Logistics Supervisor Machining Operations

The position works closely with Production, Operations Leadership, Material Planning, Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Purchasing, and UAW-represented employees to identify and eliminate barriers to production and continuously improve the material flow process. The Logistics Supervisor is a key leader in the machining operation and is expected to build a culture of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale through strong leadership, accountability, teamwork, and disciplined processes.

Our client, an Automotive company, is looking for a Logistics Supervisor – Machining Operations for their Redford, MI location.
 
Responsibilities:

• The Logistics Supervisor is responsible for leading the safe, accurate, and efficient flow of material throughout the machining operation.
• This position ensures that the right material is available at the right place, at the right time, and in the right quantity to support production requirements while maintaining inventory integrity and controlling cost.
• The Logistics Supervisor is a key leader in the machining operation and is expected to build a culture of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale through strong leadership, accountability, teamwork, and disciplined processes.
• The position works closely with Production, Operations Leadership, Material Planning, Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Purchasing, and UAW-represented employees to identify and eliminate barriers to production and continuously improve the material flow process.
• Core Responsibilities
• Safety
• Provide visible leadership for all logistics and material-handling activities.
• Ensure employees follow all safety policies, procedures, work instructions, and material-handling requirements.
• Identify and eliminate unsafe conditions associated with material movement, storage, trailers, racks, forklifts, pedestrian traffic, and work areas.
• Ensure proper training and qualification of employees performing material-handling activities.
• Immediately address safety concerns and ensure corrective actions are completed.
• Participate in safety investigations and implement effective countermeasures to prevent recurrence.
• Promote a culture where every employee is empowered and expected to stop and address unsafe work.
• Expectation:
• No production requirement takes priority over the safety of our employees.
• Quality & Inventory Accuracy
• Own the accuracy and integrity of logistics processes that affect production inventory.
• Ensure material transactions are completed accurately and in a timely manner.
• Maintain discipline around receiving, issuing, moving, staging, returning, and scrapping material.
• Establish and maintain effective cycle-counting and inventory-control processes.
• Investigate inventory discrepancies and identify the root cause rather than simply correcting the system quantity.
• Partner with Production and Operations to identify process gaps that create inventory inaccuracies.
• Ensure material is properly identified, located, and protected from damage or contamination.
• Support quality containment and traceability requirements when material issues occur.
• Establish standard work that makes the correct process simple and repeatable.
• Expectation: Employees, planners, supervisors, and leadership must be able to trust the inventory and the information in the system.
• Delivery & Material Flow
• Ensure machining departments receive the material required to meet production schedules.
• Establish clear priorities for material movement based on production requirements and customer needs.
• Monitor shortages, hot parts, past-due material, trailers, staging areas, and other potential production constraints.
• Proactively identify material shortages before they impact production.
• Coordinate with Production and Planning to recover from shortages and changing priorities.
• Maintain effective trailer, dock, supermarket, staging, and point-of-use material flow.
• Minimize production downtime caused by logistics-related issues.
• Develop contingency plans for material disruptions, equipment issues, staffing constraints, and supplier-related shortages.
• Maintain clear communication between shifts to ensure seamless material flow.
• Expectation:
• Logistics should anticipate production needs rather than waiting for production to run out of material.
• Cost & Productivity
• Manage logistics resources and labor effectively while meeting production requirements.
• Identify opportunities to reduce material handling, transportation, overtime, premium freight, inventory, damage, and other logistics-related costs.
• Optimize employee assignments and material-handling routes.
• Reduce unnecessary movement, double handling, excess inventory, and non-value-added activity.
• Monitor and improve productivity within the logistics operation.
• Support continuous improvement activities using Lean principles, including standard work, visual management, 5S, PDCA, and problem-solving.
• Use data to identify trends and prioritize improvement opportunities.
• Ensure overtime and additional resources are utilized based on legitimate business needs.
• Balance short-term production demands with long-term cost and process improvements.
• Expectation:
• We will not solve process problems by continually adding labor, overtime, or expediting material.
• Morale, Leadership & Employee Engagement
• Create a respectful, accountable, and team-oriented work environment.
• Lead by example and demonstrate honesty, fairness, consistency, and professionalism.
• Build strong working relationships with UAW-represented employees, union leadership, and management.
• Maintain open communication and address employee concerns promptly and respectfully.
• Apply the collective bargaining agreement, company policies, and work rules consistently and fairly.
• Maintain accurate timecards to ensure employees are paid accurately.
• Accurately and consistently administer overtime in a timely manner and in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement, ensuring fair allocation of overtime opportunities and preventing unnecessary contract or pay violations.
• Develop employees through coaching, training, feedback, and recognition.
• Establish clear expectations and hold employees accountable for following standard work.
• Recognize employees for strong performance and contributions to the team.
• Address conflict early and work collaboratively to resolve issues.
• Promote teamwork between Logistics, Production, Maintenance, Quality, Planning, and other support functions.
• Build an environment where employees understand why their work matters and how their actions affect the customer and the rest of the operation.
• Expectation:
• Employees should know what is expected of them, understand why it matters, and believe they are treated fairly and respectfully.
• UAW & Labor Relations Responsibilities
• Maintain a professional and productive working relationship with UAW-represented employees and union leadership.
• Understand and consistently administer applicable provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
• Work with Labor Relations and UAW leadership to resolve workplace concerns appropriately.
• Maintain accurate documentation related to attendance, performance, training, and other employee matters as required.
• Apply work rules and expectations consistently without favoritism.
• Recognize the difference between an employee issue, a process issue, and a contractual issue and involve the appropriate resources when necessary.
• Build trust through consistent communication, fairness, and follow-through.
• Partner with the UAW to improve safety, quality, productivity, and working conditions rather than treating labor relations as an obstacle to operations.
• Leadership & Daily Management
• The Logistics Supervisor is expected to provide strong daily management of the logistics operation, including:
• Start-of-shift communication and priorities.
• Review of production requirements and material constraints.
• Review of inventory accuracy and shortages.
• Labor and manpower planning.
• Material movement and staging priorities.
• Safety observations and corrective actions.
• Quality and inventory issues.
• Escalation of production risks.
• Shift-to-shift communication.
• Follow-up on open actions and countermeasures.
• The supervisor will establish a management system that allows problems to become visible, understood, owned, and resolved.
• Problem Solving & Continuous Improvement
• Identify recurring logistics problems and lead structured root-cause analysis.
• Focus on eliminating the cause of problems rather than repeatedly reacting to symptoms.
• Establish corrective actions with clear ownership and completion dates.
• Use data to verify whether improvements are effective.
• Standardize successful improvements and ensure they are sustained.
• Engage employees closest to the process in identifying and implementing improvements.
• Challenge processes that create unnecessary complexity, manual work, or opportunities for error.
• Key principle:
• If the same logistics problem continues to happen, the process—not simply the employee—must be investigated.
• Key Performance Measures
• The Logistics Supervisor will be accountable for performance in areas including:
• Safety
• Recordable and lost-time incidents
• Safety observations
• Corrective-action completion
• Material-handling compliance
• Quality
• Inventory accuracy
• Inventory discrepancies
• Material identification/traceability
• Logistics-related quality issues
• Delivery
• Production shortages
• Material availability
• On-time material delivery
• Line downtime caused by logistics
• Trailer/dock performance
• Cost
• Overtime
• Premium freight/expediting
• Labor productivity
• Inventory levels
• Material damage and scrap
• Logistics operating costs
• Morale / People
• Attendance and engagement
• Employee turnover
• Training completion
• Employee development
• Grievance/issue resolution
• Team communication
• Cross-functional teamwork
• Required Leadership Behaviors
• The successful Logistics Supervisor will:
• Lead the process, not just the people.
• Be present where the work happens.
• Address problems instead of working around them.
• Use facts and data to make decisions.
• Hold themselves and others accountable.
• Communicate clearly and consistently.
• Treat employees with dignity and respect.
• Work collaboratively with the UAW.
• Develop people rather than simply directing them.
• Follow through on commitments.
• Escalate problems early rather than allowing surprises.
• Create simple, repeatable processes.
• Never compromise safety for production.

 
Requirements:

• Leadership or supervisory experience in a manufacturing, machining, logistics, or material-control environment.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing material flow and inventory control.
• Experience working in a unionized manufacturing environment preferred.
• Working knowledge of inventory management systems and production planning systems.
• Strong problem-solving and root-cause-analysis skills.
• Ability to interpret production, inventory, and performance data.
• Strong communication and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to prioritize competing production and material requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to lead hourly employees and build an accountable team culture.
• Ability to work effectively across Production, Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Planning, Purchasing, and Labor Relations.
• Overall Accountability
• The Logistics Supervisor is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the logistics operation supports production instead of becoming a constraint to production.
• Success in this role means:
• People are safe. Material is accurate. Production has what it needs. Costs are controlled. Problems are solved at the root cause. Employees are treated with respect. The UAW and management work as partners. And the operation gets better every day.

 
Why Should You Apply?

• Health Benefits
• Referral Program
• Excellent growth and advancement opportunities