Occupation Profile for Order Clerks
Receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, classified ads, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, shipping dates, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints.
Signficant Points
- Employment is expected to decline through 2016 due to growth in online retailing and in business-to-business electronic commerce, and because of the increasing use of automated systems that make placing orders easy and convenient.
- A high school diploma or GED is the most common educational requirement.
Tasks
- Core — Obtain customers' names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms.
- Core — Inform customers by mail or telephone of order information, such as unit prices, shipping dates, and any anticipated delays.
- Core — Verify customer and order information for correctness, checking it against previously obtained information as necessary.
- Core — Receive and respond to customer complaints.
- Core — Prepare invoices, shipping documents, and contracts.
Activities
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
- Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
- Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.