The Air Cargo Industry is an Eco-Friendly Employer

Are you looking for a position with a door to door transport service? Have you considered working for an air cargo company? If you’re also asking the question: “What is a purchasing agent?” you may be interested in learning more about the job description for purchasing agent before you proceed.

First of all, many purchasing agents work with cargo airlines. These types of airlines transport cargo nationally as well as internationally. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS)Occupational Employment Statistics, cargo and freight agents engage in the following activities:

Handle both incoming and outgoing shipments.

Take customer orders and arrange for pickup and delivery.

Create and evaluate bills of lading.

Air cargo companies provide a variety of services that assist other companies with managing and controlling the flow of their product and/or services from production to final sales. These include goods, energy, information, products, services, and people. While this is general information, it should provide you with a bit more information regarding your question, “What is a purchasing agent?”

Are you aware of the benefits of point-to-point transportation? In addition to decreasing the amount of travel time, it also reduces the need for connection time. Furthermore, the products that are shipped tend to sustain less damage. As a purchasing agent, you would play an important role within this transportation chain.

If you are interested in obtaining a position within an eco-friendly industry, you may also be interested to know that direct cargo transportation services are also more environmentally sound. This is due to the reduction in the number of stops that need to be made along routes. This in turn reduces the actual amount of time needed to provide door to door moving services and saves on fuel as well.

Another eco-friendly practice that is encouraged within this industry is to use recycled bags and boxes to ship goods. It is well-known that packing materials can often end up in landfills when not repurposed or otherwise recycled.

According to the BLS’ Occupational Outlook Handbook entry, “Buyers and Purchasing Agents,” educational requirements for these types of positions do vary, and much will depend upon the specific business where you work.

In some cases, the BLS indicates that a high school diploma may be sufficient; however, other businesses may require you to have a bachelor’s degree. The BLS suggests the following as potential majors and degrees:

Business

Finance

Supply management

The BLS also reports that you would usually receive on-the-job training. The duration of this training would likely last for over a year, and would include developing monitoring and negotiating skills.

If you’ve already been conducting research on available positions, you may have noticed that some companies will require that you be a certified purchasing agent. According to the BLS, there are several certification options. Not all companies will require certification, however.

The requirements for becoming a certified purchasing agent will vary. Most of these, according to the BLS, will include the following requirements:

Education

Work experience

Oral and written exams

If you would like to work for an air cargo company, a good practice is to contact them for an informational interview. At that time you can ask them a variety of questions, including “What is a purchasing agent?”