Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Office and administrative support / 43-5071.00

Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks

Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment.

US jobs
816,870
Median wage
$45,260 a year
Job family
Office and administrative support

Can agents do the work of shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Office and administrative support:

  • Task levelStrongOn computer-use and office-task benchmarks, top agents pass most tasks: 90.2% on OSWorld-Verified (humans: 72.4%), 83.1% on SpreadsheetBench, and 63.3% on WorkArena L1 under the standard protocol. Limits: many top entries are self-submitted and not re-run by the maintainers, and on TheAgentCompany's multi-step workplace tasks the best agent resolves 42.9%.
  • Project levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's GDPval deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons, but GDPval tasks are one-shot and fully specified. No benchmark in our collection tests multi-day administrative work, such as running a calendar or a purchasing process.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in office and administrative support, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy.
  • Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock.
  • Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.
  • Pack, seal, label, or affix postage to prepare materials for shipping, using hand tools, power tools, or postage meter.
  • Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes.
  • Confer or correspond with establishment representatives to rectify problems, such as damages, shortages, or nonconformance to specifications.
  • Deliver or route materials to departments using handtruck, conveyor, or sorting bins.
  • Contact carrier representatives to make arrangements or to issue instructions for shipping and delivery of materials.
  • Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped.
  • Compute amounts, such as space available, shipping, storage, or demurrage charges, using computer or price list.
  • Compare shipping routes or methods to determine which have the least environmental impact.
Other job titles for this occupation (80)

Materials Control Associate · Order Fulfillment Specialist · Receiver · Receiving Associate · Receiving Clerk · Receiving Coordinator · Shipper · Shipping Clerk · Shipping Coordinator · Traffic Assistant · Backroom Associate · Booking Clerk · Break Out Man · Break Out Worker · Car Checker · Cloth Booker · Container Coordinator · Disposition Clerk · Distributing Clerk · Distribution Associate · Distribution Center Associate · Distribution Clerk · Distribution Team Member · Express Clerk · Fish Receiver · Forwarder · Freight Breaker · Freight Clerk · Freight Handler · Freight Separator · Fruit Express Agent · Fruit Receiver · Fuel Oil Clerk · Fulfillment Associate · Fulfillment Mail Clerk · Garment Sorter · Grain Elevator Clerk · Gun Repair Clerk · Incoming Freight Clerk · Industrial Order Clerk · Inventory Associate · Inventory Clerk · Inventory Control Clerk · Inventory Control Coordinator · Inventory Control Specialist · Inventory Coordinator · Inventory Specialist · Inventory Taker · Materials Processor · Merchandiser · Milk Receiver · Order Clerk · Order Filler · Order Writer · Package Sorter · Paper Control Clerk · Piggyback Clerk · Postal Stationery Envelope Sales and Services Associate (PSE Sales and Services Associate) · Reconsignment Clerk · Retail Receiving Associate · Return to Factory Clerk · Route Delivery Clerk · Routing Clerk · Sheet Writer · Ship Runner · Shipping and Receiving Clerk · Shipping and Receiving Warehouse Associate · Shipping Checker · Shipping Order Clerk · Shipping Packer · Stock Receiver · Store Receiver · Store Receiving Clerk · Switching Clerk · Tool Crib Attendant · Traffic Coordinator · Traffic Recorder · Traffic Worker · Truckload Checker · Vault Person