Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Office and administrative support / 43-5061.00

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.

US jobs
390,160
Median wage
$59,650 a year
Job family
Office and administrative support

Can agents do the work of production, planning, and expediting clerks?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Office and administrative support:

  • Task levelStrongOn computer-use and office-task benchmarks, top agents pass most tasks: 90.2% on OSWorld-Verified (humans: 72.4%), 83.1% on SpreadsheetBench, and 63.3% on WorkArena L1 under the standard protocol. Limits: many top entries are self-submitted and not re-run by the maintainers, and on TheAgentCompany's multi-step workplace tasks the best agent resolves 42.9%.
  • Project levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's GDPval deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons, but GDPval tasks are one-shot and fully specified. No benchmark in our collection tests multi-day administrative work, such as running a calendar or a purchasing process.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in office and administrative support, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications.
  • 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.
Other job titles for this occupation (80)

Expeditor · Inventory Control Specialist · Material Requirements Planner (MRP) · Materials Coordinator · Materials Planner · Production Assistant · Production Clerk · Production Controller · Production Planner · Production Scheduler · Advertising Dispatch Clerk · Aircraft Log Clerk · Alterations Workroom Clerk · Assignment Agent · Assignment Clerk · Automated Logistical Specialist · Back Shoe Worker · Batch Records Clerk · Beef Tagger · Billet Recorder · Box Estimator · Clerical Production Worker · Computer Processing Scheduler · Computerized Mill Recorder · Control Clerk · Crew Scheduler · Customer Supply Coordinator · Cycle Counter · Data Processing Control Clerk · Dispatcher Clerk · Ends Breakage Clerk · Engineering Document Control Clerk · Expeditor Clerk · Extension Clerk · Fabric and Accessories Estimator · Follow Up Clerk · Formula Clerk · Frequency Checker · Gas Flow Regulator · Inventory Analyst · Inventory Auditor · Inventory Control Coordinator · Inventory Controller · Inventory Coordinator · Inventory Management Specialist · Inventory Planner · Inventory Technician · Jacket Preparer · Jewelry Estimator · Job Checker · Job Estimator · Job Spotter · Job Tracer · Kit Planner · Labor Expediter · Load Planner · Locomotive Lubricating Systems Clerk · Logistics Clerk · Lot Worker · Lumber Estimator · Machine Stoppage Frequency Checker · Maintenance Scheduler · Manufacturing Planner · Material Control Clerk · Material Coordinator · Materials Clerk · Materials Control Clerk · Materials Controller · Materials Dispatcher · Materials Expediter · Materials Lister · Materials Man · Materials Requisitioner · Materials Scheduler · Materials Worker · Metal Checker · Metal Control Coordinator · Metal Flow Coordinator · Mill Order Scheduler · Mill Recorder