Office and Administrative Support · Holland code CER

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

Coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule. Duties include reviewing and distributing production, work, and shipment schedules; conferring with department supervisors to determine progress of work and completion dates; and compiling reports on progress of work, inventory levels, costs, and production problems.

Also called: Expeditor, Materials Planner, Production Planner, Production Scheduler, Inventory Control Specialist, Material Requirements Planner (MRP), Materials Coordinator, Production Assistant.

O*NET 43-5061.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $59,650; Middle half earn $47,820 to $75,000. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 37% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes.
Examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension3.6 / 5
Speaking3.6 / 5
Active Listening3.5 / 5
Critical Thinking3.4 / 5
Writing3.1 / 5
Monitoring3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Production and Processing4.3 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.8 / 5
English Language3.6 / 5
Administrative3.6 / 5
Administration and Management3.5 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic35
Investigative3
Artistic2
Social18
Enterprising65
Conventional82

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

leather production planner · DE Planungsingenieur Lederherstellung/Planungsingenieurin Lederherstellung · FR responsable de production cuirs et peaux
food production planner · DE Lebensmittelproduktionsplaner/Lebensmittelproduktionsplanerin · FR conducteur de ligne de production alimentaire/conductrice de ligne de production alimentaire
purchase planner · DE Einkaufsdisponent/Einkaufsdisponentin · FR approvisionneur/approvisionneuse
supply chain assistant · DE Assistent für den Bereich Supply-Chain-Management/Assistentin für den Bereich Supply-Chain-Management · FR assistant logistique/assistante logistique
machinery assembly coordinator · DE Material- und Produktionskoordinator im Maschinenbau/Material- und Produktionskoordinatorin im Maschinenbau · FR coordinateur assemblage de machines/coordinatrice assemblage de machines
gas scheduling representative · DE Fachkraft Gasversorgung · FR responsable planification des flux de gaz

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades supervisors (5250)42,900 employed
Transport and distribution clerks and assistants (4134)69,500 employed
Buyers and procurement officers (3551)64,100 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Clerical support workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Clerical support workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€40,035
Austria	€38,296
Germany	€37,844
Netherlands	€35,854
Sweden	€33,483
Ireland	€32,144
Italy	€29,311
France	€25,943
Spain	€22,026
Portugal	€12,602
Poland	€10,250

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.70. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (43-5061).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test