Shipping Lead

Job Description

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Shipping Lead to oversee day-to-day shipping and fulfillment operations at our facility.

The Shipping Lead is responsible for ensuring customer orders are picked, packed, processed, and shipped accurately, efficiently, safely, and on schedule. This role provides hands-on leadership to the shipping team, coordinates daily workload and staffing, monitors productivity and accuracy, and works closely with fulfillment, inventory, receiving, and other departments to ensure orders move through the operation without unnecessary delays.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on operational leader who is comfortable managing people, priorities, order volume, shipping deadlines, inventory issues, and warehouse processes in a fast-paced environment. This person should be able to identify bottlenecks, solve problems in real time, improve processes, hold employees accountable, and take ownership of daily shipping performance.

Key ResponsibilitiesShipping & Fulfillment Operations

• Lead and oversee daily shipping and fulfillment activities.
• Coordinate the processing, packing, labeling, staging, and shipment of customer orders.
• Ensure orders are shipped accurately and according to established deadlines and service-level expectations.
• Prioritize shipping workload based on order volume, carrier schedules, customer requirements, staffing, and operational priorities.
• Monitor the status of orders throughout the shipping process and address delays or issues immediately.
• Ensure shipping labels, packing slips, documentation, and carrier requirements are accurate.
• Coordinate daily carrier pickups and ensure shipments are properly staged and ready on schedule.
• Monitor outbound staging areas and prevent completed orders from accumulating unnecessarily.
• Investigate and resolve shipping discrepancies, including incorrect items, quantities, labels, packaging, and carrier issues.
• Work closely with Picking, Packing, Inventory, Receiving, Client Service, and other departments to resolve order issues.
• Ensure urgent, priority, and time-sensitive orders are identified and processed appropriately.
• Maintain an organized and efficient shipping area.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement solutions to improve shipping speed, accuracy, and overall workflow.

Order Accuracy & Inventory Control

• Maintain a high level of order accuracy throughout the shipping process.
• Verify products, quantities, labels, shipping documentation, and customer requirements before orders leave the facility.
• Identify and communicate inventory shortages, incorrect inventory, damaged products, and other issues affecting order fulfillment.
• Research order and inventory discrepancies and assist in identifying root causes.
• Partner with Inventory Control and other departments to resolve inventory issues.
• Ensure proper product handling and inventory rotation practices are followed where applicable.
• Identify recurring errors and implement corrective actions to prevent them from happening again.

Warehouse Operations

• Support overall warehouse operations as business needs require.
• Coordinate labor and resources across picking, packing, shipping, replenishment, inventory, and other fulfillment functions.
• Monitor workflow between departments to ensure work moves efficiently from picking through final shipment.
• Maintain clean, organized, and clearly defined work areas.
• Monitor shipping capacity, staging space, equipment, and workflow.
• Identify space, staffing, or process issues before they negatively affect order completion.
• Assist with warehouse layout, workstation organization, process flow, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure equipment and operational areas are used appropriately and maintained in an orderly condition.

Team Leadership

• Directly supervise shipping employees and frontline leads as assigned.
• Plan daily staffing and assign work based on expected order volume and operational priorities.
• Establish clear expectations for productivity, accuracy, attendance, safety, and workplace conduct.
• Coach, train, and develop employees and leads.
• Ensure employees understand their responsibilities and daily priorities.
• Provide timely feedback and address performance issues consistently.
• Hold employees accountable for following established processes and meeting performance expectations.
• Build a culture of accountability, teamwork, urgency, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct daily shift-start meetings or operational discussions to communicate priorities, staffing, workload, and expectations.
• Ensure employees are properly trained before performing assigned duties or operating equipment.
• Lead by example and maintain a professional, respectful, and productive work environment.

Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor key shipping and fulfillment performance indicators, including:
  • Orders shipped
  • Units shipped
  • Shipping accuracy
  • On-time shipment performance
  • Order turnaround time
  • Packing productivity
  • Picking-to-shipping flow
  • Shipping backlog
  • Order discrepancies
  • Labor productivity
  • Carrier performance
• Identify operational bottlenecks and implement practical solutions.
• Develop, maintain, and enforce standard operating procedures for shipping and related fulfillment functions.
• Use warehouse data and reporting to improve staffing, scheduling, workflow, and productivity.
• Identify opportunities to reduce errors, wasted time, rework, and unnecessary labor.
• Participate in warehouse projects and process improvement initiatives.
• Continuously evaluate shipping processes and recommend improvements to management.

Safety & Compliance

• Maintain a safe working environment and ensure employees follow established warehouse safety procedures.
• Ensure shipping areas, aisles, staging areas, dock areas, and emergency access points remain clean and unobstructed.
• Reinforce proper material-handling and equipment-operating practices.
• Conduct routine observations of warehouse conditions and immediately address unsafe practices or conditions.
• Ensure employees use required personal protective equipment and follow company safety policies.
• Report accidents, injuries, damaged equipment, and unsafe con