Warehouse Manager

About the job Warehouse Manager


Warehouse Manager

Position Summary

The Warehouse Manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of warehouse and distribution operations, including inventory management, shipping and receiving, order fulfillment, team leadership, safety, quality, and cross-functional coordination.

This role requires a hands-on, operationally strong leader with experience managing multiple distribution channels within the retail industry , including eCommerce, brick-and-mortar retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer/direct selling models . The Warehouse Manager must understand how warehouse execution impacts customer experience, revenue delivery, retailer requirements, service levels, and brand reputation.

The ideal candidate has experience managing across the organization, partnering with Sales, Customer Service, Supply Chain, Finance, Procurement, Operations, and Production. This person must also be comfortable navigating a business environment where the warehouse operation is dependent on or connected to a separate production plant , requiring strong communication, coordination, and issue resolution across departments and locations.

This leader will drive efficient, safe, accurate, and cost-effective warehouse operations while supporting business growth, service level performance, and revenue execution.

Essential Duties

Operational Leadership

• Manage daily warehouse operations, including receiving, storage, replenishment, picking, packing, staging, and shipping.
• Ensure on-time, accurate order fulfillment across multiple sales and distribution channels, including eCommerce, retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer/direct selling.
• Balance competing fulfillment priorities based on customer expectations, retailer requirements, production availability, inventory status, and business urgency.
• Establish, maintain, and improve standard operating procedures for warehouse and distribution workflows.
• Ensure warehouse operations support revenue execution, customer satisfaction, and service-level commitments.
• Monitor daily workflow to identify bottlenecks, labor gaps, order delays, and inventory constraints.

Multi-Channel Distribution Management

• Manage fulfillment requirements across multiple retail and customer channels, including brick-and-mortar retail, eCommerce, wholesale, direct selling, and customer-specific orders.
• Understand the differences between retail compliance, eCommerce speed and accuracy, direct-to-consumer expectations, and bulk distribution requirements.
• Ensure orders are prioritized, packed, labeled, and shipped according to customer, retailer, carrier, and channel-specific requirements.
• Partner with Sales, Customer Service, and Operations to support promotions, seasonal volume changes, new product launches, customer orders, and urgent revenue opportunities.
• Help resolve order fulfillment challenges related to backorders, shortages, customer changes, production delays, and inventory availability.

Inventory Management

• Maintain accurate inventory levels through cycle counts, reconciliation, and periodic physical inventories.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Finance, Production, and Operations teams to manage inventory accuracy and reporting.
• Monitor inventory availability across finished goods, raw materials, packaging, and channel-specific demand needs when applicable.
• Lead initiatives to reduce obsolete, slow-moving, damaged, and excess inventory.
• Investigate and resolve inventory discrepancies, shrinkage, stock movement issues, and system-to-physical variances.
• Ensure inventory practices support accurate order fulfillment, financial reporting, and production planning.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Operations, Sales, Customer Service, Procurement, Finance, Supply Chain, and Production to align warehouse priorities with business needs.
• Coordinate with a separate production plant to understand production schedules, product availability, inventory flow, quality holds, and shipping readiness.
• Communicate proactively with internal stakeholders regarding inventory status, order risks, shipping delays, customer needs, and operational opportunities.
• Advise Customer Service Representatives with necessary information to accept, reject, revise, or prioritize customer orders.
• Interface with customers when needed to answer questions, solve problems, and initiate corrective actions.
• Support new product launches, retail promotions, seasonal campaigns, customer-specific requirements, and changes in demand.
• Serve as a key operational bridge between warehouse execution, production output, customer expectations, and business revenue goals.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and develop warehouse staff to drive performance, engagement, accountability, and retention.
• Build a culture of safety, quality, urgency, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Manage staffing levels, scheduling, training, productivity expectations, and performance standards.
• Ensure team members are properly trained on warehouse procedures, safety expectations, equipment usage, quality standards, and customer-specific requirements.
• Provide clear communication, direction, feedback, and follow-up to ensure daily goals are met.

Safety & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with all safety regulations, OSHA requirements, company policies, and warehouse procedures.
• Promote a safe working environment through training, audits, coaching, and continuous monitoring.
• Maintain accurate incident reporting and lead or participate in safety investigations.
• Identify safety risks and immediately implement countermeasures using the appropriate resources.
• Treat safety and housekeeping as non-negotiables.
• Perform all required safety and housekeeping audits.
• Create an environment focused on zero risk, zero near misses, zero treatment reports, and zero recordable incidents.
• Ensure all safety goals for the team are met.

Quality

• Treat quality as a non-negotiable.
• Ensure all required quality checks are completed each shift.
• Communicate quality issues to the appropriate resources and respond in a timely manner.
• Partner with Production, Quality, Customer Service, and Operations to address product holds, labeling issues, damaged goods, shipment errors, and customer concerns.
• Support corrective actions related to order accuracy, inventory accuracy, product handling, and customer complaints.

Process Improvement

• Identify and implement process improvements to increase efficiency, accuracy, safety, and cost control.
• Leverage data, KPIs, and operational reporting to drive decisions and performance improvements.
• Support warehouse layout optimization, workflow enhancements, labor planning, and space utilization.
• Improve processes that support multi-channel fulfillment, including eCommerce speed, retail compliance, direct selling accuracy, and wholesale volume execution.
• Recommend technology, system, or workflow improvements that reduce manual effort and improve visibility across the business.

Key Performance Indicators

• Order accuracy
• On-time shipment rates
• eCommerce fulfillment speed and accuracy
• Retail/wholesale order compliance
• Inventory accuracy
• Shrinkage reduction
• Warehouse productivity
• Labor efficiency
• Safety metrics, including incident rate and near misses
• Inventory turns
• Reduction of obsolete, damaged, or slow-moving stock
• Customer service issue resolution
• Production-to-warehouse coordination effectiveness
• Revenue-impacting order execution

Required Experience, Skills, and Education

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Business, Operations Management, or related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
• 5+ years of warehouse, distribution, fulfillment, or logistics management experience.
• Experience managing warehouse or distribution operations in a retail, consumer goods, manufacturing, beauty, personal care, food, or similar product-based environment preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple distribution channels , including eCommerce, brick-and-mortar retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer/direct selling.
• Strong understanding of order fulfillment, inventory control, shipping, receiving, retail compliance, and customer service expectations.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Sales, Customer Service, Supply Chain, Finance, Procurement, Operations, Production, and Quality teams.
• Experience coordinating with or operating alongside a separate production plant, manufacturing facility, or production operation strongly preferred.
• Strong leadership, coaching, communication, and team development skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, customer-driven environment.
• Experience with warehouse management systems, ERP platforms, inventory systems, and shipping platforms.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and data analysis.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to use data, judgment, and collaboration to resolve operational issues.
• Ability to communicate clearly with frontline teams, department leaders, customers, and senior leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting retail customers, eCommerce platforms, direct selling channels, or omnichannel fulfillment models.
• Experience in consumer products, beauty, personal care, manufacturing, or CPG environments.
• Experience with process improvement, lean warehouse practices, SOP development, and KPI reporting.
• Familiarity with retailer routing guides, shipping compliance, customer-specific fulfillment requirements, and chargeback prevention.
• Experience improving warehouse productivity, inventory accuracy, labor planning, and order fulfillment performance.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to tolerate sustained standing and walking during 10- to 12-hour shifts.
• Ability to carry, twist, push, and pull products.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to utilize strong eye-hand coordination.
• Ability to bend, stand, walk, squat, and move throughout the warehouse during the shift.
• Ability to work in hot and cold environments.

Safety Expectations

• Treat safety and housekeeping as non-negotiable.
• Perform all required safety and housekeeping audits.
• Lead or participate in department safety incident investigations.
• Identify safety issues and immediately implement countermeasures with the appropriate resources.
• Build a team culture that delivers zero risk, zero near misses, zero treatment reports, and zero recordables.
• Ensure all team safety goals are met.

Quality Expectations

• Treat quality as non-negotiable.
• Ensure all required quality checks are completed each shift.
• Communicate quality issues to the appropriate resources and respond in a timely manner.
• Support corrective actions tied to order accuracy, product handling, inventory integrity, customer complaints, and shipment errors.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is not just a warehouse manager - they are an operational quarterback. They understand that in a modern retail environment, warehouse performance touches everything: customer experience, revenue, inventory, production, sales, service levels, and brand credibility.

This person knows how to lead a team, manage the floor, solve problems quickly, and communicate across departments without creating drama or confusion. They can move comfortably between the warehouse, the production plant, the customer service team, and leadership meetings - making sure the right product gets to the right customer, through the right channel, at the right time.