Top 12 Shipping Receiving Clerk Skills to Put on Your Resume

A well-crafted resume showcasing an array of skills is crucial for aspiring shipping receiving clerks aiming to stand out in the competitive logistics and supply chain industry. Highlighting a sharp blend of technical know-how, tight organization, and steady people skills can lift your application above the pile and signal immediate value to hiring teams.

Shipping Receiving Clerk Skills

1. Inventory Management
2. Forklift Operation
3. SAP Software
4. Oracle SCM
5. Barcode Scanning
6. Microsoft Excel
7. Quality Control
8. Shipping Protocols
9. RF Scanners
10. Pallet Jack
11. Hazardous Materials
12. UPS WorldShip

1. Inventory Management

Inventory management, in the context of a Shipping Receiving Clerk, involves tracking and controlling the quantities of incoming and outgoing goods to ensure accurate stock levels and efficient storage organization.

Why It's Important

Inventory management is crucial for a Shipping Receiving Clerk as it ensures accurate tracking of stock levels, minimizes errors in order fulfillment, and improves efficiency in the storage and distribution of goods, leading to stronger customer satisfaction and tighter cost control.

How to Improve Inventory Management Skills

Improving inventory management hinges on accuracy, speed, and visibility. Practical moves that pay off:

1. Adopt a reliable system: Use an inventory or warehouse management system with real-time updates, barcode/RFID support, and clear role permissions.
2. Count smart: Run cycle counts (ABC-based) weekly or monthly, reconcile fast, and investigate variances immediately.
3. Tune replenishment: Set reorder points and safety stock using lead times and demand patterns; review them quarterly.
4. Harden receiving: Verify quantities and condition at the dock, capture lot/serial numbers, and label on the spot to prevent drift.
5. Improve slotting: Place high-velocity items in easy-reach zones; keep bin locations consistent and clearly marked.
6. Strengthen supplier flow: Use ASNs, track on-time/in-full, and give quick feedback when something’s off.
7. Lean habits: Trim excess, shorten touches, and build a simple Kanban where it helps. Small changes stack up.
8. Close the loop: Track root causes for errors and fix the process, not just the number.

How to Display Inventory Management Skills on Your Resume

2. Forklift Operation

Forklift operation, in the context of a Shipping Receiving Clerk, involves using a forklift to load, unload, move, and stack products or materials efficiently and safely within a warehouse, distribution center, or similar setting.

Why It's Important

Forklift operation is crucial for a Shipping Receiving Clerk as it enables efficient movement, loading, and unloading of goods, ensuring timely and safe handling of materials within warehouses and storage facilities.

How to Improve Forklift Operation Skills

1. Get certified and refreshed: Complete required training, then schedule regular refreshers and practical evaluations.
2. Pre-shift checks: Inspect forks, mast, hydraulics, tires, brakes, horn, lights. Tag out if anything’s suspect.
3. Tight routes, clear aisles: Lay out lanes with marked pedestrian zones and speed limits. No blind corners without mirrors or spotters.
4. Load handling discipline: Center the load, know capacity limits, keep loads low while traveling, and avoid sudden turns.
5. Energy safety: For propane units, handle cylinders properly; for electric, charge safely and manage battery watering per guidelines.
6. Maintenance cadence: Stick to preventive service intervals. Downtime hurts more than you think.

How to Display Forklift Operation Skills on Your Resume

3. SAP Software

SAP is an ERP platform that connects finance, supply chain, operations, reporting, and HR. For a Shipping Receiving Clerk, SAP supports accurate receiving, putaway, inventory moves, shipment processing, and audit-ready documentation.

Why It's Important

SAP streamlines inventory control, standardizes documentation, and tracks shipments with high fidelity, lowering error rates and speeding the dock.

How to Improve SAP Software Skills

1. Simplify screens: Use SAP Fiori/SAP Screen Personas to surface just the fields you need and declutter the rest.
2. Go mobile: Enable handheld workflows for receiving, putaway, picking, and cycle counting via EWM and RF transactions.
3. Automate repeats: Templates, defaults, and barcode-driven inputs slash keystrokes and mistakes.
4. Strengthen master data: Clean material, unit-of-measure, and storage location data; bad masters create daily friction.
5. Integrate labels/scanning: Print GS1-compliant labels at receipt and use scanners end-to-end for traceability.
6. See the flow: Build dashboards (e.g., SAP Analytics Cloud/BO) with receiving backlogs, dock-to-stock time, and error trends.

How to Display SAP Software Skills on Your Resume

4. Oracle SCM

Oracle SCM (often Oracle Fusion Cloud SCM) is a suite that manages sourcing, inventory, order fulfillment, logistics, and more. For a Shipping Receiving Clerk, it anchors receiving, putaway, shipping, and inventory accuracy in one system.

Why It's Important

Oracle SCM centralizes processes, improves visibility, and tightens control of inbound/outbound flows so receiving and shipping run on time and with fewer mistakes.

How to Improve Oracle SCM Skills

1. Role-fit pages: Configure layouts, shortcuts, and defaults to match the receiving/shipping workflow.
2. Dial-in receiving parameters: Use ASNs, tolerances, and inspection steps where needed; prevent surprises at the dock.
3. Mobile first: Enable the mobile receiving and inventory apps for scanning and quick updates on the floor.
4. Automation rules: Auto-assign putaway, picking, and carrier choices based on item, zone, or service level.
5. Reliable integration: Connect to ERP, carriers, and EDI via APIs for clean data flow and less manual entry.
6. Measure and improve: Track dock-to-stock, on-time ship rate, and discrepancy rates; fix the hotspots.

How to Display Oracle SCM Skills on Your Resume

5. Barcode Scanning

Barcode scanning in the context of a Shipping Receiving Clerk involves using scanners to quickly and accurately capture data from labels on goods, enabling real-time inventory updates and clean transaction histories.

Why It's Important

Barcode scanning cuts errors, speeds receiving and shipping, and provides traceable records across the supply chain. Quick in, quick out, no guesswork.

How to Improve Barcode Scanning Skills

1. Quality hardware: Use scanners suited to your environment (rugged, cordless, long-range) and your symbologies.
2. Print matters: High-contrast labels, the right print density, and consistent placement reduce rescans.
3. Light and angles: Good lighting and a steady scan angle make reads effortless.
4. Keep them clean: Wipe lenses, check triggers, and replace worn batteries before they cost time.
5. Train the flow: Teach ideal scanning posture, distance, and when to switch to manual entry.
6. Integrate tightly: Ensure scans populate the exact fields in your system—no double work, no drift.

How to Display Barcode Scanning Skills on Your Resume

6. Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program used for organizing, analyzing, and reporting data—handy for inventory logs, shipment tracking, and dock schedules.

Why It's Important

Excel helps a Shipping Receiving Clerk track, analyze, and flag exceptions fast, boosting accuracy and output without heavy tools.

How to Improve Microsoft Excel Skills

1. Modern formulas: Learn XLOOKUP, FILTER, UNIQUE, and SUMIFS to build resilient trackers.
2. PivotTables and charts: Summarize receipts, carriers, and on-time performance in minutes.
3. Power Query: Clean and combine data from CSVs and exports automatically—no copy-paste grind.
4. Data validation: Drop-downs, input limits, and error messages keep entries consistent.
5. Conditional formatting: Auto-highlight shortages, late receipts, or aging orders.
6. Macros or Office Scripts: Automate repetitive formatting and report builds.

How to Display Microsoft Excel Skills on Your Resume

7. Quality Control

Quality Control (QC) in shipping and receiving means inspecting incoming and outgoing goods for condition, accuracy, and compliance to specs before acceptance or dispatch.

Why It's Important

QC prevents bad product from entering stock or leaving the building, protects inventory integrity, and keeps customers happy. Fewer returns. Fewer headaches.

How to Improve Quality Control Skills

1. Clear acceptance criteria: Define what “good” looks like for each item—quantities, packaging, labeling, and condition.
2. Structured inspections: Use checklists and, where appropriate, sampling plans. Document findings with photos.
3. Quarantine and escalate: Separate nonconforming items immediately; log issues and notify procurement or QA.
4. Traceability: Capture lot/serials at receipt and on shipment for quick root-cause work later.
5. Calibrated tools: Maintain scales, calipers, and scanners; out-of-calibration tools skew results.
6. Continuous improvement: Track defect trends and fix upstream causes, not just the symptoms.

How to Display Quality Control Skills on Your Resume

8. Shipping Protocols

Shipping Protocols are the procedures that guide packaging, documentation, labeling, carrier handoff, and delivery so goods move accurately and safely.

Why It's Important

Strong protocols reduce errors, delays, and claims while keeping you compliant and customers informed.

How to Improve Shipping Protocols Skills

1. Packaging standards: Match materials to product risk, weight, and route. Cushion, seal, and test.
2. Flawless paperwork: Bills of lading, packing lists, commercial invoices—complete, legible, and aligned with system data.
3. Labeling and compliance: Apply carrier-compliant labels, correct barcodes, and any special handling marks.
4. Carrier rules and cutoffs: Build SOPs around pickup times, service levels, and dimension/weight limits.
5. Route and cost checks: Periodically review service choices and zones; don’t ship air when ground meets the date.
6. Track and alert: Monitor exceptions and notify customers early when something slips.
7. Audit and refine: Run periodic audits on damage, late ships, and misroutes; tighten the steps that wobble.

How to Display Shipping Protocols Skills on Your Resume

9. RF Scanners

RF scanners are handheld or wearable devices that capture inventory data and sync it over wireless networks, streamlining receiving, putaway, picking, and shipping.

Why It's Important

RF scanning boosts speed and accuracy, cutting manual keying and reducing mismatches between the floor and the system.

How to Improve RF Scanners Skills

1. Comfort first: Choose devices with good grips, balanced weight, and glove-friendly triggers to reduce fatigue.
2. Battery plan: Standardize spares, charging stations, and swap schedules to avoid downtime.
3. Strong connectivity: Ensure solid Wi‑Fi coverage in aisles and docks; fine-tune roaming between access points.
4. Rugged enough: Pick devices rated for drops, dust, and moisture; your floor is not gentle.
5. Right scan engine: Match range and 1D/2D needs to labels on racks, pallets, and parcels.
6. Train workflows: Teach operators optimal scan sequences and error handling within your system screens.

How to Display RF Scanners Skills on Your Resume

10. Pallet Jack

A pallet jack is a manual or powered tool used by shipping and receiving clerks to lift and move pallets within warehouses and loading areas.

Why It's Important

A pallet jack enables efficient movement of heavy loads, reducing strain and speeding the flow between dock, staging, and storage.

How to Improve Pallet Jack Skills

1. Training and habits: Teach proper posture, wide turns, and safe speeds. Never ride the forks or platform unless designed for it.
2. Pre-use checks: Inspect forks, wheels, handle, and brake (if equipped). Report leaks or damage immediately.
3. Load management: Keep the load stable, center the weight, and watch clearances for hands and toes.
4. Terrain awareness: Use caution on slopes, docks, and thresholds; push rather than pull when possible.
5. Upkeep: Lubricate moving parts, replace worn wheels, and schedule periodic service—manual or electric.
6. Smart options: Consider integrated scales or braking features where it improves speed and safety.

How to Display Pallet Jack Skills on Your Resume

11. Hazardous Materials

Hazardous materials are substances that pose a risk to health, safety, property, or the environment during transportation, handling, or storage, requiring strict procedures in shipping and receiving.

Why It's Important

Proper HazMat handling prevents injuries, environmental harm, and regulatory penalties. Safety first, paperwork tight, no shortcuts.

How to Improve Hazardous Materials Skills

1. Training and certification: Complete required HazMat and HAZCOM training; refresh at the mandated intervals.
2. Labeling and documentation: Use correct UN numbers, GHS labels, and shipping papers—accurate and consistent.
3. Segregation and storage: Follow compatibility charts; segregate acids, bases, flammables, and oxidizers as required.
4. SDS access: Keep Safety Data Sheets available and current; follow the handling, PPE, and first-aid sections.
5. Spill readiness: Stock spill kits, eyewash, and absorbents; drill on emergency response procedures.
6. Inspection cadence: Check containers, ventilation, and signage regularly; document findings and fixes.

How to Display Hazardous Materials Skills on Your Resume

12. UPS WorldShip

UPS WorldShip is shipping software that automates label creation, paperwork, tracking, and service selection for UPS packages—handy for fast, accurate throughput.

Why It's Important

It streamlines shipment prep, reduces manual keying, and simplifies international forms, which means fewer errors and faster cutovers to the carrier.

How to Improve UPS WorldShip Skills

1. Automate the routine: Use address books, import/export maps, and profiles to batch work and kill duplicate entry.
2. Defaults that click: Preload services, packaging, references, and third‑party billing rules for common lanes.
3. International readiness: Maintain HS codes, product descriptions, and values so commercial invoices print cleanly.
4. Hardware harmony: Pair with a reliable thermal printer and scale; keep drivers and WorldShip updated.
5. Reconcile daily: Audit shipments vs. orders, track exceptions, and back up your database regularly.

How to Display UPS WorldShip Skills on Your Resume