Warehouse sorters are essential members of a warehouse staff. They serve as the gatekeepers of incoming packages and shipments. Sorters open packaging, compare items to invoices, handle missing/additional materials per company policy, and sort the items for shelving. Sorters are often stationed at a conveyor belt or on the move transporting packages from place to place.
Order sorter positions are offered by companies with expansive supply chain efforts including sortation/distribution centers, such as Amazon and FedEx. These warehouse opportunities can be more physically demanding than office jobs and are great opportunities for those without college degrees.
Order Sorter Responsibilities
Here's a list of common responsibilities a warehouse order sorter may encounter during their daily tasks.
- Follow standardized work methods, safety policies, and procedures.
- Read alpha and numeric codes.
- Meet required productivity and accuracy standards.
- Scan product into the system and place into boxes, totes, and onto skids.
- Receive and sort inventory
- Get customer orders ready and pack them up
- Load boxes into trucks for shipment
- Use scanners to read bar codes on products
- View prompts on screens and follow the direction for specific tasks
- Troubleshoot problems
- Ensure product meets quality requirements
- May have to operate a front loading bobcat and forklift.
Order Sorter Requirements
Here's a list of common requirements it takes to get employed as a warehouse sorter.
- Be 18 years of age or older.
- Have good written and verbal communication skills
- Have a high school diploma or equivalent
- Ability to stand, walk, reach and lift repeatedly throughout the shift
- Ability to lift, stack, and pull products off shelves of various heights
- Use carts, dollies, hand trucks, and other gear to move items around
- Lift products weighing 10-50 pounds regularly. Some products may weigh even more.
- Ability to work in multi-temperature environments (cooler, freezer, dry room).
- Pass a drug test and criminal background check
- May be required to work overtime
- May need forklift certification.
If a sorter position in a warehouse sounds like it may be a good fit for you, use this link to search for warehouse job listings near you. If you want to explore other warehouse jobs, read more job descriptions here!