# Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks

> Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment.

- **SOC code:** 43-5071.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-5071-00
- **Also known as:** Receiver, Receiving Clerk, Shipper, Shipping Clerk, Materials Control Associate, Order Fulfillment Specialist, Receiving Associate, Receiving Coordinator
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy.
- Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.
- Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock.
- Pack, seal, label, or affix postage to prepare materials for shipping, using hand tools, power tools, or postage meter.
- Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes.
- Confer or correspond with establishment representatives to rectify problems, such as damages, shortages, or nonconformance to specifications.
- Deliver or route materials to departments using handtruck, conveyor, or sorting bins.
- Contact carrier representatives to make arrangements or to issue instructions for shipping and delivery of materials.
- Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped.
- Compute amounts, such as space available, shipping, storage, or demurrage charges, using computer or price list.
- Compare shipping routes or methods to determine which have the least environmental impact.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Administrative _(knowledge)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Arm-Hand Steadiness _(ability)_
- Production and Processing _(knowledge)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Edge _(Specialized Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Microsoft Word _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Apple Safari _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Edge _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Mozilla Firefox _(hot technology, in demand)_
- SAP software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Inventory management systems _(in demand)_
- Warehouse management system WMS _(in demand)_
- Web browser software _(in demand)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 48th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 27th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 56th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 63rd percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 97th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -7.7% growth (Declining); 69.3k annual openings; 862.2k → 795.8k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $43,190; 857,630 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 44% automation, 51% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 4.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials. _(0.6% of measured AI use; task iteration)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-5071-00_