An order builder fills customer orders and prepares them for shipment. In addition, job responsibilities can include restocking warehouses, organizing orders for outgoing transportation, and monitoring safety conditions. Employers may not have any special education or experience requirements, although it can help to have a high school diploma or equivalent. Some positions may require familiarity with heavy equipment, while others can provide this training on the job.
As orders come into a warehouse facility, they can be delegated to staff in a variety of ways. In some cases, an order builder is handed a stack of orders to personally fill. This member of the staff moves through the warehouse, sometimes with the assistance of heavy equipment, to pick the necessary items and package them. After confirming that the order is complete, the order builder can submit it for shipping and move on to the next.
Other facilities direct their personnel to focus on specific areas of a warehouse, in which case the order may go through several order builders until it is complete. Each worker examines the order, which may be grouped by warehouse location for convenience, pulls the necessary items, and passes it on to the next. This can be be common in extremely large warehouse facilities where it is not feasible for workers to manually fill orders on their own.
The job also requires order builders to package orders in an organized, functional way. This can include adding insulating materials to prevent damage, breaking up the order into multiple boxes, and placing it on pallets, in the case of an extremely large shipment. As orders stack up for shipment, order builders may need to organize them to make it easier to ship them out. They also keep an eye on boxes and pallets to make sure they are not at risk of falling over, crushing nearby orders, or causing other problems.
Warehouse work of this nature can require being on the feet for long periods of time each day, which may be very tiring. Each order builder has allotted breaks throughout the day to rest, and employers may recommend wearing specialized shoes, back braces, and other equipment to protect their bodies while on the floor. Hearing protection is also necessary for people who work with heavy equipment. Needed safety supplies will be provided by the employer, while optional tools to make the job easier may be the responsibility of the individual order builder.
