In contemporary industrial organizations, global competition and the advancement of information technologies make products and processes increasingly similar. Operational performance then becomes one of the main differentiation mechanisms. In this scenario, the area of production planning and scheduling gains an unprecedented strategic role. The present study aimed to investigate this new role with a focus on the organizational routines and the people who perform them. More specifically, from a qualitative and interpretative approach, this study used phenomenography method to understand how schedulers conceive competence in their organizational routines. The analysis of the interviews identified three different conceptions. The first is associated with the task of efficient allocation of resources and materials. The second sees scheduling as a process of mediation between the different areas of the company. And the third assigns to the production planner the responsibility to do the strategic management of the enterprise operations. In addition, six dimensions of the phenomenon that explain and differentiate the conceptions are identified: Logical reasoning, Technical knowledge (of the productive process), Systemic knowledge (of other areas), Negotiation strategy, Manifested aspect of the routine and Involvement with corporate strategy. The findings suggest that the strategic dimension of scheduling is verifiable, to different degrees, in production planning routines. In addition, by revealing the concept of competence as being the mediation between the different areas of the company, the study brings negotiation strategies to the center of the debate on the competent realization of production planning routines.