A warehouse associate is an employee who helps fulfill the logistics of receiving, processing and storing a facility's inventory. They perform tasks like storing products, receiving incoming deliveries, scanning items before logging them on computer systems, managing stock, maintaining a warehouse's cleanliness and inspecting products to detect defects or damages. They also assemble and package products related to orders and ensure proper shipment of goods. Warehouse associates often receive instructions via work orders, which are documents that indicate which tasks have approval from upper management.