What does a supply clerk do?
A supply clerk works in a warehouse environment helping businesses maintain operations. Supply clerks' duties may vary from job to job. They track receipts, fill orders, manage inventories, report to their supervisors, and update records. They oversee the incoming and outgoing equipment, property, and supply. Also, they execute short-term jobs as they plan to maintain enough funding. They should have skills in attention to detail, leadership, and communication.
Supply clerk responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real supply clerk resumes:
- Dispatch vehicles, maintains dispatch records, trip tickets and records in logbooks, manage the GSA vehicle fleet of vehicles.
- Provide technical guidance and counseling to junior supply technicians while establishing and maintaining logistics systems records.
- Perform warrant search on NCIC system and verifying warrant information.
- Enforce proper warehouse procedures to promote accuracy within the SSA's storage section.
- Conduct a reconciliation of requisition records with the supporting SSA on a monthly basis.
- Secure and control supplies; used computer applications in work assignment such as Microsoft powerpoint, word and excel.
- Provide administrative support to the inmate booking and receiving section
- Review booking reports of prisoners arrest in other districts to verify completeness accuracy of reports.
- Coordinate with inventory, field personnel and receiving depot, performing any adjustments need after large shipments of convention ammunition.
- Coordinate with depot item managers, program engineers and system program managers to resolve procurement bottleneck problems and expedite requisitions.
- Operate fork lifts, pallet jacks and electric lifts.
- Reach a NCO status and successfully complete the assigned task around the globe as an aviation supply clerk.
- Use the LEIN system/database to message other agencies in order to find outstanding warrants, and cancel KCSO warrants.
- Access LEIN database to determine whether inmates have outstanding warrants from other agencies, aliases, and state prison information.
Supply clerk skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Supply Clerks are proficient in Customer Service, Purchase Orders, and Inventory Control. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Supply Clerks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 22%
Delivered outstanding customer service and handled all assignments and service support functions including dealing with outside consultants and other agencies.
- Purchase Orders, 21%
Prepared weekly activity reports, and generated purchase orders for stock replenishment.
- Inventory Control, 6%
Established and maintained a complete inventory control system and investigated discrepancies; responded to correspondence and maintained computerized transaction registers.
- Physical Counts, 5%
Verified inventory computation by comparing them to physical counts and investigating discrepancies in the warehouse.
- Logistical Support, 5%
Perform many functions in relationship to furnishing logistical support to aviation activities satisfy valid customer requirements.
- Property Accountability, 3%
Prepared and processed property accountability documentation.
Most supply clerks use their skills in "customer service," "purchase orders," and "inventory control" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential supply clerk responsibilities here:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a supply clerk to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "production, planning, and expediting clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, and production managers and need to communicate the firm’s scheduling needs effectively." Supply clerks often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provide verbal and written communication to suppliers regarding purchase orders, bids, delinquent delivery and expediting material. "
Customer-service skills. Another essential skill to perform supply clerk duties is customer-service skills. Supply clerks responsibilities require that "stock clerks sometimes interact with customers in retail stores and may have to get the item the customer is looking for from the storeroom." Supply clerks also use customer-service skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "created purchase orders as well as sales orders responded to customer inquires regarding spare or replacement parts"
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for supply clerks to perform their duties. For an example of how supply clerk responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "material and product inspecting clerks check 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 supply clerk: "prevented supply room losses using awareness, attention to detail and integrity. ".
Math skills. A big part of what supply clerks do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to supply clerk responsibilities because "some material recording clerks use math to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical supply clerk tasks: "collected and assessed statistics pertaining to the improvement of customer service practices; presented data to management. "
The three companies that hire the most supply clerks are:
- ABM Industries5 supply clerks jobs
- Encompass Health5 supply clerks jobs
- ManTech5 supply clerks jobs
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Compare different supply clerks
Supply clerk vs. Warehouse assistant
Warehouse assistants oversee a warehouse's stocks and products. Their primary responsibilities include receiving and sending products from the warehouse. They move materials and inventory across the facilities. It's their job to sort, organize, and keep stock in the right location. They are also responsible for issuing materials and other supplies for storage in the central warehouse. The skills they must acquire include road transportation, packing, stocking, loading, shipping, and general labor.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a supply clerk are more likely to require skills like "logistical support," "property accountability," "inventory reports," and "office equipment." On the other hand, a job as a warehouse assistant requires skills like "pallets," "industrial trucks," "groceries," and "shipping receiving." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Warehouse assistants earn the highest salaries when working in the transportation industry, with an average yearly salary of $36,486. On the other hand, supply clerks are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $40,845.On average, warehouse assistants reach similar levels of education than supply clerks. Warehouse assistants are 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Supply clerk vs. Inventory specialist
An Inventory Specialist's responsibility is to oversee the inventory in a warehouse or establishment. Most of the tasks of an Inventory Specialist revolve around monitoring the requisition, storage, and deliveries of supplies and merchandise to ensure the quality and quantity of the products. Moreover, the Inventory Specialist also has the responsibility to coordinate with store management when issues arise, train newly hired staff to be a valuable part of the workforce, and provide inventory reports and records to the administration.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, supply clerk responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "logistical support," "property accountability," "office equipment," and "supply room." Meanwhile, an inventory specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "sales floor," "reservations," "safety standards," and "strong analytical." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, inventory specialists earn a higher salary than supply clerks. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, inventory specialists earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $36,144. Whereas supply clerks have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $40,845.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Inventory specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than supply clerks. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Supply clerk vs. Warehouse specialist
A warehouse specialist is someone who manages the daily procedures and functions of the warehouse efficiently and effectively. Their services are often needed in shipping docks, airports, and other industry warehouses. The specialist's primary responsibilities include supervising the shipping and receiving of materials and products, organizing the storage area, and monitoring the inventory. Candidates for the job must have strong knowledge in inventory control systems, able to multi-task, be physically fit, and able to safely operate warehouse machinery.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a supply clerk is likely to be skilled in "logistical support," "property accountability," "office equipment," and "supply room," while a typical warehouse specialist is skilled in "logistics," "pallets," "shipping receiving," and "basic math."
Warehouse specialists make a very good living in the transportation industry with an average annual salary of $36,575. On the other hand, supply clerks are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $40,845.warehouse specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to supply clerks. Specifically, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Supply clerk vs. Warehouse technician
A warehouse technician is responsible for monitoring the incoming and outgoing goods and services in the warehouse or distribution centers. Warehouse technicians verify shipment details, assist with packaging items, move merchandise to storage areas, inspect the quality of items for release, and escalate defective products for immediate replacement. They also operate various warehouse equipment and machinery, conduct maintenance repairs, and loading and unloading items from the delivery trucks. A warehouse technician must have excellent time-management and organizational skills, especially on processing orders and creating reports for inventory receipts.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between supply clerks and warehouse technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a supply clerk might have more use for skills like "logistical support," "property accountability," "inventory reports," and "office equipment." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of warehouse technicians require skills like "pallets," "warehouse environment," "shipping receiving," and "logistics. "
In general, warehouse technicians earn the most working in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $36,898. The highest-paying industry for a supply clerk is the manufacturing industry.warehouse technicians reach similar levels of education compared to supply clerks, in general. The difference is that they're 1.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of supply clerk
Updated January 8, 2025
