19 tasks, each one witnessed by the sources that watched the job — and behind every one, a prompt you can use tonight.
You’ll start by checking emails in Microsoft Outlook and your freight system (CargoWise or Kewill) for booking confirmations, shipment ETA changes, and customs messages. Expect to prepare or review bills of lading, update tracking, and phone carriers or clients about delays or damages.
Afternoon tasks often include completing customs paperwork (AESDirect in the U.S.), calculating weight/volume in Excel, negotiating shipping rates with agents, and filing commercial documents. You’ll close the day updating SAP or ArcFreight and noting any claims or follow-ups for tomorrow.
Common systems are CargoWise, Kewill Global Trade and Logistics, and Arcline ArcFreight for booking and tracking; AESDirect for U.S. export filing; and SAP for internal order and finance records. Excel and Word are used for calculations, manifests, and letters.
Outlook is the main communication tool. Some teams still use ediEnterprise or other EDI (electronic data interchange) tools to exchange bills of lading and shipment status with carriers. Learn at least one freight system plus Excel.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), about 97,670 people work in this area and the median pay is $52,260 per year. The lowest tenth earn about $38,340 and the top tenth about $79,810 per year (BLS).
Pay varies by region, employer (freight forwarder vs. manufacturer), and experience with systems like CargoWise, SAP, and customs filings.
Start with AESDirect for U.S. electronic export information (EEI) filing and study the bill of lading format—both issued and prepared in your freight system or Word templates. Practice filling real forms under supervision and ask your customs or compliance colleague to review your first 10 filings.
Use Excel to calculate weights, volumes, and freight costs. Employers often provide on-the-job training for Kewill, CargoWise, or SAP; a short customs compliance course or certificate helps speed learning.
Import Export Coordinators are hands-on with the whole shipment life cycle: booking cargo space, preparing and issuing bills of lading, customs paperwork, insurance, and coordinating door-to-door transport. Freight brokers mainly match shippers to carriers and negotiate freight; they may not handle customs filings or bills of lading.
A shipping clerk focuses on package-level handling and internal warehouse tasks rather than international documentation, tariff publication, or trade compliance. Coordinators bridge operations, compliance, and client communication.
Yes, but use AI only for drafting or proofreading emails, checklists, or standardized customer replies—never for filling legal customs forms or issuing bills of lading without human review. AI can speed writing, summarize tracking updates from carriers, or suggest wording for insurance claims.
Never upload confidential documents (commercial invoices, contracts) into public AI services. Keep carriers, customs numbers, and rates out of generative tools unless your company has approved, secure AI integrated into systems like SAP or CargoWise.
Attention to detail. Small mistakes in HS codes, weights, or consignee names cause customs holds, fines, or insurance rejection. You need to catch mismatches between the packing list, commercial invoice, and bill of lading.
Second is clear communication: writing precise emails in Outlook and keeping clients and carriers updated reduces delays and claim disputes. Systems (Excel, CargoWise, AESDirect) are teachable; attention to detail is harder to fix.