Furniture Packer

When someone orders an IKEA bed, a Pottery Barn nightstand, or a couch from the local furniture store, they wait the standard three to 10 days before seeing the box on their porch. When they open it up, they find each tool, screw, plank, shelf, and cushion neatly packed inside.

A Furniture Packer is the one who makes sure each piece of furniture, as well as its spare parts, is safely packed away for shipment and delivery. As a Furniture Packer, you use bags, boxes, plastic containers, and crates of various sizes, depending on the type of furniture you’re packing. Most Furniture Packers work at manufacturing plants, but you might also work at the retail level.

The first step in the process is to review the work order. Making sure to account for every nut and bolt, you place the items in the appropriate container, and protect it against damage by wrapping the pieces, filling the box with packing peanuts, or placing air-filled bags around the merchandise. Along the way, you watch for scratches, nicks, dings, dents, defects, rips, or flaws.

With the merchandise and stuffing inside, you seal the box using tape, glue, staples, or nails, and label the box for shipment. For each step of the process, you keep an accurate record of quantities, inspections, weights, measurements, and dates. When all the merchandise is skillfully packed, you use pallets, forklifts, or conveyor belts to deliver the boxes to the shipping department, where it catches its ride towards its final destination.