What does a shipping and receiving supervisor do?

A shipping and receiving supervisor streamlines the shipping process for a more efficient company. The supervisors oversee and maintain the supplies and inventory through product receipt, storage, and delivery. They supervise employees who confirm and record shipment receipt, prepare items for shipping, and load and unload purchases. Supervisors should be equipped with leadership, effective communication, conflict resolution, and time management skills. They are also expected to delegate and have confidence.
Shipping and receiving supervisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real shipping and receiving supervisor resumes:
- Manage, review and verify daily inbounds and outbounds for accuracy, FDA standards, and enforce proper controls.
- Accomplish by developing, training, and implementing RF technology into the warehouse environment (WMS) across all manufacturing locations.
- Direct departmental activities and establish procedures for logistics, receiving, handling and disposition of materials, and inventory control.
- Educate and monitor staff members on OSHA regulations.
- Pass numerous FAA / OSHA compliance audits with high evaluation reports.
- Receive, unload and store inbound resupply munitions from aircraft pallets and ISO containers into storage facilities.
- Coordinate the flow of inbound and outbound traffic; negotiate pricing with domestic and overseas carriers; expedite LTL.
- Audit finish goods by verifying FIFO pull, correct part labels, and verify correct shipping labels before being ship.
- Handle radio frequency (RF) tracking instrument when loading and unloading trailers tracking merchandise value in the millions of dollars.
- Support ISO implementation and documentation process.
- Direct and coordinate daily transportation activities to various warehouse locations following FIFO process.
- Maintain detailed ledger of LTL and overseas containers to minimize potential errors in shipping customer specialize products.
- Direct inbound or outbound logistics operations, such as transportation or warehouse activities, safety performance, or logistics quality management.
- Set up and maintain the computerized inventory for the company warehouse using Quickbooks.
- Follow standard operating procedures in order to remain compliant with FDA guidelines.
Shipping and receiving supervisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Shipping And Receiving Supervisors are proficient in Shipping Receiving, Safety Regulations, and Safety Procedures. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Shipping And Receiving Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Shipping Receiving, 19%
Studied shipping notices, bills of lading, invoices, work assignments and shipping receiving schedules.
- Safety Regulations, 12%
Monitor safe operations of equipment, comply with safety regulations, and coordinate facility and equipment maintenance.
- Safety Procedures, 11%
Monitored team members during production activities to ensure adherence to ethics and safety procedures.
- Logistics, 6%
Directed departmental activities and established procedures for logistics, receiving, handling and disposition of materials, and inventory control.
- Inventory Control, 6%
Developed and operated a new inventory control management system and trained staff and various departments to operate more effectively and efficiently.
- Pallet Jack, 4%
Scheduled and performed Preventative Maintenance on equipment including forklifts and pallet jacks.
Most shipping and receiving supervisors use their skills in "shipping receiving," "safety regulations," and "safety procedures" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential shipping and receiving supervisor responsibilities here:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a shipping and receiving supervisor to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "material recording clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, or managers and need to convey their company’s needs effectively." Shipping and receiving supervisors often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "coordinate schedules for inbound and outbound shipments, and maintain communication with staff and customers. "
Customer-service skills. Another essential skill to perform shipping and receiving supervisor duties is customer-service skills. Shipping and receiving supervisors responsibilities require that "material recording clerks may interact with customers in order to respond to problems or complaints." Shipping and receiving supervisors also use customer-service skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "coordinate shipments to customers within u.s. and internationally using erp system sap. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for shipping and receiving supervisors to perform their duties. For an example of how shipping and receiving supervisor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "material and product inspecting clerks must pay attention to detail when checking items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a shipping and receiving supervisor: "maintained detailed ledger of ltl and overseas containers to minimize potential errors in shipping customer specialized products. ".
Math skills. shipping and receiving supervisor responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "material recording clerks may need to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." This resume example shows what shipping and receiving supervisors do with math skills on a typical day: "be abke to do math to determine how mich product was in 1 unit. "
The three companies that hire the most shipping and receiving supervisors are:
Choose from 10+ customizable shipping and receiving supervisor resume templates
Build a professional shipping and receiving supervisor resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your shipping and receiving supervisor resume.Compare different shipping and receiving supervisors
Shipping and receiving supervisor vs. Warehouse lead
Warehouse leads are responsible for supply chain management in distribution centers. Their duties and responsibilities include supervising employees and evaluating their performance, meeting safety regulations, and monitoring deliveries and shipments. They are the ones who interact with customers and clients to resolve any delivery issues that may arise. They also help with some administrative tasks such as order and invoice processing and maintenance. This role applies to those with excellent communication skills, leadership capabilities, and strong attention to detail.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between shipping and receiving supervisors and warehouse lead. For instance, shipping and receiving supervisor responsibilities require skills such as "pallet jack," "corrective action," "erp," and "shipment data." Whereas a warehouse lead is skilled in "customer service," "ladders," "pallets," and "basic math." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Warehouse leads tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $41,833. In contrast, shipping and receiving supervisors make the biggest average salary, $40,669, in the automotive industry.The education levels that warehouse leads earn slightly differ from shipping and receiving supervisors. In particular, warehouse leads are 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a shipping and receiving supervisor. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Shipping and receiving supervisor vs. Material handler lead
A material handler lead, also known as a package handler, warehouse associate, or hand laborer, manually moves products, merchandise, stock, and other materials. This role tends to be found within supply chains, manufacturing, production, shipping, storage, or customer receiving. This role entails maintaining inventory, taking note of the location of stock, verifying production orders, loading delivery trucks, and filling client orders. They also need to ensure safety in the working area and maintain accurate documentation of the materials that are being shipped.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that shipping and receiving supervisor responsibilities requires skills like "pallet jack," "sales floor," "ltl," and "corrective action." But a material handler lead might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "pallets," "electric pallet jack," "industrial trucks," and "materials handling."
On average, material handler leads earn a higher salary than shipping and receiving supervisors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, material handler leads earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $40,024. Whereas shipping and receiving supervisors have higher pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $40,669.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Material handler leads tend to reach similar levels of education than shipping and receiving supervisors. In fact, they're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Shipping and receiving supervisor vs. Shipping
When it comes to shipping, a worker is primarily in charge of processing deliveries while ensuring accuracy and timeliness. One of their responsibilities revolves around processing information, maintaining an accurate record of all transactions, inspecting goods, and organizing an efficient transport of goods. There are also instances when they must handle issues and inquiries, track orders, reach out to clients, and coordinate with other logistics personnel. Furthermore, it is essential to adhere to all the policies and standards of the company.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a shipping and receiving supervisor is likely to be skilled in "safety regulations," "safety procedures," "pallet jack," and "iso," while a typical shipping is skilled in "customer service," "pallets," "electric pallet jack," and "load trucks."
Shippings earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $35,592. Comparatively, shipping and receiving supervisors have the highest earning potential in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $40,669.Most shippings achieve a similar degree level compared to shipping and receiving supervisors. For example, they're 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Shipping and receiving supervisor vs. Shipping lead
Even though a few skill sets overlap between shipping and receiving supervisors and shipping leads, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a shipping and receiving supervisor might have more use for skills like "safety regulations," "pallet jack," "sales floor," and "corrective action." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of shipping leads require skills like "load trucks," "electric pallet jack," "safety standards," and "warehouse management system. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for shipping leads, with average annual pay of $43,876. Comparatively, the highest shipping and receiving supervisor annual salary comes from the automotive industry.shipping leads reach similar levels of education compared to shipping and receiving supervisors, in general. The difference is that they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of shipping and receiving supervisor
Updated January 8, 2025











