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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Warehouse Stock Supervisor

💰 $45,000 - $65,000

OperationsWarehouseLogisticsSupervision

🎯 Role Definition

The Warehouse Stock Supervisor is responsible for overseeing daily inventory and stock control operations in a distribution center or warehouse environment. This role ensures accurate stock levels, efficient replenishment and put-away, timely order fulfillment, and strict adherence to safety and quality standards. The ideal candidate combines hands-on warehouse experience, proficiency with warehouse management systems (WMS/ERP), strong leadership and coaching skills, and a continuous improvement mindset to drive productivity and reduce shrink.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Warehouse Associate / Lead Picker-Packer
  • Inventory Control Specialist / Cycle Count Coordinator
  • Material Handler with supervisory experience

Advancement To:

  • Warehouse Manager / Distribution Center Supervisor
  • Inventory Control Manager / Supply Chain Supervisor
  • Operations Manager / Logistics Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Logistics Coordinator
  • Procurement Specialist
  • Quality Control Supervisor

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead daily inventory control and stock management activities, including planning and supervising cycle counts, full physical inventories, and reconciliation to maintain target inventory accuracy and minimize shrink.
  • Manage inbound receiving and stock put-away processes to ensure timely, accurate recording in the warehouse management system (WMS/ERP) and proper staging for replenishment and picking.
  • Oversee outbound replenishment and order staging to meet shipping cutoffs and customer service level agreements, coordinating with picking, packing, and shipping teams to meet productivity and accuracy KPIs.
  • Supervise a team of stock clerks, material handlers and inventory associates; create daily work plans, assign tasks, monitor performance, and provide coaching, training and corrective feedback.
  • Implement and enforce FIFO/LIFO, lot control, batch tracing, and expiration date protocols for perishable or serialized items to meet regulatory and customer requirements.
  • Maintain and optimize bin locations, slotting strategies and put-away algorithms to maximize storage utilization, reduce travel times and improve pick rates.
  • Monitor inventory KPIs (accuracy, shrink, turns, days on hand, order fill rate) and generate weekly/monthly reports for operations leadership with actionable improvement recommendations.
  • Coordinate with procurement, planning and demand forecasting teams to adjust safety stock levels, seasonal buffers and replenishment frequency to prevent stockouts and overstock.
  • Investigate and resolve inventory discrepancies and variances by auditing processes, reviewing transaction history and performing root-cause analysis to prevent recurrence.
  • Ensure accurate labeling, barcoding and RFID tagging of inventory; maintain serial number and lot records for traceability and warranty claims support.
  • Enforce compliance with OSHA, company EHS policies, DOT shipping regulations and hazardous materials handling procedures; conduct toolbox talks and safety audits in the stock area.
  • Manage warehouse equipment and tooling used for stock operations (forklifts, pallet jacks, RF scanners, conveyors), scheduling maintenance and ensuring certifications and inspections are current.
  • Coordinate cross-functional communication between receiving, picking, quality, transportation and customer service to resolve inventory-related issues that impact orders and shipments.
  • Lead cycle count programs including scheduling, variance investigation, recounts and reconciliation; continuously refine count methods to improve efficiency and accuracy.
  • Drive process improvement and cost reduction initiatives (5S, Kaizen, Lean) focused on stock flow, replenishment frequency, and inventory carrying costs.
  • Supervise returns processing and quarantine areas for damaged, discrepant or recalled inventory; ensure disposition decisions are documented and executed promptly.
  • Prepare and maintain accurate inventory documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions and audit-ready records for internal and external reviews.
  • Support seasonal peak planning by developing temporary labor plans, overtime strategies and equipment allocations to maintain stock service levels during high-volume periods.
  • Maintain strong vendor and carrier relationships for inbound and return shipments, coordinating appointment scheduling and dispute resolution for short or over shipments.
  • Participate in new product introductions (NPI) and SKU setups including initial cycle count planning, slotting strategy and system configuration to ensure smooth product launches.
  • Oversee the use and configuration of picking technologies (voice pick, RF, pick-to-light) to support high accuracy and throughput in stock replenishment and order fulfillment.
  • Manage cost controls for inventory-related expenses (waste, obsolescence, shrink) through targeted reduction programs and continuous monitoring.
  • Train and mentor staff on inventory best practices, system usage, safety and quality expectations to build a capable and adaptable stock operations team.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc inventory and operational data requests from supply chain and finance stakeholders to enable timely decision-making.
  • Contribute to the warehouse digitalization roadmap by piloting WMS enhancements, new scanning technologies, or automation projects that improve stock accuracy and speed.
  • Participate in cross-functional Kaizen events and continuous improvement workshops to redesign stock flows and reduce non-value-added activity.
  • Assist in labor planning, shift scheduling and temporary workforce onboarding for seasonal peaks or project work.
  • Coordinate with IT and systems teams to troubleshoot WMS transaction issues, updating master data and resolving integration exceptions.
  • Support regulatory and customer audits by compiling inventory evidence, coordinating physical verifications and implementing corrective action plans.
  • Help develop and track budgetary forecasts for inventory-related operational costs and capital equipment requests.
  • Document lessons learned from inventory incidents and lead follow-up actions to close process gaps and prevent recurrence.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Inventory management and control (cycle counting, physical inventory, reconciliation)
  • Proficiency with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and ERP systems (examples: SAP, Oracle, Manhattan, JDA)
  • Experience with barcode/RFID systems and mobile RF scanning hardware
  • Knowledge of slotting, replenishment logic and warehouse layout optimization
  • Forklift operation awareness and ability to coordinate certified forklift operators (forklift certification preferred)
  • Strong Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, basic formulas) and experience creating operational dashboards and reports
  • Familiarity with FIFO/LIFO, lot tracking, serial number control, and expiry/quality management
  • Understanding of shipping/receiving workflows, bill of lading, and carrier appointment scheduling
  • Experience enforcing safety and regulatory compliance (OSHA, DOT, hazardous materials handling)
  • Basic data analysis skills and KPI monitoring (inventory accuracy, fill rate, turns, days on hand)
  • Experience with continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, 5S, Kaizen) and process mapping
  • Ability to manage inventory cost drivers: shrink, obsolescence, and excess stock
  • Knowledge of returns management and quarantine procedures
  • Comfortable using workforce management tools and scheduling software

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people-management skills with experience supervising frontline warehouse teams
  • Excellent verbal and written communication for cross-functional coordination and documentation
  • Problem-solving and root-cause analysis aptitude with a bias for practical, sustainable fixes
  • Time management and prioritization skills to balance urgent operational needs and strategic initiatives
  • Coaching and training ability to develop skills and accountability in team members
  • Detail-oriented mindset with a focus on accuracy and data-driven decisions
  • Adaptability to changing priorities, seasonality and fast-paced warehouse environments
  • Conflict resolution and stakeholder management to navigate internal and external escalations
  • Customer-focused approach to ensure service levels and on-time deliveries
  • Continuous improvement mindset; comfortable leading change and driving adoption

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED; vocational training or certificate in logistics/warehouse operations preferred

Preferred Education:

  • Associate degree or higher in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, or Industrial Engineering

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Logistics and Distribution
  • Business Administration
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Operations Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3 – 6+ years in warehouse operations, with at least 1–2 years in a supervisory or lead capacity

Preferred:

  • Proven experience managing inventory control programs in a medium to large distribution center
  • Demonstrated success using WMS/ERP systems and implementing process improvements that improved inventory accuracy or throughput
  • Experience supervising union or non-union warehouse teams and managing seasonal workforce scaling
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