Transport and distribution clerks and assistants

SOC 2020 code 4134

Transport and distribution clerks and assistants perform various clerical functions relating to the transport and distribution of goods and freight.

Employees (UK)
55k
Median annual pay
£32,060
Exposure score ?
3.4/10 Low direct 3.4 · with tools 10.0
Wage exposure
£600m

Higher exposure than 91% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.

What this score means

A handful of tasks in this role are touchable by AI, mostly around paperwork, scheduling and basic writing. The shape of the role stays the same - some parts just get faster.

If you're in this role, here's what to do now

Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try an LLM on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT can already do for admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the dividend.

The tasks in this role, ranked by AI exposure

Below are the real tasks O*NET records for this occupation, sorted highest exposure first. "AI can do this" means a language model can already handle the task directly. "AI can help" means an LLM can assist but not replace. "Human work" means today's AI doesn't touch it. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.

4 of 12 tasks in this role are things an AI can already do today. Task list mapped via O*NET "Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance" (43-5032.00).

  1. Relay work orders, messages, or information to or from work crews, supervisors, or field inspectors, using telephones or two-way radios.

    AI can do thisimportance 4.6/5
  2. Receive or prepare work orders.

    AI can do thisimportance 4.5/5
  3. Record and maintain files or records of customer requests, work or services performed, charges, expenses, inventory, or other dispatch information.

    AI can do thisimportance 4.4/5
  4. Determine types or amounts of equipment, vehicles, materials, or personnel required, according to work orders or specifications.

    AI can do thisimportance 4.1/5
  5. Schedule or dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.

    Human workimportance 4.8/5
  6. Prepare daily work and run schedules.

    Human workimportance 4.7/5
  7. Confer with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment.

    Human workimportance 4.7/5
  8. Oversee all communications within specifically assigned territories.

    Human workimportance 4.5/5
  9. Arrange for necessary repairs to restore service and schedules.

    Human workimportance 4.4/5
  10. Monitor personnel or equipment locations and utilization to coordinate service and schedules.

    Human workimportance 4.4/5
  11. Advise personnel about traffic problems, such as construction areas, accidents, congestion, weather conditions, or other hazards.

    Human workimportance 3.7/5
  12. Order supplies or equipment and issue them to personnel.

    Human workimportance 3.6/5

Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role

These are the highest-importance tasks in this role that a language model can already handle directly. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these, so they stop eating your team's time.

  1. Relay work orders, messages, or information to or from work crews, supervisors, or field inspectors, using telephones or two-way radios.

    O*NET importance 4.6/5 · labelled directly AI-automatable

  2. Receive or prepare work orders.

    O*NET importance 4.5/5 · labelled directly AI-automatable

  3. Record and maintain files or records of customer requests, work or services performed, charges, expenses, inventory, or other dispatch information.

    O*NET importance 4.4/5 · labelled directly AI-automatable

Every role has three or four wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →

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Methodology

This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.

Methodology · Sources (PDF) · About · Built 23 April 2026

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