Import Coordinator
Thousands of manufacturing businesses in the UK rely on a smooth and uninterrupted flow of imports to ensure productivity is maximised. The same applies to retailers and wholesale companies too. Warehousing can take up some of the slack, but in many cases, wherever imports are optimised and storage is minimised, efficiency is at its peak. Ensuring all this happens is the import coordinator (no pressure then).
The import coordinator will be in constant contact with suppliers all around the world, making sure stocks and production levels are adequate for the projected needs of their employer. And that’s just the start of the journey – import coordinator jobs tend to require oversight of the freight import process, and that means being on the ball with transportation, usually via third party carriers.
Many import coordinator jobs will also require a degree of understanding of the paperwork and customs requirements to bring goods into the country from the various jurisdictions they deal with, although the job is often purely logistical, with the legals being covered by other specialists.
The skills required
Import coordinator job descriptions often ask for accomplished jugglers – people who can have dozens of ongoing tasks at any moment and retain a firm grasp on all of them. While you’ll usually be helped in this with software and a team of import assistants, you’ll be expected to know exactly what is coming in and how they tally with your employer’s demands.
Language skills will often be required, particularly if the employer deals with a single country. But even if your native tongue is enough to excel, you’ll still need advanced communication skills to make sure your instructions are understood – your business relies on it.
Some employers are looking for specialists in road, rail, air or sea imports, as the logistics, speed, volumes and regulations are often specific to that mode of freight transportation. Always check the description carefully.
Import Coordinator Jobs in Bootle
Modern-day Bootle is indistinguishable from the main conurbation of Liverpool, so absorbed has it become. However it is a distinct part, and is part of the Sefton area, the coastal borough that stretches up to Southport. Bootle is the home to Liverpool’s famous docklands, and is still active as a container port, despite a general decline in Liverpool’s status as a maritime hub. Liverpool itself is a relatively young city, and Bootle grew up around the same time as it, with its docks being built in the nineteenth century – indeed until Liverpool was such a major port, Bootle was q rather quaint resort.
Bootle lies to the north of the city of Liverpool, with an expansive front that faces onto the Mersey and the North Sea. Directly across the outlet is the northern tip of the Wirral, New Brighton, which is accessible by tunnel. The railway network connects Bootle directly to Liverpool, Southport, Preston and Manchester. Although the M57 and M58 pass to the east of the city area, there is no direct motorway access to the town.
Bootle suffered a substantial decline in the 1980s and 1990s as shipping companies limited their use of Liverpool’s docks, although the decline seems to have been arrested, and a major regeneration project is going on in the area. A major boost has been the return of liners to Liverpool in the past few years, which, it is hoped, will boost the economy and Liverpool’s reputation as a port. The proximity to the container port and the bustling streets of Liverpool means that there will always be a need for Import Coordinator jobs to be filled, however, so Bootle looks set to continue playing a part in the logistics and supply chain industries.
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Jobs and candidates incoming at Cast UK
If you’re looking for the perfect import coordinator, we at Cast UK specialise in transport and logistics, and have fantastic talent pools with diverse skill sets in our networks & database with diverse skill sets. Why not give us a call on 0333 121 3345?
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