Stock clerks and order fillers receive, unpack, check, store, track merchandise or materials, and pick up customer orders. They keep records of items entering or leaving the stockroom and inspect damaged or spoiled goods. Stock clerks and order fillers sort, organize, and mark items with identifying codes, such as price, stock, or inventory control codes, so that inventories can be located quickly and easily. They also may be required to lift cartons of various sizes. In larger establishments, where they may be responsible for only one task, they may be called stock-control clerks, merchandise distributors, or property custodians. In smaller firms, they also may perform tasks such as packing and mailing items, usually handled by shipping and receiving clerks.
In many firms, stock clerks and order fillers use hand-held scanners connected to computers to keep inventories up to date. In retail stores, stock clerks bring merchandise to the sales floor and stock shelves and racks. In stockrooms and warehouses, stock clerks store materials in bins, on floors, or on shelves. Instead of putting the merchandise on the sales floor or on shelves, order fillers take customers' orders and either hold the merchandise until the customers can pick it up or send it to them.
Work environment. Working conditions vary considerably by employment setting. Most jobs for stock clerks and order fillers involve frequent standing, bending, walking, and stretching. Some lifting and carrying of smaller items also may be involved. Although automated devices have lessened the physical demands of this occupation, their use remains somewhat limited. Even though mechanical material handling equipment is employed to move heavy items, the work still can be strenuous.
Evening and weekend hours are common and may be required when large shipments are involved or when inventory is taken.
| 1. | Receive and count stock items, and record data manually or using computer. |
| 2. | Pack and unpack items to be stocked on shelves in stockrooms, warehouses, or storage yards. |
| 3. | Verify inventory computations by comparing them to physical counts of stock, and investigate discrepancies or adjust errors. |
| 4. | Store items in an orderly and accessible manner in warehouses, tool rooms, supply rooms, or other areas. |
| 5. | Mark stock items using identification tags, stamps, electric marking tools, or other labeling equipment. |
| 6. | Clean and maintain supplies, tools, equipment, and storage areas in order to ensure compliance with safety regulations. |
| 7. | Determine proper storage methods, identification, and stock location based on turnover, environmental factors, and physical capabilities of facilities. |
| 8. | Keep records on the use and/or damage of stock or stock handling equipment. |
| 9. | Examine and inspect stock items for wear or defects, reporting any damage to supervisors. |
| 10. | Provide assistance or direction to other stockroom, warehouse, or storage yard workers. |
| 11. | Dispose of damaged or defective items, or return them to vendors. |
| 12. | Drive trucks in order to pick up incoming stock or to deliver parts to designated locations. |
| 13. | Prepare and maintain records and reports of inventories, price lists, shortages, shipments, expenditures, and goods used or issued. |
| 14. | Sell materials, equipment, and other items from stock in retail settings. |
| 15. | Issue or distribute materials, products, parts, and supplies to customers or coworkers, based on information from incoming requisitions. |
| 16. | Advise retail customers or internal users on the appropriateness of parts, supplies, or materials requested. |
| 17. | Purchase new or additional stock, or prepare documents that provide for such purchases. |
| 18. | Compile, review, and maintain data from contracts, purchase orders, requisitions, and other documents in order to assess supply needs. |
| 19. | Confer with engineering and purchasing personnel and vendors regarding stock procurement and availability. |
| 20. | Determine sequence and release of back orders according to stock availability. |
| 21. | Prepare products, supplies, equipment, or other items for use by adjusting, repairing or assembling them as necessary. |
| 22. | Recommend disposal of excess, defective, or obsolete stock. |
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