# Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

> Coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule. Duties include reviewing and distributing production, work, and shipment schedules; conferring with department supervisors to determine progress of work and completion dates; and compiling reports on progress of work, inventory levels, costs, and production problems.

- **SOC code:** 43-5061.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-5061-00
- **Also known as:** Expeditor, Materials Planner, Production Planner, Production Scheduler, Inventory Control Specialist, Material Requirements Planner (MRP), Materials Coordinator, Production Assistant
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments.
- Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, or engineering.
- Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities.
- Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules.
- Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays.
- Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands.
- Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes.
- Examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications.
- Plan production commitments or timetables for business units, specific programs, or jobs, using sales forecasts.
- Compile information, such as production rates and progress, materials inventories, materials used, or customer information, so that status reports can be completed.
- Compile and prepare documentation related to production sequences, transportation, personnel schedules, or purchase, maintenance, or repair orders.
- Calculate figures, such as required amounts of labor or materials, manufacturing costs, or wages, using pricing schedules, adding machines, calculators, or computers.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Production and Processing _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Administrative _(knowledge)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Acrobat _(hot technology)_
- Adobe Illustrator _(hot technology)_
- Adobe InDesign _(hot technology)_
- Adobe Photoshop _(hot technology)_
- Google Docs _(hot technology)_
- Intuit QuickBooks _(hot technology)_
- MEDITECH software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 78th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 65th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 82nd percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 83rd percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 75th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -1.8% growth (Declining); 34.1k annual openings; 388.8k → 381.7k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $57,770; 385,000 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 32% automation, 17% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.5 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** directive.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Calculate figures, such as required amounts of labor or materials, manufacturing costs, or wages, using pricing schedules, adding machines, calculators, or computers. _(0.5% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications. _(0.4% of measured AI use)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me calculate figures, such as required amounts of labor or materials, manufacturing costs, or wages, using pricing schedules, adding machines, calculators, or computers.
- Help me examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-5061-00_