Education:
75%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
12%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks
This is a sub-career of
Material Recording Clerk
More sub-careers
Select a specialized sub-career for more details.
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Job Outlook:
Decline
Education:
High school diploma or equivalent
Salary
High:
$55,730.00
Average:
$40,450.00
Hourly
Average:
$19.45
What they do:
Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment.
On the job, you would:
- Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy.
- Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock.
- Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.
Important Qualities
Communication skills. Material recording clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, or managers and need to convey their company’s needs effectively.
Customer-service skills. Material recording clerks may interact with customers in order to respond to problems or complaints.
Detail oriented. Material and product inspecting clerks must pay attention to detail when checking items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot.
Math skills. Material recording clerks may need to calculate shipping costs or take measurements.
Personality
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Characteristics of this Career |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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84% | Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. | |
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81% | Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. | |
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77% | Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. | |
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73% | Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical. | |
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72% | Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. | |
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67% | Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. | |
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66% | Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. | |
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66% | Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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89% | Conventional - Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources. | |
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67% | Realistic - Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Values of the Work Environment |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
72% | Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
Aptitude
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Abilities | Cognitive, Physical, Personality |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
69% | Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
Job Details
Responsibilities
Analyze shipping information to make routing decisions.
Inspect shipments to ensure correct order fulfillment.
Package objects for shipping.
Deliver items.
Analyze shipping information to make routing decisions.
Prepare documentation for contracts, transactions, or regulatory compliance.
Record shipping information.
Coordinate shipping activities with external parties.
Respond to customer problems or complaints.
Store items.
Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
Calculate shipping costs.
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
97% | Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? | |
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96% | Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job? | |
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89% | Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? | |
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89% | Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in non-controlled environmental conditions (e.g., warehouse without heat)? | |
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87% | Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? | |
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86% | Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? | |
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86% | Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? | |
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84% | Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? | |
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84% | Importance of Repeating Same Tasks - How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job? | |
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82% | Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? | |
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80% | Deal With External Customers - How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? | |
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78% | Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? | |
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77% | Responsible for Others' Health and Safety - How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job? | |
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75% | Responsibility for Outcomes and Results - How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers? | |
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74% | Coordinate or Lead Others - How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job? |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Tasks & Values |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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83% | Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. | |
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81% | Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. | |
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72% | Handling and Moving Objects - Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. | |
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72% | Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. | |
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71% | Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials. | |
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67% | Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
What Material Recording Clerks Do
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks track outgoing and incoming shipments.
Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.
Duties
Material recording clerks typically do the following:
- Keep records of items shipped, received, or transferred to another location
- Compile reports on various changes in production or inventory
- Organize the assembly, distribution, or delivery of goods to meet production schedules
- Prepare materials for shipping by labeling or checking packages
- Examine products for damage or defects
- Check inventory records for accuracy
Material recording clerks use computers or hand-held devices to keep track of inventory. Sensors and tags enable these electronic tools to automatically detect when and where products are moved, allowing clerks to keep updated reports without manually counting items.
The following are examples of types of material recording clerks:
Production, planning, and expediting clerks manage the flow of information, work, and materials within or among offices in a business. They compile reports on the progress of work and on any production problems that arise. These clerks set workers’ schedules, estimate costs, keep track of materials, and write special orders for new materials. They also do general office tasks, such as entering data or distributing mail. Expediting clerks maintain contact with vendors to ensure that supplies and equipment are shipped on time.
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks keep track of and record outgoing and incoming shipments. Clerks may scan barcodes with handheld devices or use radio frequency identification (RFID) scanners to keep track of inventory. They check to see whether shipment orders were processed correctly in their company’s computer system. They also compute freight costs, prepare invoices, and write inventory reports. Some clerks move goods from the warehouse to the loading dock.
Material and product inspecting clerks weigh, measure, check, sample, and keep records on materials, supplies, and equipment that enters a warehouse. They verify the quantity and quality of items they are assigned to examine, checking for defects and recording what they find. They use scales, counting devices, and calculators. Some decide what to do about a defective product, such as to scrap it or send it back to the factory to be repaired.
Work Environment
Material recording clerks held about 1.3 million jobs in 2022. Employment in the detailed occupations that make up material recording clerks was distributed as follows:
| Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks | 862,900 |
| Production, planning, and expediting clerks | 396,800 |
| Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping | 55,600 |
The largest employers of material recording clerks were as follows:
| Manufacturing | 27% |
| Retail trade | 17 |
| Wholesale trade | 14 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 14 |
| Temporary help services | 4 |
Material recording clerks usually work in an office inside a warehouse or manufacturing plant.
These workers also may spend time on the warehouse or plant floor to handle packages or automatic equipment, such as conveyor systems.
Injuries and Illnesses
Some material recording clerks may need to lift heavy items and to bend frequently, which may lead to injury. Using proper lifting techniques helps to reduce the risk of harm.
Work Schedules
Most material recording clerks work full time. Some work nights and weekends or holidays.
Getting Started
How to Become a Material Recording Clerk
Material recording clerks learn on the job from an experienced worker.
Material recording clerks typically need a high school diploma or equivalent and are trained on the job.
Education
Material recording clerks typically need a high school diploma or equivalent.
Some employers prefer to hire production, planning, and expediting clerks who have a college degree.
Training
Material recording clerks usually learn on the job. Training for most material recording clerks lasts up to 1 month. Production, planning, and expediting clerks may train for up to 6 months.
Material recording clerks first may learn to count stock and mark inventory and then move on to more difficult tasks, such as recordkeeping. Production clerks first typically learn how their company operates before they write production and work schedules.
Workers learn safety rules as part of their training. Many of these rules are standardized through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Advancement
With additional training or education, material recording clerks may advance to other positions, such as purchasing agent, within their company.
Job Outlook
Overall employment of material recording clerks is projected to decline 4 percent from 2022 to 2032.
Despite declining employment, about 125,300 openings for material recording clerks are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment
Projected employment of material recording clerks varies by occupation (see table). As e-commerce continues to grow, companies are expanding their use of automated storage and retrieval tools to meet rising demand for products and for faster delivery. These types of technologies, including radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and collaborative robots, will improve efficiencies of many warehouse operations. Demand for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks may be limited as use of technology expands and increases productivity of some manual tasks, improving efficiency.
However, employment of production, planning, and expediting clerks is projected to increase because their tasks remain difficult to automate.
Contacts for More Information
For more information about material recording clerks, visit
Warehousing Education and Research Council
Similar Occupations
This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of material recording clerks.
| Occupation | Job Duties | Entry-Level Education | Median Annual Pay, May 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
General Office Clerks |
General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records. |
High school diploma or equivalent | $38,040 |
|
Hand Laborers and Material Movers |
Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials. |
See How to Become One | $34,960 |
|
Information Clerks |
Information clerks perform routine clerical duties, maintain records, collect data, and provide information to customers. |
See How to Become One | $38,710 |