Moving goods from place to place is a significant part of the U.S. economy. New technologies, such as GIS (Global Information Systems) and GPS (Global Positioning Systems) allow shipping and transportation professionals to monitor and locate shipments using satellite technology (see also Drafting Technology). Transportation, distribution and warehousing managers will have to be familiar with these new technologies and other new management techniques, including just-in-time inventory management.

Competition will require that shipments arrive on time and arrive with the right cargo, because botched shipments can cost hours or days of production downtime and large amounts of money. These developments place additional requirements on transportation, shipping and warehousing managers to develop enhanced logistical skills and organized inventory control systems.

Shipping and transportation managers directly supervise and coordinate activities of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators. May supervise helpers assigned to these workers. Manager/Supervisors are generally found in smaller establishments where they perform both supervisory and management functions, such as accounting, marketing, and personnel work, and may also engage in the same work as the workers they supervise.

Warehouse supervisors plan, direct, and coordinate the storage and distribution operations within an organization or the activities of organizations that are engaged in storing and distributing materials and products. Duties include conferring with department heads to coordinate warehouse activities, such as production, sales, records control, and purchasing; planning, developing, and implementing warehouse safety and security programs and activities; reviewing invoices, work orders, consumption reports, and demand forecasts to estimate peak delivery periods and issue work assignments; supervising the activities of workers engaged in receiving, storing, testing, and shipping products or materials; and interviewing, selecting, and training warehouse and supervisory personnel.

Purchasers and buyers seek to obtain the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible purchase cost for their employers. (In general, purchasers buy goods and services for the use of their company or organization whereas buyers buy items for resale.) They determine which commodities or services are best, choose the suppliers of the product or service, negotiate the lowest price and award contracts that ensure the correct amount of the product or service is received at the appropriate time. In order to accomplish these tasks successfully, purchasers and buyers study sales records and inventory levels of current stock, identify foreign and domestic suppliers, and keep abreast of changes affecting both the supply of and demand for products and materials for which they are responsible.

Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks track all incoming and outgoing shipments of goods transferred between businesses, suppliers and customers. Traffic clerks record destination, weight, and charge of all incoming and outgoing shipments. Shipping clerks assemble, address, stamp, and ship merchandise or materials. Receiving clerks unpack, verify, and record incoming merchandise. In a small company, one clerk may perform all of these tasks (see also Office Technology).

Stock clerks receive, unpack, and store materials and equipment, and issue and maintain inventories. Inventories may be merchandise in wholesale and retail establishments, or equipment, supplies or materials in other kinds of organizations. In small firms, they may perform all of the above tasks, as well as those usually handled by shipping and receiving clerks. In large establishments, they may be responsible only for one task (see also Office Technology).

Other administrative support occupations in this group include production, planning, and expediting clerks—who coordinate and expedite the flow of work and material according to production schedules; procurement clerks—who draw up purchase orders to obtain merchandise or material; and weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers—who weigh, measure and check materials (see also Office Technology).

Freight, stock and material hand movers move materials to and from storage and production areas, loading docks, delivery vehicles, ships' holds and containers. They move materials either manually, or with forklifts, dollies, handtrucks or carts. Their specific duties vary by industry and work setting. Specialized workers within this group include stevedores, who load and unload ships; and baggage and cargo handlers, who work in transportation industries. In factories, they may move raw materials, components and finished goods between loading docks, storage areas and work areas. They receive and sort materials and supplies and prepare them according to work orders for delivery to work or storage areas.

Hand packers and packagers manually pack, package or wrap a wide variety of materials. They may inspect items for defects, label cartons, stamp information on products, keep records of items packed, and stack packages on loading docks.

 

Working conditions vary considerably by occupation and employment setting. Transportation, distribution and warehouse personnel work in a wide variety of businesses, institutions and industries. Some work in warehouses, stock rooms, or in shipping and receiving rooms that may not be temperature-controlled. Others may spend time in cold storage rooms or outside on loading platforms, where they are exposed to the weather.

Most jobs involve frequent standing, bending, walking and stretching. Some lifting and carrying of smaller items may be involved. Although automation, robotics, and pneumatic devices have lessened the physical demands in these occupations, their use remains somewhat limited. Work still can be strenuous, even though mechanical material-handling equipment is employed to move heavy items. The typical work week is Monday through Friday, however, evening and weekend hours are standard for some jobs, and may be required in others when large shipments are involved or when inventory is taken.

Most managers, purchasers and buyers work in comfortable, well-lighted offices at stores, corporate headquarters, or production or service facilities. They frequently work more than a 40-hour week because of special production deadlines. Evening and weekend work is common. Managers and buyers often work under great pressure because manufacturing, wholesale and retail businesses are so competitive; buyers need physical stamina to keep up with the fast-paced nature of their work. Many purchasers and buyers spend at least several days a month traveling. Purchasers for worldwide manufacturing companies and large retailers may travel outside the United States.

 

Shipping and transportation managers and warehouse supervisors usually require training in technical/vocational schools, several years of related on-the-job experience or an Associate's degree. Some may require a Bachelor's degree. Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.

Stock clerks and traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks usually learn the job by doing simple tasks under close supervision. Many of the occupations in this group are entry-level, and do not require more than a high school diploma.They learn how to count and mark stock, and then start keeping records and taking inventory. Traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks start out by checking items to be shipped and then attaching labels and making sure the addresses are correct. Training in the use of automated equipment is usually done informally, on the job. As these occupations become more automated, however, workers in these jobs may need longer training in order to master the use of the equipment.

Educational requirements for purchasers and buyers tend to vary with the size of the organization. Large stores and distributors, especially those in wholesale and retail trade, prefer applicants who have completed a bachelor's degree program with a business emphasis. Many manufacturing firms prefer applicants with a bachelor's or master's degree in business, economics, or technical training such as engineering or one of the applied sciences and tend to put a greater emphasis on formal training. Regardless of industry, continuing education is essential for advancement. Many purchasers participate in seminars offered by professional societies and take college courses in purchasing. Although no national standard exists, professional certification is becoming increasingly important.

In private industry, the recognized marks of experience and professional competence are the designations Accredited Purchasing Practitioner (A.P.P.) and Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.), conferred by the National Association of Purchasing Management, and Certified Purchasing Professional (CPP), conferred by the American Purchasing Society. In Federal, State, and local government, the indications of professional competence are the designations Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) and Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO), conferred by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing.

As more materials purchasing is conducted on a long-term basis, both private and public purchasing professionals are specializing in the contractual aspects of purchasing. The National Contract Management Association confers the designations Simplified Acquisition Specialists (SAS), Certified Associate Contract Manager (CACM), and Certified Professional Contract Manager (CPCM). These designations primarily apply to contract managers in the Federal Government and its suppliers.

 

Advancement opportunities vary with the place of employment. In large firms, stock clerks can advance to invoice clerk, stock control clerk or procurement clerk. Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks are promoted to head clerk, and those with a broad understanding of shipping and receiving may enter a related field such as industrial traffic management. With additional training, some stock clerks and traffic, shipping and receiving clerks advance to jobs as transportation, distribution and warehouse manager, or purchasing agent.

An experienced purchasing agent or buyer may become an assistant purchasing manager in charge of a group of purchasing professionals before advancing to purchasing manager, supply manager, or director of materials management. At the top levels, duties may overlap into other management functions such as production, planning, and marketing.

 

Shipping and transportation managers earned an average of $564 per week in 1996. Median weekly earnings of workers in all material recording, scheduling, and distributing occupations were $412 in 1996. The middle 50 percent earned between $303 and $567. The lowest 10 percent earned $241or less; the top 10 percent earned over $746. Median weekly earnings of traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks and stock clerks were $367 and $429, respectively, in 1996.

Workers in material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing occupations usually receive the same benefits as most other workers. If uniforms are required, employers usually either provide the uniforms, or an allowance to purchase them.

Median annual earnings of purchasers and buyers were $33,200 in 1996. The middle 50 percent earned between $23,300 and $45,900. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $18,400 while the top 10 percent earned more than $63,000. Merchandise managers and purchasing managers generally earned higher salaries than buyers or agents. As a general rule, those with the most education in their field have the highest incomes.

The average annual salaries for purchasing agents and contract specialists in the Federal Government in early 1997 were about $28,700 and $51,110, respectively.

Purchasers and buyers receive the same benefits package as their coworkers, frequently including vacations, sick leave, life and health insurance, and pension plans. In addition to standard benefits, retail buyers often earn cash bonuses based on their performance and may receive discounts on merchandise bought from the employer.

 

Methods of material handling have changed significantly in recent years. Large warehouses are increasingly automated, using equipment such as computerized conveyor systems, robots, computer-directed trucks, and automatic data storage and retrieval systems. Automation, coupled with the growing use of hand-held scanners and personal computers in shipping and receiving departments, has increased the productivity of these workers.

Both shipping and transportation manager, and warehouse supervisor are considered evolving occupations in Texas. This means that technology and demand is changing the nature of these occupations. Employment and earnings potential should be very favorable in the next few years.

In 1996, material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers held about 3,633,000 jobs. Almost 3 out of 4 material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing jobs were in manufacturing or wholesale and retail trade. Although these workers are found throughout the country, most work near population centers where retail stores, warehouses, factories, and large communications centers are concentrated.

Traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks held about 759,000 jobs in 1996. Nearly 7 out of 8 were employed in manufacturing or by wholesale or retail establishments. Although jobs for traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks are found throughout the country, most clerks work in urban areas, where shipping depots in factories and wholesale establishments generally are located.

Employment of traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks is expected to increase about as fast as the national average for all occupations through the year 2006. Employment growth will continue to be affected by automation, as all but the smallest firms move to hold down labor costs by using computers to store and retrieve shipping and receiving records. Employment of stock clerks, for example, will be affected by increased automation. New technologies will enable clerks to handle more stock, thus holding down employment growth. The effect of automation also will tend to restrict potential employment growth of employment of traffic, shipping and receiving clerks. Automation in warehouses and stockrooms plus other productivity improvements will enable these clerks to handle materials more efficiently and more accurately than before.

Despite automation, job openings will continue to arise due to increasing economic and trade activity, and because certain tasks cannot be automated. For example, someone needs to check shipments before they go out and when they arrive to ensure everything is in order. However, most job openings will occur because of the need to replace traffic, shipping and receiving clerks who leave the occupation. Because this is an entry-level occupation, many vacancies are created by normal career progression. Because employment in material recording, scheduling and distributing occupations is substantial, workers who leave the labor force or transfer to other occupations are expected to create many job openings each year.

Purchasers and buyers held about 639,000 jobs in 1996. Purchasing agents and purchasing managers each accounted for slightly more than one-third of the total, while buyers accounted for the remainder. About one-half of all purchasers and buyers worked in wholesale and retail trade establishments such as grocery or department stores, and another one-fourth worked in manufacturing. The remainder worked mostly in service establishments or different levels of government.

Employment of purchasers and buyers is expected to increase more slowly than the national average for all occupations through the year 2006. Demand for these workers will not keep pace with the rising level of economic activity because the increasing use of computers has allowed much of the paperwork typically involved in ordering and procuring supplies to be eliminated, reducing the demand for lower-level buyers who traditionally performed these duties. Also, limited sourcing and long-term contracting have allowed companies to negotiate with fewer suppliers less frequently. Consequently, most job openings will result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.