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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Warehouse Team Manager

💰 $55,000 - $85,000

OperationsLogisticsWarehouse Management

🎯 Role Definition

As a Warehouse Team Manager you will be responsible for supervising and developing front-line warehouse staff, managing daily receiving, storage, picking, packing and shipping activities, and continuously improving operational efficiency and safety. You will act as the primary point of contact for warehouse performance metrics, staffing and scheduling, inventory accuracy, and process standardization. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong communication, analytical ability, and familiarity with WMS/ERP systems and warehouse best practices.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Warehouse Associate / Order Selector
  • Shift Supervisor / Lead Hand
  • Inventory Control Specialist

Advancement To:

  • Warehouse Manager / Operations Manager
  • Distribution Center Manager
  • Supply Chain Manager / Logistics Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Logistics Coordinator
  • Inventory Analyst
  • Shipping & Receiving Supervisor

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and supervise a team of warehouse associates, team leads and temporary staff to ensure accurate and timely picking, packing, staging and shipping of customer orders while maintaining high morale and low turnover.
  • Plan, assign and monitor daily work schedules, shifts and break coverage to meet service level agreements (SLAs) and throughput targets during normal operations and peak seasons.
  • Ensure inventory accuracy through ownership of cycle counting programs, root cause analysis of discrepancies, reconciliation, and continuous improvement of counting processes.
  • Manage receiving operations including dock scheduling, cross-docking, quality inspections, put-away procedures and reconciliation of inbound shipments against purchase orders and advanced shipping notices (ASNs).
  • Oversee order fulfillment operations with focus on on-time shipments, order accuracy, proper labeling, documentation and compliance with customer-specific requirements and carrier instructions.
  • Maintain compliance with OSHA, DOT, and company safety policies by conducting regular safety inspections, enforcing PPE and safe equipment operation, facilitating safety training, incident investigations and corrective action plans.
  • Drive performance by monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as order accuracy, on-time shipments, dock-to-stock cycle time, picking productivity, labor utilization and shrinkage, and present weekly/monthly reports to senior management.
  • Administer personnel processes including hiring recommendations, onboarding, training and development programs, performance reviews, coaching, disciplinary actions and recognition programs to build a high-performing team.
  • Manage and optimize labor costs through demand forecasting, shift planning, overtime control, and implementation of productivity improvement initiatives and staffing models.
  • Implement and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions and process documentation for all warehouse functions to ensure consistent execution and compliance.
  • Operate and manage Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and interface with ERP systems to troubleshoot system issues, maintain master data, and ensure correct transaction flows and inventory visibility.
  • Coordinate with procurement, planning and inbound transportation to resolve supplier discrepancies, expedite critical inbound shipments and minimize production or order fulfillment delays.
  • Work with carriers and 3PL partners to optimize outbound shipping lanes, carrier rates, appointment scheduling and claims resolution to reduce freight costs and improve lead times.
  • Lead continuous improvement and Lean initiatives (5S, Kaizen, poka-yoke) to reduce waste, increase throughput, improve ergonomics and lower operational costs across the facility.
  • Oversee maintenance, calibration and safe operation of material handling equipment (forklifts, pallet jacks, conveyors, scales) and coordinate with maintenance teams and vendors for preventative maintenance and repairs.
  • Manage returns processing (RMA), quarantine areas and disposition workflows to minimize inventory write-offs and ensure rapid resolution of customer or supplier returns.
  • Ensure accurate and timely documentation for audits, inventory counts, DOT manifests, hazardous materials handling and other regulatory or customer-required records.
  • Resolve escalated operational issues, customer complaints and shipment exceptions by working cross-functionally with customer service, sales and supply chain teams to identify root causes and corrective action.
  • Develop and manage departmental budgets and capital requests; identify cost-saving opportunities across labor, packaging, freight and warehouse consumables.
  • Plan and execute peak season strategies, promotional campaigns and new product introductions by aligning resources, capacity and process changes to expected volume spikes.
  • Mentor and develop future leaders by creating structured development plans, delegating increasing responsibility and enabling cross-training across functional areas.
  • Monitor and improve warehouse security, loss prevention programs and cycle audit controls to protect company assets and reduce shrinkage.

Secondary Functions

  • Support cross-functional analytics and ad-hoc operational reporting requests (inventory trends, throughput analysis, claims metrics) to inform business decisions.
  • Contribute to the organization’s continuous improvement roadmap by piloting new technologies (mobile scanning, auto-id, automation) and measuring ROI.
  • Collaborate with IT and systems teams on WMS/ERP configuration, testing and go-live activities for process changes or system upgrades.
  • Represent the warehouse in customer or supplier escalation meetings, audits and site visits, providing transparent operational status and improvement plans.
  • Participate in safety committees, ergonomics reviews and training program design to foster a proactive safety culture.
  • Support sustainability and packaging reduction initiatives by recommending material and process changes that reduce waste and cost.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Warehouse Management System (WMS) operation and configuration experience (e.g., Manhattan, Blue Yonder/JDA, HighJump, Oracle WMS).
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) exposure (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and basic understanding of inventory master data and transaction flows.
  • Strong inventory control techniques: cycle counting, reconciliation, root-cause analysis and shrink mitigation strategies.
  • Shipping and receiving processes, carrier management, freight documentation and familiarity with LTL and TL freight operations.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Excel for reporting, pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, basic macros and data visualization.
  • Labor planning, workforce scheduling, productivity modeling and experience using workforce management or labor standards tools.
  • Understanding of OSHA, DOT, hazardous materials handling, and regulatory compliance relevant to warehouse operations.
  • Material handling equipment knowledge: powered industrial trucks, conveyors, racking systems and preventative maintenance coordination.
  • Experience implementing Lean/Kaizen, 5S, Six Sigma or continuous improvement methodologies to reduce cycle time and cost.
  • Experience with barcode/RFID systems, mobile scanning devices and automated data capture technologies.
  • Budgeting and cost control experience: managing headcount budgets, overtime, packaging, and freight spend.
  • Basic QMS/audit readiness knowledge for support of customer audits and internal compliance checks.

Soft Skills

  • Proven people leadership: coaching, developing and motivating hourly associates and team leads.
  • Strong communication skills: clear, concise reporting to senior management and effective frontline direction to associates.
  • Problem-solving mindset: ability to analyze root causes, implement countermeasures and measure sustained improvement.
  • Time management and prioritization under high-volume, time-sensitive conditions.
  • Conflict resolution and negotiation skills for managing internal disputes and external vendor/carrier issues.
  • Attention to detail and commitment to process and documentation accuracy.
  • Customer-focused orientation with the ability to balance service levels and cost efficiency.
  • Change management capabilities to lead adoption of new processes and technologies.
  • Data-driven decision making: interpret KPIs and translate insights into operational changes.
  • Resilience and adaptability during peak seasons, system outages or sudden volume fluctuations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; required.

Preferred Education:

  • 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
  • Operations Management
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Business Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years in warehouse or distribution operations with at least 1–3 years in a supervisory or lead role.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of progressive leadership experience in distribution centers, e-commerce fulfillment, or third-party logistics (3PL) environments.
  • Demonstrated experience managing WMS and ERP-based workflows, driving KPI improvement, and leading Lean/continuous improvement projects.
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