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Role overview

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks are the traffic controllers of factories, labs, distribution hubs, print shops, and any place where materials and work orders must move in the right order at the right time. They translate demand into schedules, issue work orders, stage materials, track work in progress, chase parts and approvals, and remove blockers so finished goods ship when promised. Titles include Production Clerk, Production Planner Assistant, Scheduling Coordinator, Expediter, Work Order Coordinator, Material Controller, and Shop Floor Control Clerk.

If you enjoy organized chaos, fast problem solving, and turning messy inputs into a clean plan that ships on time, this role offers a practical gateway into planning, supply chain, and operations leadership. You will learn how demand, capacity, inventory, and quality really work in the real world.

What the role actually does

The day to day mix varies by industry, but most work falls into these buckets.

• Translate demand into work orders
  • Pull customer orders, forecasts, or MRP signals and convert them into shop orders with quantities, due dates, and routings
  • Split or combine orders based on lot sizes, setup efficiencies, or constraints
  • Add traveler packets or digital routings with steps, drawings, specs, and quality checkpoints
• Schedule machines, people, and cells
  • Build short horizon schedules for lines, work centers, and crews based on capacity, changeovers, and priority rules
  • Sequence jobs to reduce setups and minimize changeover time while protecting due dates
  • Post schedules to visual boards or dashboards and align with supervisors during daily huddles
• Stage and release materials
  • Check component availability and create pick lists or kitting tasks for stores or warehouse
  • Issue material to jobs and track batch, lot, or serial requirements for traceability
  • Flag shortages and request substitutions, alternate suppliers, or engineering approval
• Track work in progress
  • Monitor scan events or manual move tickets at each operation
  • Update status boards, advance jobs, and escalate issues when cycle times drift
  • Coordinate rework routing and document deviations and approvals
• Expedite late or at risk orders
  • Identify bottlenecks through WIP aging reports and constraint queues
  • Work with supervisors to shift labor, add overtime, or run quick changeovers
  • Escalate vendor past dues and arrange hot shipments with receiving and quality inspection pre clear
• Coordinate with quality and engineering
  • Hold and release orders pending first article approval, inspection results, or engineering change notices
  • Update routings and traveler packets when drawings or specs change and communicate revisions to the floor
  • Track nonconformance and rework dispositions and adjust dates
• Close jobs and reconcile
  • Confirm final quantities, scrap, and labor bookings
  • Close work orders in the system, return unused materials to stock, and ensure cost collection is correct
  • Trigger shipping releases and update promised dates to customer service
• Data hygiene and reporting
  • Maintain bills of material and routings with clean units, yields, and effectivity dates under guidance
  • Run shortage, WIP aging, on time start, and on time finish reports
  • Support daily tier meetings with status by line and by top customers
  • Capture lessons learned to reduce future expediting

Typical work environment

Most roles are on site in plants, labs, and production offices. Expect daily walks on the floor, frequent huddles with supervisors, and tight coordination with stores, receiving, quality, and shipping. Hours follow the production shift, with earlier starts common so the floor has a plan before machines warm up. Month end and quarter end are busy. Culture is practical, metrics driven, and collaborative. Success comes from crisp communication, visible boards, and fast follow through.

Tools and technology

• ERP and MRP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Epicor, Infor, Plex
• Production scheduling tools finite schedulers, dispatch lists, or custom dashboards
• Barcode and MES systems for WIP scans and labor booking
• Spreadsheets for shortage lists, what if capacity checks, and kitting trackers
• Visual management whiteboards, Kanban cards, Andon signals, and tier meeting boards
• Collaboration tools for escalations and status notes with purchasing, quality, and customer service

You do not need to code. You should be comfortable reading BOMs and routings, using filters and lookups, and keeping identifiers and revision levels exact.

Core skills that drive success

Prioritization. Pick the right few orders to protect when everything looks urgent.
Attention to detail. One wrong part number or revision can stall a line for hours.
Time sense. Understand cycle times and buffers and act before a date slips.
Communication. Say exactly who needs to do what by when and follow up.
Systems comfort. Move between ERP, MES, and spreadsheets without losing the thread.
Calm under pressure. Expedite without drama, and never cut corners on safety or quality.
Problem solving. Trace a delay to its true cause and propose a workable fix.
Teamwork. Align supervisors, buyers, quality, and shipping around the same reality.

Minimum requirements and preferred qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent
• One to two years of experience in production, warehouse, purchasing, or admin support helps
• Basic Excel and ERP familiarity and comfort with part numbers and units
• Clear written and verbal communication and a steady tone under pressure
• Ability to stand and walk on plant floors and meet safety requirements

Preferred additions include associate or bachelor coursework in supply chain, industrial technology, or business, experience with lean or ISO environments, and comfort with drawings, tolerances, or GMP logs in regulated industries.

Education and certifications

This is a learn by doing role that rewards targeted study.

• Community college certificates in manufacturing technology or supply chain
• APICS/ASCM courses such as CPIM concepts for MRP, capacity, and scheduling
• Lean, 5S, and Kaizen basics for flow and waste reduction
• Quality awareness ISO 9001 or GMP, document control, and deviation basics
• Safety training lockout tagout, PPE, and ergonomics
• Reading drawings for those supporting machining, fabrication, or electronics

As you advance, consider CPIM for planning depth or CSCP for broader supply chain scope.

Day in the life

6:45 a.m. Arrive early, open the ERP dashboards, and print dispatch lists by work center. Review yesterday’s misses and today’s hot orders.
7:00 a.m. Tier 1 huddles at three lines. Confirm targets, call out two parts at risk, and note a first article waiting on quality.
7:30 a.m. Issue kits. Create pick lists for two jobs starting at 9 a.m., confirm lot and serial requirements, and coordinate a forklift move to stage materials.
8:15 a.m. Expedite call. A vendor pushed a connector out three days. Work with purchasing to split the shipment and secure 50 pieces by tomorrow. Update the plan and alert customer service to a possible slip on one order.
9:00 a.m. WIP walk. A machine is down for maintenance. Resequence two jobs to another cell and adjust the schedule.
10:00 a.m. Engineering change. A drawing revision changes a spacer dimension. Hold four jobs at the next operation, swap the spacer for the new revision, and document the deviation approval.
10:45 a.m. Quality hold cleared. Release the first article and pull materials for the next batch.
11:30 a.m. Lunch.
12:00 p.m. Ship prep. Confirm three jobs complete, close them in the system, return extra material to stock, and notify shipping of weights and dimensions.
12:45 p.m. Shortage meeting. Review top ten shortages with purchasing and receiving. Set two cross dock priorities and a pre alert to inspection.
1:30 p.m. Data hygiene. Fix two routing times and correct a unit of measure on a subassembly.
2:00 p.m. Customer call support. Provide realistic promise dates based on today’s line status.
2:30 p.m. Create tomorrow’s schedule, including a setup minimizing sequence for the paint line.
3:15 p.m. Final floor check and notes for the evening shift.
3:30 p.m. End of day.

Quarter end adds extra ship waves and late day expedites. Regulated industries add documentation steps at each handoff.

Performance metrics and goals

• On time start and on time finish by job or order
• Schedule adherence by work center
• WIP aging and queue length at constraints
• Expedite rate and number of hot list items
• Shortage count and time to clear
• Inventory accuracy for kitted and returned materials
• Data accuracy in BOMs and routings
• Customer on time delivery for the plant or value stream

High performers reduce noise on the floor by making status visible and clearing blockers before they become crises.

Earnings potential

Pay varies by region, industry, complexity, and shift.

Directional guidance across many U.S. markets:

• Entry level production clerks or expediters often earn about 19 to 24 dollars per hour
• Experienced planning coordinators commonly earn about 24 to 30 dollars per hour
• Senior expediters or planner assistants may reach about 30 to 36 dollars per hour or salaried equivalents
• Overtime may occur at month end and during hot runs
• Benefits typically include health coverage, retirement plans, paid time off, and tuition support

Industries like aerospace, medical devices, energy, and advanced electronics tend to pay more due to compliance and complexity.

Growth stages and promotional path

Stage 1: Production or Expedite Clerk

• Learn products, routings, and floor layout
• Master dispatch lists, kit accuracy, and WIP tracking
• Build credibility by clearing small blockers daily

Stage 2: Planning Coordinator or Senior Expediter

• Own a value stream or group of work centers
• Run the short horizon schedule and lead daily huddles
• Reduce expedite volume by fixing systemic causes

Stage 3: Production Planner or Scheduler

• Manage finite capacity plans for multiple lines
• Balance forecast, firm orders, and inventory targets
• Partner with purchasing and sales on S&OP inputs

Stage 4: Senior Planner, Master Scheduler, or Operations Supervisor

• Own plant level schedules and constraint management
• Lead cross functional improvements and digital tool rollouts
• Coach clerks and planners and drive KPI reviews

Alternative tracks

• Materials management buyer, inventory analyst, or material manager
• Quality document control or nonconformance coordination
• Industrial engineering for layout and changeover time reductions
• Project management for new product introductions and transfers
• Customer operations for ATP, order promising, and escalations

How to enter the field

1. Leverage warehouse, production, or customer service experience. Show you understand parts, orders, and deadlines.
2. Demonstrate spreadsheet skills. Filters, lookups, and pivot tables help every day.
3. Learn the vocabulary. Know BOM, routing, WIP, cycle time, setup, yield, scrap, and Kanban.
4. Walk the process. Be ready to describe how a job moves from release to ship in your target industry.
5. Show calm urgency. Share a story of expediting without cutting corners.
6. Target the right environment. High mix low volume plants teach changeovers and revisions. High volume teaches flow and stability.
7. Ask about tier meetings and KPIs. Choose shops that run visible management and coach to metrics.

Sample interview questions

• How do you decide which jobs make today’s hot list
• Describe a time a critical part was late. What did you do to protect a customer date
• How do you reduce changeovers while keeping due dates
• What would you check first when a work center is behind by four hours
• How do you make status visible so everyone sees the same reality
• Walk me through closing a job and reconciling materials and labor

Common challenges and how to handle them

Endless expediting. If the hot list never shrinks, step back. Map the constraint, protect buffers, and change the release rules.
Bad data. Units, lead times, and routings drift from reality. Start a weekly data fix cadence with owners and log improvements.
Hidden WIP. Jobs sit in corners or with one person. Use standard move scans or cards and a daily walk to expose blockers.
Engineering churn. Tie effectivity dates to inventory and train a quick change process that stops old parts at kitting.
Supplier slips. Escalate early, split shipments, and pre alert receiving and quality so first pieces move fast.
Quality holds. Track first article and inspection queues and set clear swim lanes so nothing waits for “someone.”
Burnout. Use visible boards, limit after hours firefights, rotate on call expediting, and celebrate wins.

Employment outlook

Modern manufacturing depends on synchronized material and capacity flow. Even as automation increases, human planners and expediters remain central to exceptions, cross functional coordination, and continuous improvement. Nearshoring, supply shocks, and product customization increase the need for people who can make real time tradeoffs and keep promises. Plants that invest in digital scheduling, barcoding, and tier meetings still rely on clerks to feed clean data, run huddles, and clear constraints. Opportunities are steady, with strong advancement for those who master systems and communicate clearly.

Is this career a good fit for you

You will likely thrive as a Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk if you enjoy fast paced, puzzle like days, feel comfortable on factory floors, and like the mix of screens, schedules, and face to face huddles. The role suits people who are direct, organized, and steady under pressure. If you prefer deep analysis, aim for planning or industrial engineering. If you enjoy supplier conversations, consider buying. If getting things built and shipped on time energizes you, this is a strong match.

To confirm your motivational fit and compare this path with adjacent operations roles, take the MAPP assessment at www.assessment.com. More than 9,000,000 people in over 165 countries have used MAPP to understand their core drives and align with careers where they can sustain energy and grow. Your results can reveal whether structured, action oriented coordination aligns with what energizes you most.

How to advance faster

• Track hot list count, on time finish, and WIP aging and show month over month improvement
• Create a shortage playbook with owners, alternates, and pre alerts to receiving and quality
• Standardize traveler packets or digital routings and reduce missing info defects
• Launch a daily tier huddle and keep it to ten minutes with clear actions
• Build a simple finite schedule that cuts changeovers without hurting deliveries
• Clean one data field each week such as lead time, yield, or setup time and measure the effect
• Cross train in purchasing, receiving, quality, and shipping to clear end to end blockers

Resume bullets you can borrow

• Improved on time finish from 86 percent to 95 percent in six months by launching daily tier huddles and a visible hot list
• Cut WIP aging over five days by 40 percent by implementing move scans and weekly data cleanups on routings and lead times
• Reduced changeovers on a paint line by 22 percent with a simple color family sequence plan
• Cleared a critical supplier past due by coordinating a split shipment and pre clearing inspection, protecting a top customer order
• Closed 1,200 work orders in a year with 99 percent material reconciliation accuracy and timely ship releases
• Built a shortage dashboard that reduced surprise line stops by 50 percent

Final thoughts

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks keep promises realistic and factories honest about what it takes to ship on time. You turn signals into orders, stage materials, protect constraints, and clear blockers so customers get what they were promised. The work teaches systems, metrics, and teamwork that open doors to planning, materials management, and operations leadership. With visible boards, steady communication, and disciplined follow through, you can craft a respected and upwardly mobile career at the heart of making things.

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