Expeditor - Bedfordshire

Expeditor jobs

“Supply chain” sounds like a nice, simple line of interconnected actions, but anyone working in the field for more than, say, ten minutes knows it can be a highly complex and time-sensitive tangle. This is particularly true in manufacturing, when several raw materials might combine to make a product or several products, which in turn need to be forwarded to retailers, wholesalers or other manufacturers. Lateness or errors in orders, in such cases, is not an option.

The job of the expeditor will be to oversee entire supply chain lines and ensure that items or processes are exactly where they should be at a given time. She or he will be able to do this through digital monitoring, liaising with the personnel involved in the process and physically checking consignments in warehouses, etc. This could involve a good deal of travel, particularly with international consignments.

As well as reacting to events as they are happening, and alerting the appropriate people of problems, the expeditor will also need to look into what might be wrong with a system that has caused the issue, determine whether it was a one-off or freak occurrence, and initiate remedial actions to make sure they are not repeated.

The skills required

The task is, as the name suggests, all centred around time and organisation. It’s not enough to know where something is in a process without knowing how it interacts with other parts, so a thorough, systematic mindset and an ability to think complex processes through will be essential. This will naturally involve mathematics, so a strong aptitude in this subject will be desirable.

Making sure people understand how to keep processes moving and passing on time information will be as important as taking instructions and listening to subordinates’ explanations. Therefore superb communication skills will be required, mainly in an ability to absorb and issue information to and from different levels of the company’s hierarchy.

Expeditor Jobs in Bedfordshire

Bordering Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England. Its southernmost point is around 25 miles from central London and it offers a number of opportunities for those seeking Expeditor roles.

The region comprises prominent towns and cities like Bedford, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Until the late 19th century, Bedfordshire's economy was mainly based in agriculture - particularly sheep farming, while the textile industry and lace manufacture were also important.

In the mid-1800s, as the Industrial Revolution took hold and the railways improved across the county, some heavy industry came to the area, but this was mainly brewing and the manufacture of farm instruments. On the whole, the region remained mainly agricultural.

During the 20th century, the population of towns like Bedford grew rapidly. Today, an array of well-known companies have headquarters or large facilities in Bedfordshire. These are based in a number of sectors and include Autoglass, Kingspan Off-site, Jordans Cereals and Vauxhall Motors.

London Luton Airport is located in Bedfordshire and airlines operating from this transport hub include EasyJet, Monarch Airlines and Thomson Airways.

As well as having millions of passengers pass through its gates every year, Luton Airport also processes a significant amount of cargo for companies like DHL Express, Varig Logistica and Atlantic Airlines.

Popular locations

Cast UK’s supply chain opportunities

Cast UK’s founder members and consultants all come from the logistics, procurement and supply chain sectors, so we know what employers and candidates are looking for in their staff and careers respectively. Cast UK is growing in this part of the UK recruitment industry, mainly because these are the only sectors we deal with, which means that many employers come to us first to create a candidate shortlist because they know we’re tightly focused on delivering the best people to them.

Applicants approach Cast UK for many reasons, whether seeking more job fulfilment or simply relocating for personal reasons, so it’s good to know that we always have the complete range of positions available nationwide. Please see what’s available in your region and if you’ve seen something you’re interested in, do get in touch – whether it’s today or tomorrow, we might have the ideal position for you.

To find out more about how Cast UK can help you recruit an Expeditor for your business or find you a job as an Expeditor then contact one of our consultant team on 0333 121 3345.

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