Will AI replace Production & Planning Clerk?

In part. We think AI will eventually automate a real share of this work, but the job won't disappear overnight, and the skills you build here have real value beyond this role. Production, planning, and expediting clerks score a 33.6% AI Resilience Score, which is a candid signal that this work is exposed. The core tasks, including scheduling workers, tracking materials, and writing orders, sit right in AI's wheelhouse. Supply chain software agents can already generate schedules and follow up with suppliers with limited human input , and 72% of supply chain organizations have already deployed generative AI . That adoption is accelerating. What stays human for now is the judgment work: chasing down a vendor who went quiet, flagging a quality problem before it cascades, or reading a supervisor's real priorities. Those are harder to automate. The honest concern is that about 6.1 million clerical workers face high AI exposure combined with limited room to adapt , so waiting for the job to stay the same is not a safe plan. The better plan is to treat this role as a launchpad. PwC finds that AI-exposed roles increasingly reward judgment, communication, and leadership . Build those alongside basic AI literacy, and you carry something durable into supply chain operations, logistics coordination, or procurement, wherever you go next.

How is AI changing Production & Planning Clerk jobs?

The daily tasks of production, planning, and expediting clerks — setting workers' schedules, estimating costs, keeping track of materials, and writing special orders — sit right in AI's sweet spot, and vendors are already targeting them. Gartner named agentic AI and physical AI the top supply chain technology trends for 2026 , meaning software "agents" can now generate schedules, distribute work orders, and follow up with suppliers with limited human input. Supply Chain Management Review reports that 72% of supply chain organizations have deployed generative AI, with proven gains of 20–40% in demand-forecasting accuracy and real-time disruption response through control towers . On the manufacturing floor, Deloitte's 2026 outlook says the industry is moving from experimental AI pilots to at-scale implementation, with 80% of executives planning to invest 20% or more of improvement budgets in smart manufacturing, including agentic AI that can identify suppliers during disruptions and generate handover reports . For now, most of this is augmentation — AI handles calculations and paperwork while clerks focus on the human tasks (confer with supervisors, chase down vendors, judge quality), which the automation scores show are hardest to replace.

How fast is AI adoption growing for Production & Planning Clerk?

Adoption is moving fast but unevenly. Brookings researchers found that about 6.1 million U.S. workers — heavily concentrated in clerical and administrative roles — face high AI exposure combined with low adaptive capacity, meaning they have fewer savings, older ages, or narrower skills to fall back on , and an eWeek summary of the same research warns that clerical work faces the highest displacement risk and calls for retraining . Economic incentives are strong: PwC's 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer found companies most able to use AI grew headcount 52% versus 36% at the least AI-exposed firms and paid a 62% wage premium for AI skills , pushing employers to automate routine clerical work quickly. But there are brakes too. SCMR notes only 23% of supply chain leaders have a formal AI strategy, and many pilots stall because of fragmented data and legacy systems . The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics describes clerks as coordinating vendors, resolving problems, and handling exceptions — judgment-heavy work that keeps humans in the loop. The good news for young workers: PwC finds AI-exposed roles increasingly reward "human-intensive" skills like judgment , communication, and leadership, so building those alongside basic AI literacy is the surest path forward.

Not Very Resilient

Last Update: 11/4/2026

AI Resilience Score for Production & Planning Clerk:

33.6%

Median Score

Meaningful human contribution

Low

Long-term employer demand

Med

Sustained economic opportunity

Low

Our confidence in this score:

Medium-high

AI Resilience Report forProduction, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

$59,650 median salary•32,600 annual openings•SOC Code: 43-5061.00

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks are less resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 8 sources.

This career is labeled "Not Very Resilient" because the core tasks that clerks handle every day, like building schedules, tracking materials, estimating costs, and writing work orders, are exactly the kinds of routine, data-heavy jobs that AI is already very good at automating. About 72% of supply chain organizations have already deployed AI tools that handle these tasks faster and with greater accuracy, and employers have strong financial reasons to keep expanding that automation.

Learn more about how you can thrive in this position

This role is not very resilient

This career is labeled "Not Very Resilient" because the core tasks that clerks handle every day, like building schedules, tracking materials, estimating costs, and writing work orders, are exactly the kinds of routine, data-heavy jobs that AI is already very good at automating. About 72% of supply chain organizations have already deployed AI tools that handle these tasks faster and with greater accuracy, and employers have strong financial reasons to keep expanding that automation.

Read full analysis

Analysis of current AI resilience

Production & Planning Clerk

Updated quarterly

Your move

How can Production & Planning Clerk prepare for AI?

Learn how agentic AI and supply chain tools actually work, so you can work alongside them instead of being replaced by them.

The analysis specifically calls out agentic AI (software that can generate schedules, distribute work orders, and follow up with suppliers on its own) as a top supply chain technology trend for 2026. Explore free or low-cost courses on platforms like Coursera or LinkedIn Learning that cover supply chain software, automation basics, and tools like AI-powered control towers, because understanding these systems makes you valuable in manufacturing, logistics, operations, and many other fields where this same technology is spreading fast.

Build the "human-intensive" skills that PwC says are earning a 62% wage premium in AI-exposed roles.

The analysis cites PwC's 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer finding that companies using AI are paying far more for judgment, communication, and leadership, because those are the skills AI cannot easily replicate. Practice these now by joining debate clubs, leading group projects, volunteering to coordinate events, or taking on any role where you have to negotiate, persuade, or make calls under pressure, since these abilities transfer directly to operations management, project coordination, vendor relations, and dozens of other careers.

Get comfortable with data and demand forecasting concepts, even at a basic level.

The analysis reports that generative AI is already delivering 20 to 40% gains in demand-forecasting accuracy across supply chain organizations. You do not need to be a data scientist, but learning the basics of spreadsheets, data visualization tools like Google Sheets or Tableau Public, and how forecasting models work will make you adaptable across roles in finance, retail planning, healthcare operations, and beyond. This kind of data literacy is a transferable skill that holds its value no matter which industry you land in.

Understand why AI adoption stalls, and position yourself as someone who can bridge the gap.

The analysis notes that only 23% of supply chain leaders have a formal AI strategy, and many pilots fail because of fragmented data and legacy systems. That gap creates real career opportunity for people who understand both the human side and the technology side of an organization. Take a class in business process improvement, shadow someone in an operations or IT role, or read case studies about digital transformation, because the ability to help organizations actually implement new technology (not just talk about it) is a skill that travels well across industries and career stages.

Treat this career as a launching pad into adjacent roles, not a destination to protect.

The Brookings research cited in the analysis found that 6.1 million clerical workers face high AI exposure combined with low adaptive capacity, often because their skills are narrow. You can avoid that trap by intentionally building a wider skill set from the start. Explore adjacent careers like operations analyst, supply chain coordinator, procurement specialist, or manufacturing project manager, all of which use the same core knowledge but involve more judgment and strategy. Map out two or three possible career paths now, and look for internships, job shadows, or certifications (such as APICS entry-level supply chain credentials) that help you move fluidly between them.

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More Career Info

Career: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

They make sure products are made and delivered on time by organizing schedules and tracking supplies.

SOC Code:

43-5061.00•Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Parent Careers

Major Group:Office and Administrative Support Occupations

Minor Group:Material Recording, Scheduling, Dispatching, and Distributing Workers

Broad Group:Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

Alternate Titles

Expeditor · Materials Planner · Production Planner · Production Scheduler · Inventory Control Specialist · Material Requirements Planner (MRP) · Materials Coordinator · Production Assistant · Production Clerk · Production Controller

Employment & Wage Data

Median Wage

$59,650

Jobs (2025)

392,100

Growth (2025-35)

-1.3%

Annual Openings

32,600

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Experience

None

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025-2035

Task-Level AI Resilience Scores

AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years

1

82% ResilienceCore Task

Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes.

2

80% ResilienceCore Task

Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays.

3

62% ResilienceCore Task

Examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications.

4

58% ResilienceCore Task

Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, or engineer...

5

48% ResilienceSupplemental

Establish and prepare product construction directions and locations and information on required tools, materials, equipment, numbers of workers needed, and cost projections.

6

45% ResilienceCore Task

Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules.

7

38% ResilienceSupplemental

Plan production commitments or timetables for business units, specific programs, or jobs, using sales forecasts.

Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.

Not Very Resilient

33.6%

Methodology and Scoring Rationale

AI Resilience Report forProduction, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

This role is not very resilient

Production & Planning Clerk

How is AI changing Production & Planning Clerk jobs?

Sources

How fast is AI adoption growing for Production & Planning Clerk?

Sources

Will AI replace Production & Planning Clerk?

Sources

How can Production & Planning Clerk prepare for AI?

Your Career Starts Here

Latest AI news for Production & Planning Clerk

More Career Info

Career: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

Parent Careers

Alternate Titles

Employment & Wage Data

Task-Level AI Resilience Scores

1

2

3

4

5

6

7