Business Trades: Office, Logistics and Customer Care

The big picture: three trade families

A business needs three kinds of work. Customer relations is about people: greeting, advising, selling. Administration is about papers and data: orders, bills, files, calendars. Logistics and transport is about goods: storing, picking, packing, moving. A trade family is a group of jobs that share many skills. In some countries a student first learns the whole family, then picks one job.

Office administration (organisation management assistance)

An administrative assistant keeps the organisation running. Tasks: answer phone and email, book meetings, record orders, make bills (invoices), file documents, track payments, and keep customer details correct. Tools: spreadsheets, office software, printers. Good habits: be accurate, keep things in order, keep private data private.

Logistics: storing and preparing goods

Logistics means having the right goods in the right place at the right time. A warehouse worker does receiving (check what arrived), storage (put it in a labelled place), order picking (take the items for an order) and packing. A stock count compares the shelf with the computer record. Safety matters: lift with the legs, use forklifts only if trained.

Freight transport organisation

Freight is goods being moved. Organising it means choosing the mode (road, rail, air, sea), the route, the vehicle and the delivery time, and then checking the papers (delivery note). Road is flexible door to door; rail and sea are cheaper for heavy loads over long distances; air is fastest but costs the most. Drivers must rest by law, so the plan includes breaks.

Retail: store area management

In a shop, the sales area is managed so customers find things easily. Tasks: shelf filling (restock), facing (labels forward, tidy), checking prices and expiry dates, and placing popular items at eye level. A tidy shop sells more and wastes less.

Retail: prospecting and promoting the offer

Prospecting means finding new possible customers: flyers, social media, local events, asking happy customers to tell friends. Promoting the offer means showing what you sell and why it is good: displays, discounts, new-arrival signs, a clear price. The steps of a sale: welcome, find the need, show the product, answer doubts, close the sale, say thanks.

Reception and front-desk services

The receptionist is the first person a visitor meets, in a hotel, clinic, company or shop. Tasks: greet with a smile, find out who the visitor wants, give directions, answer calls, manage bookings, handle a complaint calmly. Language, clear voice and tidy dress build trust.

Try it

In the 3D: go to the last step and press each trade family. Say which places light up and one task done there.

At home: next time you buy something, list the people who touched the order (counter, bill, shelf, delivery). Which trade family is each?

Key formulas and definitions

• Stock now = opening stock + received − sent
• Travel time = distance ÷ average speed
• Delivery cost = cost per km × distance
• Discount price = price × (100 − discount%) ÷ 100
• Fill rate = orders sent complete ÷ orders received × 100%

Worked examples

Common mistakes

• Thinking the three families are separate. In real work an order passes through all of them, so each must pass on clear, correct information.
• Forgetting rest and loading time when planning a delivery. Real time is longer than distance ÷ speed.
• Trusting the computer stock without a count. Shelves and records must be checked against each other.
• Treating a customer complaint as an attack. Listen, say sorry for the problem, and offer a fix.