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operations internship

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Operations Internship
salary: $15 - $25 / hour
categories: [Operations, Internship, Supply Chain, Logistics, Data Analytics]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a Operations Internship.
Operations Internship — Hands-on role supporting day-to-day operations, process improvement, logistics, and data-driven decision making. Ideal for students or recent graduates seeking exposure to supply chain, inventory management, and cross-functional project coordination. Key focus areas: SOP execution, KPI tracking, ERP systems, Excel/SQL analysis, vendor coordination, and continuous process optimization.

🎯 Role Definition

The Operations Intern supports core operational activities across logistics, inventory, order fulfillment, and internal process improvement initiatives. This role is designed for a proactive learner who can translate data into actionable recommendations, coordinate with cross-functional teams, and help drive efficiency through documentation, reporting, and hands-on execution. You will work closely with Operations Managers, Supply Chain Analysts, and Customer Support to ensure consistent service delivery, accurate inventory, and timely fulfillment while building foundational skills in ERP, analytics, and process optimization.

Keywords: Operations Internship, operations intern, process improvement, logistics, inventory management, data analysis, SOP, ERP, Lean, supply chain, order fulfillment, KPI tracking.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Undergraduate student or recent graduate in Business, Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, or related field.
  • Customer service, retail operations, or warehouse associate looking to transition into corporate operations.
  • Data/analytics internship or part-time role with exposure to Excel, SQL, or reporting tools.

Advancement To:

  • Operations Coordinator
  • Supply Chain Analyst
  • Logistics Specialist
  • Process Improvement Analyst

Lateral Moves:

  • Procurement Assistant
  • Customer Success / Fulfillment Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Assist with daily order processing and fulfillment activities, ensuring accurate pick-pack-ship procedures and timely handoff to carriers while updating the order management system and communicating exceptions to stakeholders.
  • Maintain and reconcile inventory records across multiple systems (WMS/ERP/Excel), execute cycle counts, investigate variances, and collaborate with warehouse staff to correct discrepancies and update standard operating procedures.
  • Prepare and deliver weekly and monthly operational KPI dashboards (including lead times, fill rate, on-time delivery, and inventory turns) using Excel, Google Sheets, or BI tools to help managers monitor performance and prioritize improvements.
  • Support demand planning and basic forecasting activities by compiling historical sales and inventory data, identifying seasonality and trends, and providing inputs to the planning team to minimize stockouts and overstock.
  • Document and update SOPs, work instructions, and process maps for recurring operations tasks to standardize workflows, reduce training time, and maintain compliance with internal controls and audits.
  • Coordinate with carriers, third-party logistics partners, and suppliers to resolve shipment issues, expedite high-priority orders, and gather proof of delivery or deviation reports for reconciliation.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects to streamline fulfillment and returns processes, including pilot testing new packaging, routing rules, or vendor consolidation initiatives and tracking the financial impact of changes.
  • Execute ad-hoc operational analyses (cost-per-order, throughput, capacity utilization) and present concise recommendations to the Operations Manager to support continuous improvement efforts and cost reduction.
  • Manage inbound receiving activities such as scheduling receiving windows, verifying packed quantities and quality, and escalating receiving exceptions to procurement and quality teams for resolution.
  • Assist with vendor and supplier onboarding tasks by collecting required documentation, verifying service level agreements (SLAs), and supporting initial performance monitoring during the trial period.
  • Support customer service and escalations by investigating order exceptions, coordinating returns and replacements, and ensuring timely communication with customers and internal teams to preserve customer satisfaction.
  • Run data extraction and cleansing for operational datasets, applying formulas, pivot tables, and basic SQL queries to create clean datasets used for reporting and decision-making.
  • Monitor inventory aging and slow-moving stock, flag high-risk SKUs for clearance strategies, and collaborate with merchandising or sales to execute markdowns or promotional campaigns to improve turns.
  • Aid in production scheduling or assembly line coordination (when applicable) by tracking work-in-progress, reporting bottlenecks, and proposing rebalancing ideas to maintain throughput targets and reduce downtime.
  • Implement small-scale process experiments (A/B tests) in operations, capture before-and-after metrics, and summarize learnings that can be scaled across teams.
  • Help coordinate internal and external audits by preparing requested operational documentation, reconciling records, and implementing corrective action plans for any audit findings.
  • Maintain safety and compliance records, assist in safety checks, and escalate hazards or non-conformances to site leadership to support a safe working environment.
  • Create and maintain operational trackers for projects, escalation statuses, and open action items, ensuring timely follow-up and transparent communication across stakeholders.
  • Provide day-to-day support for procurement activities, including purchase order tracking, invoice matching, and liaising with finance to resolve discrepancies and maintain vendor relationships.
  • Support pricing and cost analysis for shipping and fulfillment by compiling carrier rate comparisons and identifying opportunities for freight consolidation or alternative routing to lower costs.
  • Assist in implementing inventory control improvements such as bin reorganization, barcode labeling, or small WMS configuration updates to increase picking accuracy and speed.
  • Participate in regular operations review meetings, prepare talking points, share process metrics, and follow up on assigned action items to ensure momentum on improvement initiatives.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Provide administrative support for meetings, prepare slide decks and notes summarizing operational findings for leadership reviews.
  • Assist in cross-training initiatives by shadowing multiple functional teams and developing quick-reference training materials for rotating staff.
  • Help with special projects such as new facility onboarding, seasonal ramp-up planning, or pilot programs for automation and robotics trials.
  • Perform supplier scorecard maintenance and basic performance reporting to support vendor meetings and continuous improvement conversations.
  • Support sustainability and waste reduction initiatives by tracking packaging usage, return rates, and suggesting opportunities to reduce material costs or carbon impact.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced Excel and Google Sheets (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, array formulas) for data cleaning, analysis, and reporting.
  • Basic SQL skills for extracting and joining datasets from databases to support operational reporting and root-cause analysis.
  • Familiarity with ERP/WMS platforms (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Manhattan, Fishbowl) and order management systems — ability to navigate transactions and run standard reports.
  • Experience with business intelligence and visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or Looker to create dashboards and visual reports.
  • Knowledge of inventory management principles (FIFO, LIFO, cycle counting, safety stock) and demand planning basics.
  • Practical understanding of logistics and shipping operations, including carrier rate structures, tracking, and freight reconciliation.
  • Exposure to project management tools (Asana, Jira, Trello, MS Project) for task tracking, sprint planning, and cross-functional coordination.
  • Fundamental data manipulation and scripting skills (basic Python or R preferred for interns pursuing analytics-heavy roles).
  • Familiarity with Lean, Kaizen, or Six Sigma concepts and basic process-mapping techniques to identify waste and propose improvements.
  • Strong documentation and SOP authoring skills with version control and change-tracking awareness.
  • Basic financial literacy for cost analysis, P&L impacts, and creating simple ROI calculations for operational initiatives.
  • Comfortable using CRM platforms (Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud) to support customer-facing logistics and return workflows.

Soft Skills

  • Strong analytical mindset with curiosity to dig into data and uncover root causes to operational problems.
  • Clear and concise written and verbal communication skills for cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder updates.
  • Highly organized with strong time management skills, able to manage multiple priorities and deliverables in a fast-paced environment.
  • Problem-solving orientation with ability to turn ambiguous problems into structured workstreams and actionable tasks.
  • Collaborative team player who builds relationships across operations, procurement, warehouse, and customer service teams.
  • Attention to detail and quality focus when handling transactions, documentation, and data reporting.
  • Adaptability and eagerness to learn new systems, tools, and processes quickly.
  • Customer-centric mindset to ensure operational decisions support a positive end-customer experience.
  • Initiative and ownership mentality—comfortable taking on responsibility and driving small projects end-to-end.
  • Professionalism and discretion when handling confidential operational or supplier information.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Currently enrolled in or recently completed an undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s) or higher, or equivalent coursework relevant to the role.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Logistics, Information Systems, Analytics, or related fields.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Industrial or Systems Engineering
  • Business Administration / Operations Management
  • Data Analytics / Information Systems
  • Logistics and Transportation

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 0–2 years; internships, co-ops, or relevant part-time/seasonal roles preferred.

Preferred:

  • 1+ prior internship or project experience in operations, logistics, supply chain, warehousing, or analytics with demonstrable examples of process improvement, reporting, or vendor coordination.
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