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 Redditch
Redditch is a moderately populated Worcestershire town situated about 12 miles (20 km) south of the centre of Birmingham. Worcester is the same distance to the west and Leamington Spa is over to the west, and the whole town is surrounded from west to north to east by a curve made up of the M5, M42 and M40. The town’s population is around 80,000.
The town is historically noted as being the manufacturing base for needles, and at one point 90 per cent of the world’s needled could trace its journey back to Redditch. The industry has largely gone away now, replaced by a multitude of small manufacturing businesses. However the needle-making heritage lives on in the shape of the National Needle Museum, which tussles with Keswick’s pencil museum for the top spot on most tourists’ must-visit-before-I-die lists.
Redditch became a new town after the Second World War, and much of the old buildings and infrastructure was demolished to make way for a more modern, planned town. The town has a few notable residents in the world of business. Motoring and cycling retailer and windscreen wiper blade fitter Halford’s has its headquarters in the town, as does the engineering company GKN (formerly Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds), which can trace its history back to the 1700s. There’s also a major shopping centre, Kingfisher, which is responsible for creating a lot of local jobs. With such a diversity in Redditch and great links to major cities, it’s little surprise that Expeditor jobs appear in our inbox from time to time.
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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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