| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Operations |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Planning Manager |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | 2 to 5 years in production planning, dispatch planning or operations scheduling |
Planning Executive job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Planning Executive
Department: Operations
Reports to: Planning Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Planning Executive prepares the daily and weekly plans that tell operations what to produce, dispatch or deliver, and with which people, machines and material. Working from orders, forecasts and capacity data, the role builds schedules, checks material availability, releases the plan to the floor and reports plan versus actual. A good planning executive gives the floor a plan it can actually meet and warns early when it cannot.
Key responsibilities
- Collect confirmed orders, forecasts and priority changes from sales or customer service before each planning cycle.
- Prepare the daily and weekly schedule for production, dispatch or service jobs from capacity, manpower and due dates.
- Check raw material, packing material or spares against the plan, and raise shortages with purchase or stores.
- Release the approved plan to supervisors with job sequence, quantities and priorities.
- Compare plan with actual every day and reschedule when breakdowns, absenteeism or urgent orders change the picture.
- Maintain planning data such as routings, standard times, machine capacities and lead times in the ERP or planning sheet.
- Share expected delivery dates with sales and customer service, and revise them promptly when the plan slips.
- Prepare weekly reports on schedule adherence, capacity utilization and backlog for the planning manager.
- Attend the daily production or operations meeting and record decisions that change the plan.
Requirements
- Diploma or degree in mechanical or production engineering, or a commerce graduate with planning experience
- Training in PPC or MRP concepts is an advantage
- Working knowledge of an ERP such as SAP PP
- 2 to 5 years in production planning, dispatch planning or operations scheduling
KRAs and KPIs for a Planning Executive
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Schedule adherence | Daily plan achieved at 90 percent or more on a rolling weekly basis |
| Material readiness | No stoppage from a material shortage that planning could have flagged in advance |
| Delivery promise accuracy | Committed delivery dates met for at least 95 percent of orders |
| Planning master data | Standard times and capacities in the system reviewed every quarter |
| Daily reporting | Plan versus actual report shared by 11 am each working day |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: SAP PP or another ERP planning module, MS Excel, Scheduling boards or Gantt charts, Material availability reports, Email and phone.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Planning Manager, PPC Manager, Supply Planner
Interview questions for a Planning Executive
- How do you plan a week when orders exceed capacity by 20 percent?
- An urgent order arrives mid-shift. What do you check before inserting it into the schedule?
- How do you calculate the capacity of a line or team for one day?
- Material for tomorrow's first job has not arrived. What do you do tonight?
- What does a plan versus actual report tell you, and what do you do with it?
- Tell me about a time sales pushed for a delivery date you knew was not possible.
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What does a planning executive do?
A planning executive builds the daily and weekly schedule for production, dispatch or service work. They collect orders and priorities, check capacity and material, release the plan to supervisors, compare plan with actual each day and reschedule when something changes. Sales and customer service rely on them for realistic delivery dates.
What skills are required for a planning executive?
The job needs scheduling logic, capacity calculation, basic material requirement planning and strong Excel. Most companies also expect ERP experience, often SAP PP or a similar module. Softer skills matter too: negotiating priorities with sales and staying calm when breakdowns or urgent orders upset the plan.
Who does a planning executive report to?
A planning executive usually reports to a planning manager or PPC manager. In smaller plants or service companies without a planning team, the role reports to the operations manager or production manager. The planner works closely with supervisors, stores, purchase and sales every day.