How to Become a Production Planner

- Salary, Qualification, Skills, Role and Responsibilities

Who is a Production Planner?

By Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail ~ Benjamin Franklin

A production planner is an individual who plans the daily and weekly production ensuring all the essential requirements are met. Each business comes with an innovative idea of products or services to be sold in the market. To sustain a business, it is required to offer a service or product that fulfils the requirements of potential customers.

The production process demands proper planning to cater needs of the clients or the potential market. Here comes the role of the production planner is to develop production schedules, and set up the raw materials. In this section, we will discuss how to become a Production Planner in India, skills, and Production Planner eligibility.

Production Planner in a Nutshell

Individuals who opt for a career as a production planner are professionals who are responsible for ensuring goods manufactured by the employing company are cost-effective and meet quality specifications including ensuring the availability of ready-to-distribute stock in a timely fashion manner.

Quick Facts for Production Planner

Industry
Manufacturing
Average Salary in India
₹49132
Suitable for
Male, Female, Others

A career as a production planner suits everyone depending on their skills and ability. The role is not gender-specific. Individuals striving for more with relevant qualifications can easily take up the ladder of success in the production planner role.
Any special needs
Yes

A career as a production planner may not suit individuals with special needs. As it may require frequent movement and can be a physically challenging role depending on the industry. It may cause hindrances in the production planner's career progression.

Table of Contents for Production Planner

What is the role of Production Planner?

What is the workplace/work environment of Production Planner like?

How to become a Production Planner?

What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Production Planner?

Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Production Planner?

Career path progression for Production Planner

Production Planner Jobs and Salaries

What is the job outlook for Production Planner?

Frequently Asked Questions for Production Planner

What is the role of Production Planner?

Individuals in the production planner career path are professionals who schedule production, plan daily or weekly production and ensure deadlines are met. They are responsible for ensuring material, equipment and labour requirements are met. A production planning job description includes preparing status and performance reports of employees involved in the production. They resolve issues arising in the production process.

Planning

The Production Planner roles and responsibilities involve coordinating workflow and handling multiple products. He or she has to prioritise operations and ensure minimum delay with maximum operational efficiency.

Assigning Responsibilities

The role of a production planner is to ensure that manpower, equipment and other raw materials are sufficient to cater for the production demand. He or she distributes the task responsibilities to workers and other professionals involved in the production operations.

Scheduling Shift

The Production Planner roles and responsibilities include scheduling the work shift of workers depending on the requirements of production operations. He or she is required to work in collaboration with the warehouse, quality control and other departments.

Administering

A production planner work responsibilities include monitoring the work performance of workers. He or she ensures that the work is completed within the set budget and deadline. He or she has to address issues arising in the production operations.

Paper work

A production planner has to complete paperwork and add details of finished products, defects and performance reports. He or she submits status and performance reports.

What is the workplace/work environment of Production Planner like?

A production planner work environment includes both an office setting and a production plant. He or she has to distribute work hours in both the settings for planning and administrative duties. Individuals in the production planner career path have to ensure that safety practices are followed throughout the production operations.

A production planner's work hours are also spent in meetings with the managers to plan and discuss various things such as business analytics, procurement and sales reports.

Does Production Planner require travelling?

Likely

In a career as a production planner, individuals are responsible for ordering the material and ensuring labour, equipment and other resources are sufficient to cater for the production demand. A production planner may require travel to inventory or warehouse.

Employment Shifts

Full Time, Hourly Basis, Work From Home

Individuals in the production planner career path work under specific deadlines. Their working hours are not fixed. Production planner work shifts may often extend to late at night. Everyday production planning job demands dealing with workers during emergency periods and ensuring quality control.

Employment Nature

Contractual, Permanent

Production planner job opportunities are provided on both contractual as well as a permanent basis. It completely depends on the requirements of the employer. The contractual terms and conditions may vary from organisation to organisation.

Work Place

Home, Production Plant

Individuals who opt for a career as a production planner spend plenty of work hours in the office setting and production area. The rest of the work hours are spent in meetings with managers to discuss production operations.

Presence in Geographical Area

Semi-urban, Urban

Urban and semi-urban areas provided promising production planner job opportunities. Production plants are usually set up in urban areas. Metropolitan cities such as Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai serve as the hub or production planner jobs.

Time Pressure

Likely

A production planner job demands working under time constraints. Individuals who opt for a career as a production planner have to deliver products that meet the quality standards and detailed specifications within the deadline ready to be shipped.

Overtime Details

Individuals in the production planner career path are usually required to work extended hours. On several occasions or during emergency situations, he or she may be required to work on night shifts to cater for the production requirements and deliver the products in a timely manner.

Weekly Hours of Work

Min 40 Hours

A production planner work hours are not fixed. Individuals in the production planner career path may often be required to work night shifts. It varies depending on the production requirements and meeting deadlines.

How to become a Production Planner?

Steps to become a Production Planner

A Production Planner is a professional who makes sure that the production process functions smoothly by planning and organising the workflow. If you are passionate about handling and organising things to run smoothly then you can opt Production Planner career. Below we have provided how to become a Production Planner in India in steps.

Identifying the Skills
Enrol in Formal Training/Course
Build a Strong Resume
Pursue Certification Courses
Explore Internship Opportunities
Find Job and Apply
Begin your Career

01 Step

Identifying the Skills

To become a Production Planner you must possess some of the skills. In this section, we have provided Production Planner skills, including soft and hard skills.

Some of the Production Planner's soft skills are critical thinking, leadership skills, communication, analytical skills, problem-solving skills, and attention to detail.

Negotiation Skills
Time Management Skills
Organisational Skills
Problem-Solving Skills
Leadership and motivation
Interpersonal skills
Monitoring Skills

Some of the hard skills of the Production Planner are On-Time Delivery (OTD), customer service, logistics, data analysis and production planning.

Material Requirements Planning
Purchase Orders
Lean Manufacturing
Customer Orders
Material Availability
Supply Chain Planning
Production Planning
Inventory Management

02 Step

Enrol in Formal Training/Course

To become a Production Planner you need to qualify 10+2 with Mathematics, Economics or Business Studies and opt for a bachelor’s degree in Management, Business Administration, or a related field and a master’s degree from a recognised board in a related field.

Below we have discussed the required Production Planner qualifications including UG and PG entrance examinations, and bachelor's and master’s degrees.

Entrance Examinations

Bachelor’s Degree Programmes

BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration)
BMS (Bachelor of Management Studies)
BBA in Marketing
BBA in Business Management

Master’s Degree Programmes

MBA (Master of Business Administration)
MMS (Master of Management Studies)

03 Step

Build a Strong Resume

After completing your degree, you can create a compelling resume and a portfolio to showcase your skills, education, and interests. Your resume must be attractive and informative enough about you.

04 Step

Pursue Certification Courses

Below we have provided some of the certification courses that you can pursue apart from your formal education to gain additional knowledge and skills.

05 Step

Explore Internship Opportunities

As a Production Planning intern, you will be assisting the senior professionals and performing research, collecting and analysing data and preparing reports of the planning. You will also get an opportunity to explore and manage the production and manufacturing planning opportunities. You can apply on internship offering platforms like Internshala, Naukri, Indeed and others.

06 Step

Find Job and Apply

The Production Planner works in manufacturing, production and any other related industry. You can apply for entry-level jobs in any industry as a customer service representative, production supervisor, and buyer. You can gain one to two years of experience in the related field and then apply for the Production Planner job.

07 Step

Begin your Career

After applying for the Production Planner jobs, prepare for the interview and attend some of them. After passing the interview, you will have some of the offer letters. You must choose the best offer and begin your career as a Production Planner.

What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Production Planner?

Communication skills
Critical thinking
Supervisory skill
Decision making skills

Do you want to know how to become a production planner in India? then you must first know the skills required to function. Here, in this section, we will discuss some of the production planner skills.

Critical Thinking: In a career as a production planner, individuals have to use logic and reasoning to determine the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions. He or she has to make efforts to reach the target and ensure timely completion of the production operations with maximum efficiency and minimum delays.

Decisive Skills: Individuals who opt for a career as a production planner have to make crucial decisions for production operations. He or she has to schedule the shift of workers and staff as per the product requirements of the organisation.

Communication Skills: A production planner has to coordinate with staff and other workers involved in the production operations. He or she has to discuss production operations with managers to meet the goal. Effective communication is required in the role to avoid misunderstandings.

Supervisory Skills: Individuals in the production planner career path have to administer the production operations, perform quality checks and ensure safety measures are followed. He or she has to monitor the performance of workers and ensure the production area is clean with an appropriate environment for operations including specific temperatures and other facilities.

Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Production Planner?

We have provided below a list of certification courses that individuals interested in a production planning career may opt to upgrade their skills and acquire knowledge of the industry.

Internship Availability

Yes

To give a good start to the career, one needs to join the industry as an intern and acquire knowledge and experience to get a permanent position in the organisation as a production planner. An individual can find internship opportunities through recruitment websites such as Naukri.in, LinkedIn, Lets Intern, Internshala.

An individual can also do cold emailing to the HR of the manufacturing company may also be fruitful. A production planning intern is typically assigned several responsibilities and numerous opportunities to learn. It includes developing material flow standards, warehouse automation, flow design and launch of facility and material.

Career Path Progression for Production Planner

Senior Production Planner: A senior production planner schedules shifts of workers and other staff involved in production. He or she ensures that production operations are performed with maximum efficiency with minimum delays.

Production Planner Jobs and Salaries

Senior Production Planner

Employment Nature

Contractual/Permanent

Monthly Salaries

Average Salary 49132

Job Description

A senior production planner monitors the production operations and ensures products meet the specification details. He or she ensures the high quality of the products. A senior production planner stays updated about the demand, forecast and requirements of the company for shipping ready products.

Salary Description

The average salary of a senior production planner in India is Rs. 589579 per annum, according to payscale.com.

Read Full Details

What is the job outlook for Production Planner?

There is an abundance of production planning jobs for experienced individuals seeking out senior managerial positions. Employers look for candidates who can deliver improved productivity and manage coordination between machines and workers. The automation in the production process has resulted in a declining number of production planner jobs for entry-level candidates.

Individuals with a qualification background in business administration and industrial engineering and management have a much higher chance of establishing a successful career as production planners.

Frequently Asked Questions for Production Planner

Que. What is the average salary of production planner?

Ans.

The average salary of a production planner in India is Rs. 352363 per annum, according to payscale.com.

Que. What are the top colleges of production planner?

Ans.

Top production planner colleges are ITM Navi Mumbai - ITM Business School, MIT School of Management, Pune,Singhania University, Jhunjhunu,Arunodaya University, Itanagar, Apex University, Jaipur and Gondwana University, Gadchiroli.

Que. What is the average fee of BBA in production and operations management?

Ans.

The fee varies from institute to institute. The average fee of BBA in production and operations management ranges from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 500,000 per annum.

Que. What are top employers of production planners?

Ans.

Top employers of production planners are Manufacturing Plants, Automobile Companies, Shipping and Logistics Companies, Logistics and Supply Chain Management Companies, and E-Commerce Companies.

Que. What does a production planner do?

Ans.

A production planner supervises overall orders, market change and inventory issues. He or she is also responsible for creating and monitoring schedules of production processes.

Que. Is production planning a good career?

Ans.

Production Planning is a good career and requires a lot of skills and passion. It is one of the best marketing or business-related field job positions and is among one of the highest-paid jobs.