Warehouse Assistant: Job Profile and Role

Strong organisational, communication and numerical skills are some of the competencies you should have for the job this blog revolves around: the job of a warehouse assistant. You can check these skills off on your competencies list? Brilliant – you are one step closer to a job that may be the perfect fit for you.

In this blog, we take a closer look at what other skills and qualifications you need to become a warehouse assistant. You will also get important information on how much you can earn annually, your employers, and what a day in the life of a warehouse assistant can look like. We conclude this blog with three tips for thriving.

Short Summary

• As a warehouse assistant, you are in charge of organising the warehouse you are working in. This can include storing orders and deliveries in a safe and easily accessible way.
• As a warehouse assistant, you may be tasked with fork lifting orders/deliveries from high shelves and transporting them to other departments in your warehouse
• As a warehouse assistant, you are responsible for always ensuring a safe working environment for you and your colleagues.

Job description

In your job, you perform a variety of daily tasks. These can include checking details and quality of incoming and outgoing deliveries, preparing and loading orders for shipping, and assisting with inventory management. You may also be in charge of developing a safe and time-efficient stocking system for your warehouse. Besides, you will likely also learn the ins and outs of admin work, such as filing reports and other important documentation.

Responsibilities

• Maintaining Safety
• Picking and Packing
• Inventory Management
• Maintaining Cleanliness
• Using Lifting Equipment
• Receiving/Storing Goods
• Handling Damaged Goods
• Team Member Coordination
• Audits/Inspection Assistance
• Assisting with Documentation

Different types of Warehouse Assistants

• Quality Control Assistant
• Inventory Control Assistant
• General Warehouse Assistant
• E-Commerce Fulfilment Assistant
• Specialised Equipment Maintenance Assistance

Salary

When you work full-time, you can expect a starting salary of ￡18,000 that, with work experience, can increase to ￡37,000. Besides your experience, your position affects your salary. If you advance to the position of warehouse manager, for example, you can earn between ￡28,000 and ￡45,000 per year. Also, your employer/company size and the location of your employer’s company will affect your overall annual wages.

Working hours

Typically, you will work between 35 and 40 hours per week. Note that your job will not be a classic 9 to 5 job that you do from Monday to Friday. You must factor in shift work as well as evening and weekend work. Depending on your contract, this may occasionally include Sundays and bank holidays.

Employers

As a future warehouse assistant, you can take your pick (and pack) from a variety of potential employers. You can start looking or applying for your first job at retail businesses that operate both online and as so-called “brick-and-mortar businesses”. Further employment options can be the following companies: logistics and distribution, manufacturing, wholesale, and third-party logistics providers (3PLs).

Qualifications

You may need some GCSEs at grade 4/C to qualify for direct application or an apprenticeship, for example, a supply chain warehouse operative intermediate apprenticeship. We recommend that you check the mandatory requirements when applying for a job or an apprenticeship.

Moreover, you will benefit from knowing your way around different software, for example, warehouse management systems (WMS) like Oracle Warehouse Management. Further helpful software can include barcode scanning software like CodeREADEr and transportation management systems (TMS) like MercuryGate TMS.

Skills

In your job, you will benefit from strong teamwork and numerical skills. These may not be mandatory – always check the job posts for the required skills – but will nevertheless make your working life a whole easier. In this section, we take a look at three more skills you should have or develop during your career.

Organisational Skills

Among your best personal assets will be your organisational skills. You are tasked with storing orders and deliveries and anything else connected to what keeps a warehouse running. If you have a knack for organisation, you will know exactly where everything should go to ensure a clean and orderly working environment. This also means that everything can be found quickly. Also, your organisation skills will be needed when it comes to filing order reports, receipts, and other documentation.

Health and Safety Awareness

In your job, you need to be aware of the implemented health and safety instructions and regulations. You also should have enough common sense to recognise potential pitfalls that could endanger both you and your colleagues. By always adhering to the health and safety rules, you ensure a safe working environment for everyone in the warehouse.

Foresight

Your health and safety awareness should go hand-in-hand with foresight skills. Sounds a bit ominous? It is anything but. Foresight means that you can recognise a potentially dangerous situation well before it can occur. This should ideally give you plenty of time to come up with preventative measures and react accordingly.

Three more Important Warehouse Assistant Skills

We have three more skills for you if you want to succeed in your chosen warehouse career. These skills tend to be among those most employers look for in job applicants. First, you should have good health. Second, you should be reasonably fit since your job involves a lot of walking around, bending, squatting, sitting, and standing. Third, you should be fairly strong since you may be asked to lift goods that weigh up to 50 pounds.

Career Path

Your warehouse assistant career starts with your first job. How your career progresses after you have worked in this job for about a year depends on your ambitions. Possible steps on your career ladder can include the job of a team leader, a shift supervisor, or even a warehouse operative or warehouse manager.

Educational Background

You need no specific educational background to work as a warehouse assistant in the UK and can apply directly to a job. However, you will benefit from warehouse-related training, especially, if you want to progress to more senior positions. Also, specialised training can give you an advantage over other applicants. Therefore, you may want to look into completing the following apprenticeships: a supply chain warehouse operative intermediate apprenticeship or an express delivery sortation hub operative intermediate apprenticeship.

Entry Level

Your warehouse assistant job equals your entry-level position in which you learn the ropes of your profession. Depending on your ambitions, you will stay in this job for about a year, maybe slightly longer. With the necessary work experience, further training, and excellent work performance, you can look into more senior roles with more responsibilities (and higher wages).

Continuous Learning

If you want to progress, you should always look into further training, qualifications, and certifications. Multiple options will help you advance and make you more attractive to both your current and future employers. Here are a few training and qualifications that you might want to look into: courses in warehouse and inventory management, supply chain management, and logistics and transport management offered by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). You will also benefit from getting your forklift licence and doing further training.

A Day in the Life of a Warehouse Assistant

You may not be a picker packer, but your daily warehouse assistant tasks can cover similar jobs. In your profession, you will have further daily and regular tasks, some of which we will look at in this section.

Receiving/Unloading Shipments

Receiving and unloading shipments is a task you will likely perform daily. This includes way more than just saying thank you to the delivery supplier. You also need to ensure that every last detail is correct, from the number of delivered goods to checking incoming shipments against what your warehouse has ordered. If the paperwork is in working order, you can assist with unloading the vehicle.

Stocking the Warehouse

After unloading the shipment, you will assist in stocking the warehouse. Everything that has arrived needs to be allocated to its correct place to ensure that all consequent picking, packing, and shipping processes run smoothly. Typically, you check every stocked item off a list which you will later file, either digitally or as “classic” paperwork.

Operating a Forklift and Other Machinery

If you have a forklift licence, you will also operate this lifting machinery to allocate and store stock. Driving a forklift may not be the only machinery you use during your working day. You may also be the day’s conveyor belt supervisor, ensuring that all incoming deliveries are transported to their temporary shelf destination.

Tips for Thriving as a Warehouse Assistant

Being a warehouse assistant is the perfect starting point for an even more promising career in this sector. To achieve this, you must invest time and effort into thriving as a warehouse assistant. We, of course, have some of the most important tips that will help you thrive. Three of those we will explore now:

• Warehouse familiarisation
• Show initiative
• Be attentive

Warehouse Familiarisation

When you first arrive in “your” warehouse, it will likely seem like your personal Mount Everest. You do not know where everything is, how to stock efficiently and safely, and how to not get lost in the jungle of shelves and goods. If you want to thrive, you should therefore spend some time familiarising yourself with your work surroundings. Draw a map, if you want, to help you navigate through your warehouse maze. Also, do not shy away from asking your more experienced colleagues to help you when you feel or actually are lost.

Show Initiative

After you have worked in your warehouse for some time, you know where everything is and how everything works. This allows you to show initiative. You can think about more efficient ways to stock parcels, or come up with time-saving measures when it comes to labelling, scanning, and loading deliveries. It may not go down well with all of your colleagues but it will show your superiors that you are serious and passionate about your job and responsibilities.

Be Attentive

Being attentive is also a way to ensure your thriving. You always need to pay attention to everything connected to deliveries, be they incoming or outgoing. Therefore, always double-check product and bar codes, labels, and all the relevant delivery information. This way, you ensure that everything is stocked in its right place, that everything arrives at the right destination, and that your company will not suffer financial losses.

Frequently Asked Questions