A pick packer is an employee of a warehouse or shipping company that will fulfill orders placed with that company. He or she will read an order slip, gather the appropriate items on that slip, and pack the items safely in preparation for transport. A pick packer will also be responsible for choosing the appropriate shipping vessel, such as a cardboard box, tube, wooden box, and more. Packing materials will be used to ensure the items placed in any shipping vessel will be safe from damage during transport.
Other responsibilities that a pick packer will need to fulfill include management of order paperwork and use of computer systems, scanners, and other technology. It is usually not necessary to obtain any specific level of education in order to become a pick packer, but the employee will need basic math skills and communications skills. He or she must also know how to read and how to use basic computer systems. More and more employers require these employees to hold a high school diploma or equivalent qualification, though this is not always necessary. Most of the skills the employee will need to be successful in the position can be learned on the job through job training or a short apprenticeship period.
Warehouses and factories are the most common settings in which a pick packer will work. He or she will receive an order sheet that will outline which items must be gathered and packed, and the pick packer will need to navigate through the warehouse to find these items. Once the items are gathered, the packer will safely pack all the items in the appropriate shipping vessels, seal the vessel, and usually attach a packing slip to the box so the contents within are labeled or otherwise tracked.
Once the order is fulfilled and ready for shipping, the pick packer will need to enter information into a computer to track which items were removed from the warehouse and placed in the shipping vessel. This helps ensure proper tracking of inventory. The order box or vessel is also usually labeled or otherwise tracked, both by the company and by the shipping company that will take the order to its final destination. Finished orders must also be accounted for in a computer system or by hand using the physical shipping manifest the pick packer used to track down the appropriate items within the warehouse.