.
- Attention to detail. A missed part stops a line.
O*NET lists the software the occupation uses and flags the technologies employers name most often in their job postings. For
production, planning, and expediting clerks, the ones it marks as in demand are Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel.
Source: O*NET OnLine, 43-5061.00, Software Skills. "In demand" and "hot" are
O*NET's own flags, based on how often employers name the technology in job postings. Read 2026-09-23.
BLS projects employment of production, planning, and expediting clerks to shrink 1.3% over 2025 to 2035,
from 392,100 to 387,100 jobs. That is slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations.
BLS expects about 32,600 openings a year. Of those, 11,700 (36%)
replace people leaving the labor force, 21,300 (65%) replace people
moving to other occupations. Net of the jobs the occupation loses as it shrinks, that leaves the 32,600 a year BLS projects. The
production planner salary page sets out what BLS says is driving demand.
Sources: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35;
EP Table 1.10. New jobs is total openings minus
separations. Read 2026-09-23.
What Degree Do You Need To Be A Production Planner?
BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry education for production, planning, and expediting clerks. In O*NET's survey of the occupation, 37% of respondents said a new hire needs a high school diploma or equivalent, and 21% said some college, no degree.
How Long Does It Take To Become A Production Planner?
BLS lists no related work experience as typical for entry, so the degree is the main time cost, followed by moderate-term on-the-job training.
How Much Does A Production Planner Make?
BLS counts production planners inside production, planning, and expediting clerks, which also includes schedulers, expediters, materials planners and inventory control specialists. The figures here are for that whole occupation. The median for production, planning, and expediting clerks is $59,650 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with the 10th to 90th percentile running $40,080 to $86,000.
Is Production Planner A Good Career?
On the federal numbers: a median of $59,650, and BLS projects the occupation to shrink 1.3% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 32,600 openings a year.
Is A Production Planner The Same As An Inventory Control Specialist?
In BLS data they are the same occupation: O*NET lists production planner, materials planner, production scheduler and inventory control specialist among the titles of production, planning, and expediting clerks.
What Certification Helps A Production Planner?
ASCM’s CPIM is built around this work: its topics include sales and operations planning, demand, internal and external supply, inventory and detailed schedules.
Is Production Planning A Growing Field?
Not in BLS’s projection: employment of production, planning, and expediting clerks is projected to shrink slightly over the decade, though BLS still expects openings every year from retirements and job changes; the outlook section has the figures.
Pay for production, planning, and expediting clerks by state, metro area and industry.
Programs read from each school’s own page, with tuition where the school states it.
Programs read from each school’s own page, with tuition where the school states it.
13 careers, each tied to the BLS occupation its pay comes from.
