Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Distribution Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Distribution Coordinator oversees day-to-day distribution center activities, including receiving, put-away, order pick/pack/ship, and returns processing. This role drives operational efficiency, enforces safety and compliance standards, resolves shipping and inventory discrepancies, coordinates with carriers and suppliers, and provides accurate reporting to support supply chain decision-making. The Distribution Coordinator acts as the central point of contact between warehouse operations, transportation partners, procurement, and customer service to meet service-level agreements (SLAs) and KPI targets.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Warehouse Associate / Material Handler
Shipping & Receiving Clerk
Inventory Control Specialist

Advancement To:

Distribution Supervisor
Logistics Manager
Supply Chain Planner

Lateral Moves:

Procurement Coordinator
Customer Fulfillment Specialist
Transportation Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Coordinate daily inbound and outbound distribution activities across one or multiple facilities, including scheduling carrier pickups, confirming delivery windows, managing appointment calendars, and ensuring compliance with carrier and customer requirements.
Manage order fulfillment processes by prioritizing order pick/pack/ship tasks, creating and verifying pick lists, supervising packing standards, and ensuring accurate shipment documentation to meet customer delivery windows.
Operate and administer the Warehouse Management System (WMS) and ERP interfaces to release orders, confirm receipts, perform cycle counts, adjust inventory records, and troubleshoot transaction errors between systems.
Conduct daily inventory reconciliations, investigate stock discrepancies, lead root-cause analysis for inventory variances, and implement corrective action plans to improve inventory accuracy and reduce shrink.
Prepare and manage shipping documentation including bills of lading, packing lists, export paperwork, commercial invoices, hazardous material declarations, and customs documentation when required.
Coordinate with carriers, third-party logistics (3PL) partners, and freight forwarders to obtain rate quotes, negotiate terms, track shipments, resolve transit exceptions, and escalate carrier claims when necessary.
Monitor, measure, and report on distribution KPIs such as on-time shipments, order accuracy, dock-to-stock time, picking productivity, and freight cost per unit; prepare daily/weekly dashboards for operations leadership.
Implement and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for receiving, put-away, storage, picking, packing, and shipping to ensure consistency, quality, and regulatory compliance.
Supervise or coordinate temporary labor and cross-functional resources during peak periods, special projects, and inventory counts; manage training, shift coverage, and performance expectations.
Validate and enforce packaging and labeling standards to reduce damage, ensure pallet integrity, and comply with retailer/vendor requirements and EDI/ASN specifications.
Manage returns (RMA) and reverse logistics processes, including inspection, disposition, restocking, repair coordination, and customer credit processing to minimize loss and cycle time.
Execute capacity planning and slotting adjustments to optimize warehouse layout, throughput, and storage utilization based on demand patterns and product velocity analyses.
Work with procurement and merchandising teams to prioritize inventory replenishment, expedite critical orders, and coordinate cross-docking or consignment flows as business needs dictate.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives using lean principles (5S, Kaizen) and data-driven changes to reduce lead times, eliminate waste, and improve safety and productivity in the distribution environment.
Enforce and promote workplace safety, OSHA and DOT regulations, and company health policies by conducting safety rounds, incident investigations, corrective actions, and maintaining training records.
Coordinate special projects such as new product introductions, seasonal peak planning, facility expansions, and WMS/ERP upgrades, acting as the operational subject matter expert.
Validate freight invoices, analyze transportation spend, resolve billing disputes, and work with finance/transportation teams to implement cost-saving strategies and carrier performance SLAs.
Serve as the primary point of contact for customer escalations related to order status, delivery discrepancies, damaged goods, and service recovery, ensuring timely resolution and documentation.
Maintain vendor and supplier relationships to ensure accurate lead times, shipment confirmations, product traceability, and alignment of delivery schedules with production and sales forecasts.
Prepare and audit compliance and quality records for regulatory requirements, supplier audits, retailer compliance audits, and internal management reviews.
Train staff on inventory integrity controls, cycle count methodologies, scanning device usage, and data entry best practices to maintain system accuracy and traceability.
Use Excel, Power BI, or other analytics tools to build reports, analyze trends, forecast demand impacts on distribution, and present actionable recommendations to supply chain leadership.
Coordinate cross-docking and consolidation operations to minimize handling, expedite urgent orders, and optimize carrier utilization for multi-stop or LTL shipments.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc distribution and logistics data requests, provide operational context, and assist with ad-hoc analysis to inform supply chain decisions.
Assist in the development of business continuity and contingency plans for disruptions to distribution flows, natural disasters, or carrier outages.
Participate in cross-functional meetings with customer service, procurement, and production to align priorities and communicate operational constraints.
Support vendor onboarding for logistics-related suppliers and freight partners, including documentation collection and system set-up.
Assist in maintaining asset inventories for warehouse equipment (e.g., forklifts, conveyors, scanners) and coordinate preventive maintenance scheduling.
Act as backup for transportation dispatch functions, including route adjustments, expediting, and same-day shipment coordination when needed.
Participate in audit preparations (internal and external) and follow through on corrective action items related to distribution operations.
Support sustainability initiatives such as packaging reduction, pallet reuse programs, and route consolidation to reduce environmental footprint.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Warehouse Management System (WMS) administration and daily transactional expertise (e.g., Manhattan, HighJump, Fishbowl, Oracle WMS).
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system experience such as SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, or NetSuite for order and inventory management.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills: VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, INDEX/MATCH, conditional formatting, and data visualization for reporting.
Experience with transportation management and rating tools, TMS platforms, EDI/ASN protocols, and carrier integration.
Hands-on knowledge of inbound/outbound shipping documentation, customs paperwork (for international shipments), and DOT/HAZMAT regulations where applicable.
Inventory control techniques: cycle counting, physical inventory planning, stock reconciliation, and variance analysis.
Familiarity with RF scanning devices, barcode labeling standards (GS1), RFID basics, and warehouse automation concepts.
Basic SQL or data-querying capability and/or working knowledge of Power BI/Tableau for dashboard creation and operational analytics.
Forklift/industrial equipment certification or experience supervising certified operators and understanding of safe equipment usage.
Experience with freight cost analysis, freight bill auditing, and invoice dispute resolution to control transportation spend.
Order management and fulfillment workflows, including pick/pack strategies (wave picking, zone picking, batch picking) and packing optimization.

Soft Skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills to coordinate with carriers, vendors, customers, and internal stakeholders.
Excellent organizational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making ability with a bias for action when resolving distribution disruptions.
Detail-oriented with a high degree of accuracy for inventory control, documentation, and compliance requirements.
Leadership and team collaboration skills for training, supervising, and motivating frontline distribution teams.
Adaptability and flexibility to respond to shifting business priorities, seasonal peaks, and last-minute changes.
Customer-service orientation with the ability to manage escalations and preserve client relationships.
Analytical mindset and continuous improvement focus to identify inefficiencies and implement process improvements.
Conflict resolution and negotiation skills to manage carrier disputes, vendor issues, and internal resource constraints.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or GED; equivalent combination of education and logistics experience will be considered.

Preferred Education:

Associate or Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management
Logistics and Transportation
Business Administration
Operations Management
Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years of progressive experience in distribution, warehouse operations, logistics coordination, or inventory control.

Preferred:

3–7 years of distribution coordination or supervisory experience in a medium-to-high volume DC, with demonstrated experience using WMS/ERP systems, managing carriers, and improving distribution KPIs.