In today's globalized environment, shipping and receiving has never
been more crucial - or more complex. With Americans buying goods from,
and selling goods to, the rest of the world, high-quality shipping and
receiving professionals are among the most important links in the
supply chain. The numbers tell the story: the US Post office handles
over a billion packages a year, representing more than three billion
pounds' worth of goods. FedEx delivers over six million every day,
while, in the same twenty-four hours, UPS delivers a whopping 15.6
million.
It's up to shipping and receiving professionals to make sure this
enormous volume of mail goes to the right places - and that's no easy
task. Consider the steps a single package goes through - say a video
game or DVD you order from an online catalogue, or from an online store
like Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.
Long before you click that "Buy" icon on your Web browser, a
distribution center must order its stock from the manufacturer's
warehouse, where a shipping clerk must correctly log the request.
Packers must find the ordered materials and package them safely for the
series of long journeys ahead. Then the stock must reach the
distribution center, where, when it arrives, a receiving clerk must
make a note of its arrival, unpack it, and safely store it. Then,
finally, when you place your order, someone has to find the materials
in the distribution center's warehouse, at which time they're packed up
once again, and yet another shipping clerk makes sure that they're sent
to the right place, with the right bill, to the right person.
Now multiply all that effort by thousands, and you'll have some idea of
the difficulty involved in shipping and receiving. And let's not even
talk about returns! The shipping and receiving department of today is
so central - and so representative of the complexity of modern,
globalized business' that one suspects if Adam Smith were writing The
Wealth of Nations today, he might well replace his famous pin-factory
example with the shipping and receiving department of a modern
corporation.
In such an environment, old-fashioned care and intelligence make all
the difference. The mail room must keep meticulous records, noting
whether payment has been received from the customer, whether and when
orders have been sent, and logging customer complaints when mistakes do
occur. Every step in an item's journey from the manufacturer's assembly
line to your door must be recorded. It's shipping and receiving workers
who keep the records that enable retailers to know which items move
quickly vs. which items collect dust in a warehouse. And it's shipping
and receiving workers who tell you when your item has shipped and how
long it'll take to reach you.
But hard work is not enough. Along with smarts and initiative, good
tools are a necessity. For example, computers have made the work of
shipping and receiving easier and more efficient in some ways, allowing
shipping clerks to use barcode scanners, for example, to record all
necessary information about an item (or an entire pallet of items) at
the touch of a button. These technological breakthroughs make it much
easier to track packages in their progress from one place to another.
With the help of robotic equipment, too, warehouses can sort items
faster. But with these gains in efficiency come increases in customers'
expectations.
Not only flashy new technologies, but the simplest, humblest tools are
needed in the mail room. The best packing supplies are needed, along
with a good record-keeping system and lots of writing equipment on
hand. Good scales (for keeping track of package weights), a plethora of
calculators, strong packing tape, and shipping boxes. And, because
nothing is more important than the safety of employees, a good, sturdy
box cutter is critical - a strong utility knife that won't dull with
frequent use. A priority should be to find and utilize a safety knife
that protects hardworking shippers and receivers from work-related
injuries.
Safecutters
Inc. provides an online store of utility knife box cutters for opening shipping
boxes and shipping packages, as well as safety knives to open moving boxes and
packages. For more information about Klever Kutter and other Safecutters
products, visit www.safecutters.com.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
