Order Clerks
Receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, classified ads, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Generally receives orders via mail, phone, fax, or other electronic means. Duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, shipping dates, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints.
Also Known As:
Hub Associate
Materials Specialist
Order Analyst
Order Clerk
Order Entry Administrator (Order Entry Admin)
Order Entry Representative (Order Entry Rep)
Order Processing Clerk
Order Taker
Warehouse Clerk
Warehouse Person
Wages
Annual wages for Order Clerks in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
74,100
-17% Change From 2024
Explore File Clerks video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Receive and respond to customer complaints.
- Inform customers by mail or telephone of order information, such as unit prices, shipping dates, and any anticipated delays.
- Attempt to sell additional merchandise or services to prospective or current customers by telephone or through visits.
- Verify customer and order information for correctness, checking it against previously obtained information as necessary.
- Calculate and compile order-related statistics, and prepare reports for management.
- Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.
- Compute total charges for merchandise or services and shipping charges.
- Prepare invoices, shipping documents, and contracts.
- Direct specified departments or units to prepare and ship orders to designated locations.
- Collect payment for merchandise, record transactions, and send items, such as checks or money orders for further processing.
- Obtain customers' names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms.
- Recommend merchandise or services that will meet customers' needs.
- Inspect outgoing work for compliance with customers' specifications.
- Check inventory records to determine availability of requested merchandise.
- Collect payment for merchandise, record transactions, and send items, such as checks or money orders for further processing.
- Notify departments when supplies of specific items are low, or when orders would deplete available supplies.
- Confer with production, sales, shipping, warehouse, or common carrier personnel to expedite or trace shipments.
- Compute total charges for merchandise or services and shipping charges.
- Adjust inventory records to reflect product movement.
- Calculate and compile order-related statistics, and prepare reports for management.
- Recommend type of packing or labeling needed on order.
- File copies of orders received, or post orders on records.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")