Logistics Manager

How to hire a Logistics Manager for your SMB

Before you write the job posting, settle three framing questions. They determine which profile you actually need and help you avoid the most common scope errors at German SMBs. From 30 staff in warehousing, shipping and transport onward, the Logistics Manager is a standalone function at an SMB, and the hire structures the company’s supply chain and compliance responsibility for at least 5 years.

Question 1: Logistics Manager, Warehouse Manager or Supply Chain Manager? The three roles overlap in part but are not equivalent. The Warehouse Manager steers the operational running of the warehouse (goods receipt, putaway, picking, packing, dispatch) and is deep in people and process leadership inside the warehouse. The Logistics Manager steers the site’s end-to-end responsibility (warehousing plus shipping plus transport plus inventory plus carrier steering plus compliance) and is anchored commercially and cross-functionally. The Supply Chain Manager role extends the scope strategically and usually across a corporate group to demand planning, sourcing strategy, network design and S&OP across several sites. Blending the three in one ad produces a scope mismatch and attracts heterogeneous applications. Pin the function down in the title itself: Logistikleiter:in (m/w/d), not a versatile warehouse-and-shipping profile, which says nothing.

Question 2: What site size and what logistics mix? At an SMB the perimeter of a Logistics Manager varies considerably with site size and business model. Pure e-commerce dispatch with 4,500 parcels per month demands different instincts than B2B groupage shipping with 600 shipments per month or production logistics with just-in-time line supply. List the site size (staff, warehouse space), the shipment mix (parcel vs. groupage vs. direct transport) and the business model (trade, industry, consumer goods, mechanical engineering, pharma) explicitly in the ad. A profile with an e-commerce background does not have the same instincts as a profile with an industrial-logistics background (just-in-time, sequencing, supplier integration); recruiting without a clear description attracts applications that do not match the operational profile.

Question 3: What maturity level of the supply-chain structures? At a German SMB you find two very different starting situations: a site with structures already established (an operational WMS in use, documented carrier tenders, regular KPI reporting, working Betriebsrat agreements), or a site that grew over recent years without dedicated steering and where the structures are patchy (an Excel WMS, contract renewals without a tender, a KPI vacuum, unresolved co‑determination topics). The requirements differ fundamentally: in the first case you need an optimizer, in the second a fixer with change‑support experience. Specify the maturity level in the ad and test in the interview whether the profile fits it.

If the three answers converge on a mid-level Logistics Manager (5‑12 years of experience) for an SMB with 30‑150 logistics staff and a defined shipment structure, use the posting template below.

[Company name] , an SMB in [industry] based in [city] , [X] staff, [X] staff in logistics, [X] shipments per month, is looking for a Logistics Manager to run logistics end to end with a focus on [warehousing plus shipping plus transport / B2B groupage / e‑commerce dispatch / production logistics] .

The role

As Logistics Manager you steer the site’s entire logistics (warehousing, shipping, transport, inventory, carrier steering, compliance) for [30‑150] staff, [X] shipments per month and a freight volume of [X] M€ per year. You report to [management / the COO / the commercial lead] and work in close partnership with sales, procurement, production, finance, HR and the Betriebsrat.

Key responsibilities

• Steer the logistics KPIs: OTIF, freight‑cost ratio, inventory accuracy, warehouse productivity per hour, complaint rate. Monthly reporting to management with lever identification.
• Negotiate and manage the carrier contracts (tender, renewal, new appointment, carrier mix) with current partners [DHL, DB Schenker, Dachser, Kühne+Nagel, Rhenus, Hellmann or others] and build a competitive carrier portfolio.
• Operationally steer the warehouse and shipping: people, shift and process leadership with the team leads, goods receipt, putaway, picking, packing, dispatch.
• [If the focus is a WMS or S&OP build‑up] WMS or S&OP roadmap: requirements spec, tender, implementation, training, go‑live with a fallback plan and a stabilization phase.
• Inventory steering: ABC analysis, safety stocks, slow movers, forecast accuracy, stocktake strategy, cross‑functional stand‑ups with sales and procurement.
• Drive the operational steering cadence: a daily operations stand‑up, a weekly carrier and warehouse review, monthly reporting to management, an annual supplier and carrier review.

Profile

• Required : 5‑12 years of experience in logistics leadership or an end‑to‑end logistics steering role at a German SMB or a mid‑sized organization (30‑150 logistics staff); proven command of OTIF steering and freight‑cost optimization; experience in carrier tenders and carrier steering; command of at least one WMS and familiarity with the German compliance regulations (GüKG, GGVSEB, LkSG, DGUV).
• Desired : specialization in S&OP build‑up, WMS or ERP migration, multi‑site responsibility or international supply chain; experience in a comparable industry; English language skills for international carriers and carrier contracts; prior experience in an adjacent role (warehouse management with a commercial extension, COO in the Mittelstand with a logistics share).
• Disqualifying : purely operational warehouse‑management experience with no carrier steering and commercial responsibility; purely administrative procurement experience with no operational logistics link; no familiarity with the German compliance regulations; instability (several 12‑month stints in a row).

What we offer

• Gross annual compensation: fixed [55‑92] k€ depending on experience, site size and freight volume. No structural variable component; a possible annual bonus of 5‑15 % on achieved OTIF, inventory or freight‑cost targets, per company practice.
• Model: [full‑time, on‑site with 4‑5 days on‑site, based at the logistics site in [city]] .
• Benefits: [company pension, company car with private use or a job ticket, JobRad, meal allowance, vacation days per Tarifvertrag or above, professional‑development budget, BVL membership] .
• Stack: [ERP SAP or Microsoft Dynamics or proAlpha, WMS SAP EWM or viadat or PSI Logistics or proLogistik, TMS Cargoclix or Transporeon, carrier portals, accounting integration with DATEV or Lexware] .

Salary band

Base salary, gross annual

25th percentile €55,000

Median €70,000

75th percentile €92,000

Gross fixed salary per year for a Logistics Manager with 5‑12 years of experience at a German SMB (a site with its own logistics and 30‑150 staff in warehousing, shipping and transport). Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Hamburg pull the range up by 8‑12 %; rural regions and the East pull it down by 5‑10 %. Profiles with multi‑site responsibility, carrier‑tender experience above €5M in volume, S&OP build‑up or a WMS rollout sit at the top end. The role usually has no structural variable component; some employers pay an annual bonus of 5‑15 % on OTIF, inventory or freight‑cost targets.