What Does a Supply Chain Planner Do? Your 2024 Guide

Retail stores need adequate supply to meet buyers' demand. Similarly, restaurants cannot prepare delicious menu items for diners without the ingredients they need to execute their recipes. Ensuring that businesses and their customers across all industries have access to the products they need is part of the primary focus of the supply chain planner. 

If you pursue this career, you can expect to focus on various aspects of the supply chain, like ensuring supply and demand are equal, production planning, staying ahead of your competition, and other facets of operations, like marketing, sales, and inventory management. Explore what supply chain planners do and how to become one in 2024 to determine if this job is a good fit for your goals and abilities.

What is a supply chain planner?

A supply chain planner keeps a business running smoothly by ensuring it always has the right inventory level, either in stock or storage, to meet customer demands. These logisticians predict the organization’s inventory needs based on everything from their financial needs to changes in the market. 

Read more: Supply Chain Management: Definition, Jobs, Salary, and More

What does a supply chain planner do?

Supply chain planners execute various tasks, including overseeing product acquisition and allocating supplies, managing business systems, and strategizing ways to contain costs. What a supply chain planner does largely depends on how a company divvies up the roles and responsibilities among its logistics team. Other team members might include:

• Senior demand planner

• Demand planning manager

• Distribution manager

• Logistics analyst

In some cases, members of the logistics team may even report directly to you.  

No matter how the company sets up its team, your job as a supply chain planner is to ensure that the organization has the supplies it needs when it needs them so it can produce and sell products to customers. You might do this by forecasting sales, tracking performance, and keeping up with global trends and demand to create a strategic plan ultimately. Doing this helps the company's operations run more efficiently, often saving the organization money and helping it stay ahead of the competition.

What do I need to know to create a strategic plan?

To devise a strategic plan, you must first understand the customer’s needs and the business’s goals and objectives. Understanding the competition, the business's place in the global marketplace, and industry trends is also essential. You'll also examine how the company handled logistics in the past, look for weaknesses, and complete an evaluation to identify areas in need of improvement. 

Read more: What Does a Supply Chain Manager Do? (And How to Become One)

Supply chain planner tasks and responsibilities

Although all supply chain planner jobs share similar tasks, your responsibilities will vary from organization to organization. Depending on where you work, you might:  

• Identify strategies for demand, allocation, and capacity of products and materials needed to complete projects. 

• Understand and oversee the life cycle of a product or materials.

• Develop relationships with vendors and suppliers. 

• Constantly review a company's logistics and develop a strategic plan for improvement.

• Prioritize production work orders. 

• Communicate new ideas with management. 

• Communicate regularly with the logistics teams, supply chain managers, and external vendors and suppliers.

• Prepare reports and create and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Look for ways to save time and money while producing and transporting goods.  

Supply chain planner skills

As with any career choice, you’ll need a number of workplaceskills to succeed as a supply chain planner in the workplace. Some essential ones include: 

• Communication skills: Both written and oral, so you can effectively communicate with colleagues, management, vendors, stakeholders, and other relevant supply chain professionals   

• Critical thinking skills: To come up with ways to save time and money throughout the logistics process 

• Problem-solving skills: Problems will arise, and you must come up with ways to solve them creatively and quickly. 

• Organization skills: Logistics is fast-paced, and you'll handle several aspects of several projects at once. Staying organized is a must.

• Industry-specific skills: Supply chain planners work across almost every industry, ranging from medical and chemical manufacturing to technology and consumer goods, so you will likely need to have some knowledge about the industry in which you want to work 

• Analytical skills: You'll spend a lot of time analyzing and interpreting data 

Knowing a foreign language may be beneficial since many supply chain planners work globally. You may also need technical skills like Microsoft Office, email, Quickbooks, and enterprise systems.  

Supply chain planner salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for supply chain planners in the US is $116,241 per year [1]. This figure includes an average base salary of $89,798 and $26,443 in additional pay. Additional pay may represent profit-sharing, commissions, or bonuses.

Zippia reports that factors like location can affect how much you can make as a supply chain planner. For example, those working in California, Washington, and Maryland tend to make the largest salaries, while supply chain planners in Tennessee and Iowa earn some of the lowest salaries [2]. 

You may also note a strong demand in this field. The BLS reports that the need for logisticians will grow at a rate of 18 percent between 2022 and 2032 [3]. That rate is significantly faster than the average for all careers. 

Supply chain planner career path

Supply chain planners often start by gaining logistics or business experience or working in a supply chain support position, like a materials recording clerk. Internships and military service are two additional ways to gain experience. However, you may be able to get an entry-level job right after earning an associate or bachelor's degree.

Over time, you may decide to advance your career. After working as a supply chain planner, many people choose to become a supply chain manager. Some other potential jobs you may want to explore after working as a supply chain planner include:

• Distribution manager

• Commodity specialist

• Sourcing specialist

• Warehouse manager

• Operations supervisor  

Read more: What Is Resource Management? Definition, Jobs, and More

Education and training

The education and training required to become a supply chain planner will vary from organization to organization. Many companies want you to have a bachelor's degree in business,  logistics, engineering, supply chain management, or a similar field. However, some companies will accept an associate degree in these areas for entry-level positions. Employers may require a master's degree in business administration or supply chain management for senior-level positions.  

Certificates may also help you get a job, though the industry doesn’t necessarily require them. Keep in mind that getting certified may enhance your resume and show hiring managers that you're committed to this career. The Association for Supply Chain Management offers numerous certificates for supply chain professionals. The International Society of Logistics (SOLE) also offers several certifications and programs for logisticians. 

Getting started with Coursera

Supply chain planners ensure businesses and customers have access to the products they need when needed. The industry is rising, with an ongoing need for skilled professionals. Gaining as much knowledge as possible about supply chain and logistics is one of the best ways to set yourself apart from other job candidates.  

Consider taking courses on these topics to deepen your understanding and build a robust foundation of knowledge. For example, you can explore data analysis and demand planning with Supply Chain Planning from the University of California, Irvine. Alternatively, a course like Supply Chain Principles, offered by Georgia Tech, can help you develop skills in procurement and operations. You’ll find these and more on Coursera. Upon completing either programs, gain a sharable Professional Certificate to include in your resume, CV, or LinkedIn profile.