Skills
Production Planner Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in production planners, and how to build and show them.
What skills do production planners need?
Production Planners need technical skills such as production scheduling, mrp and erp systems, and inventory control, plus people skills like organization and communication. They also use tools such as ERP/MRP systems and Excel.
Technical (hard) skills
- Production scheduling
- MRP and ERP systems
- Inventory control
- Expediting
- Excel
- Capacity planning
People (soft) skills
- Organization
- Communication
- Persistence
- Calm under pressure
Tools, equipment and technology
- ERP/MRP systems
- Excel
- Scheduling software
- Barcode systems
- Dashboards
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how production planners put their skills to work:
- How to build a weekly production schedule
- How to expedite a late part
- How to reschedule after a machine breakdown
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Production scheduling” and “MRP and ERP systems.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “organization,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as APICS CPIM near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our production planner glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Production Planner training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.