Warehouse Inventory Control Clerk Jobs

© 2012 by Aurelio Locsin.

Also known as material recording clerks, inventory control clerks who work in warehouses, handle receiving, organizing and shipping supplies and goods inside storage rooms and locations. They have full-time schedules, although evening hours are possible when dealing with large shipments or working in retail warehouses.

Warehouse inventory control clerks manage the flow of goods into the storage facilities of their organizations.

• When viewing or organizing information, they may work from offices. However, they record, physically organize and ship items from warehouses.
• They typically use computers in which they enter records or may use scanners to automatically process barcodes.
• They must ensure that information on receipts, manifests, purchase orders and waybills match the physical inventory, and can modify records.
• They also locate, sort and move goods to different parts of the warehouse, or to and from loading docks.

While in small businesses, one inventory control clerk handles all material handling functions, in larger organizations, they can specialize. Their duties thus differ depending on their job designation.

• Production, planning and expediting clerks focus on the information management end of the process, compiling and tracking records, and creating reports.
• Shipping, receiving and traffic clerks physically track the receiving and sending of items, and may move items to and from delivery trucks.
• Stock clerks and order fillers process orders for goods, and receive and unpack merchandise, and put them on product shelves in stores.

• Inspectors measure, weigh and otherwise verify that goods meet order standards and are free of defects.

Warehouse inventory control clerks typically require a high school diploma to enter their professions, so they can receive on-the-job training lasting up to six months from more experienced clerks or warehouse supervisors.

• Desirable qualities include general familiarity with computer hardware and software because most warehouse use digital devices to manage inventory.
• Verbal and written communication skills are necessary to relate the state of inventory to warehouse staff, suppliers, managers and customers.
• An orientation to detail enables the following of procedures and standards, while good customer-service skills are important when dealing with the human element.

Salaries for warehouse inventory control clerks vary according to specialty, with production, planning and expediting clerks receiving the highest averages of $38,770 per year, or $18.64 per hour, as of May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• With 54,030 jobs, stock clerks and order fillers proved to be the largest category, but with the lowest mean pay at $30.510 yearly, or $14.67 hourly.
• Shipping, receiving and traffic clerks made an annual $31,140, or $14.97 hourly.
• Inspectors, such as weighers, measurers and checkers, received $31,800 per year, or $15.29 per hour.