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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wholesale Establishment Manager

💰 $55,000 - $95,000

OperationsWholesaleManagementSales

🎯 Role Definition

The Wholesale Establishment Manager leads day-to-day wholesale operations for a distribution or wholesale business, owning customer acquisition and retention, inventory and pricing strategy, vendor relationships, logistics coordination, and financial performance (including P&L responsibility). This role combines sales leadership with operational rigor to ensure on-time fulfillment, high service levels, regulatory compliance, and scalable processes that grow revenue and margin.

Key SEO / skill phrases: wholesale manager, wholesale operations, B2B sales, inventory management, vendor relations, P&L ownership, distribution logistics, account management, route-to-market strategy.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Assistant Wholesale Manager or Operations Supervisor
  • Key Account Manager / B2B Sales Representative
  • Logistics Supervisor or Inventory Control Specialist

Advancement To:

  • Regional Wholesale Manager / Area Director
  • Director of Distribution or Head of Wholesale Sales
  • VP of Sales, Logistics, or Commercial Operations

Lateral Moves:

  • Supply Chain Manager / Logistics Manager
  • Category Manager / Merchandising Manager
  • National Account Manager / Business Development Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own full P&L accountability for the wholesale establishment or assigned territory, setting revenue, margin, and cost targets and executing plans to achieve or exceed those financial goals.
  • Develop and execute a territory or account-level commercial strategy that grows B2B sales, increases wallet share with existing customers, and opens new channel and key account opportunities.
  • Manage end-to-end inventory planning and replenishment processes to maintain optimal stock levels, minimize stockouts and excess, and achieve target turns and fill rates.
  • Lead a cross-functional team (sales reps, warehouse leads, customer service) to deliver consistent order fulfillment, maintain service-level agreements, and run efficient daily operations.
  • Negotiate pricing, payment terms, and contract agreements with wholesale customers and vendors to maximize margin while preserving competitive positioning.
  • Build and maintain long-term relationships with key customers, distributors, and trade partners through regular business reviews, joint business planning, and value-added support.
  • Oversee inbound and outbound logistics coordination—partnering with carriers, 3PLs and internal logistics—to ensure timely deliveries and cost-efficient routing.
  • Implement and monitor merchandising, promotion, and pricing plans at wholesale level to drive demand, manage trade spend, and support new product introductions.
  • Use data-driven forecasting and demand planning (historical sales, seasonality, POS data) to align purchasing and production needs across the supply chain.
  • Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal regulations applicable to the establishment (licensing, food safety, labeling, workplace safety), and maintain appropriate documentation and permits.
  • Manage onboarding, training, KPI coaching, performance reviews, and development plans for direct reports; recruit and retain top wholesale talent.
  • Control operating expenses, vendor costs, and shrink through process improvements, cost negotiations, and robust controls in receiving, picking, and dispatch.
  • Implement and maintain ERP/wholesale systems (inventory module, order-management, CRM) to streamline workflows, reduce manual intervention, and increase accuracy.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives—lean processes, SOP development, cycle counting, and root-cause analysis—to boost productivity and reduce errors.
  • Coordinate promotional logistics and trade marketing execution with sales, marketing, and supply chain to maximize campaign ROI and on-shelf availability.
  • Lead contract renewals, service-level agreements, and dispute resolution for accounts; escalate and resolve complex commercial issues quickly and professionally.
  • Prepare weekly and monthly business reviews, KPI dashboards and executive summaries for senior leadership highlighting sales performance, inventory health, and operational risks.
  • Design and execute customer segmentation and pricing strategies that balance competitiveness with margin protection across wholesale channels.
  • Manage returns, credits, and warranty or claim processes, ensuring timely resolution, accurate accounting adjustments, and minimal impact on customer relationships.
  • Oversee safety, loss prevention, and quality control programs in the warehouse/establishment to protect assets and ensure product integrity.
  • Collaborate with product development and procurement on assortment rationalization, NPI (new product introduction) launch plans, and lifecycle management for wholesale SKUs.
  • Lead seasonal planning and capacity planning for peak periods (holidays, promotions), ensuring adequate labor, inventory buffers, and logistics capacity.

Secondary Functions

  • Support development of regional or national pricing models and promotional calendars by sharing on-the-ground market intelligence and customer feedback.
  • Participate in cross-functional project teams (ERP upgrades, warehouse automation, channel expansion) to represent wholesale operational needs and constraints.
  • Maintain up-to-date competitor and market trend analyses to inform pricing, product assortment, and contract negotiations.
  • Facilitate ad-hoc analytic requests and commercial deep-dives for Finance, Sales Strategy, and Executive teams to support decision-making.
  • Contribute to sustainability and CSR initiatives related to packaging, transportation efficiency, and supplier standards.
  • Serve as the escalation point for major customer incidents, collaborating with quality assurance, logistics and finance for resolution.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • P&L Management: demonstrated experience owning revenue, gross margin, and operating expense targets for a wholesale or distribution business.
  • B2B Sales & Key Account Management: territory planning, pipeline management, contract negotiation, and large account selling.
  • Inventory & Demand Planning: safety stock calculation, reorder point logic, SKU rationalization, and inventory turns optimization.
  • ERP & Order Management Systems: hands-on experience with systems such as SAP, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, or equivalent; ability to run order-to-cash workflows.
  • CRM Tools: proficiency with Salesforce, HubSpot, or comparable CRM platforms for account tracking and sales reporting.
  • Data Analysis & Reporting: advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP), KPI dashboards, and familiarity with BI tools (Power BI, Tableau).
  • Logistics & Distribution Management: knowledge of 3PL, carrier negotiation, routing optimization, and freight cost management.
  • Contract & Vendor Management: negotiating master agreements, SLAs, and managing vendor performance metrics.
  • Trade Promotion & Pricing Strategy: developing and measuring promotional effectiveness and margin impact.
  • Regulatory Compliance: familiarity with relevant health, safety, labeling and trade regulations for the product category.

Soft Skills

  • Leadership and people management: coaching, performance management and team development.
  • Strong communication: clear stakeholder updates, negotiation, and cross-functional collaboration.
  • Strategic thinking: ability to set and execute multi-quarter plans aligned to commercial objectives.
  • Customer-centric mindset: responsiveness, empathy, and problem ownership for B2B customers.
  • Analytical problem solving: root-cause analysis and data-informed decision making.
  • Time management and prioritization under competing deadlines.
  • Conflict resolution and diplomacy with customers, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
  • Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced, seasonal operations.
  • Detail orientation combined with an ability to scale processes.
  • Change management: leading process or system changes with minimal disruption.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Sales, or related field (or equivalent experience).

Preferred Education:

  • MBA or advanced degree in Supply Chain, Operations, or Commercial Management preferred for senior roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Logistics & Transportation
  • Business Administration
  • Sales & Marketing
  • Finance / Accounting

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 5–10 years of progressive experience in wholesale, distribution, or large-scale retail operations with at least 2–4 years in a supervisory/manager role.

Preferred:

  • Experience managing a P&L and leading cross-functional teams in a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), foodservice, electronics, or industrial distribution environment.
  • Demonstrated success scaling wholesale channels, improving inventory turns, and increasing account profitability.
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