Warehouse Clerk

A Warehouse Clerk works with orders and inventory of items stored in a warehouse. At all times, Warehouse Clerks must accurately identify and count the items they’re handling. For inbound orders, you may be involved in shelving the items where they belong. For outbound orders, on the other hand, you may be involved in finding and collecting the requested items, and carefully packing them for shipment.

Being a Warehouse Clerk involves careful, accurate reading and writing of paperwork that specifies what is being sent or received. You make sure that items sent and received correspond to the items listed on the shipping orders. You must also be certain that they’re properly stored within the warehouse, and that no item of inventory enters or leaves without the proper paperwork. Everything must happen in accordance with verified orders.

Periodically, you’re involved in physically counting the actual items in the warehouse. This “inventory verification” process is intended to find and correct any errors that have gone unnoticed, such as items that have been stored in the wrong locations, incorrectly labeled, or inaccurately counted.

Part of your job is to understand and operate useful technology. This can include anything from simple moving equipment such as forklifts and motorized trolleys to sophisticated “picking” systems that automatically retrieve items to fill orders. One of the most interesting technologies is RFID: Radio Frequency Identification. Tiny transmitters are programmed to broadcast an item’s description and quantity, while RFID receivers continuously record which items are stored in the warehouse, which ones arrive, and which ones leave.