Expeditor - Shetland

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 Shetland

Shetland is the name given to the council area that coincides with what is commonly known as the Shetland Islands. The islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean, 130 miles (215 km) north east of John O’Groats. The main bulk of the islands themselves are some 70 miles (110 km) from north to south, but roughly only 25 miles (40 km) east to west. The islands have only been part of Scotland since the 1500s, and have strong links with Scandinavia. Norway is just 200 miles (320 km) to the east, a short hop on a longboat.

The main administrative headquarters is Lerwick, whose 7000 population accounts for about a third of the Islands’ total. The islands have a basic road system and a ferry system links its 16 inhabited islands as well as Orkney and Aberdeen. Despite being small, the island’s inhabitants still have modern needs, and this will necessarily require a good deal of contact with the mainland. This could open up opportunities for such Expeditor positions and the proximity to the North Sea oil fields is also economically positive.

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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