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Warehouse Operations Manager

Central Garden & Pet

Milwaukee, WI

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JOB DETAILS
JOB TYPE
Full-time
LOCATION
Milwaukee, WI
POSTED
5 days ago

Description

Do you love pets and love working in a fast-paced environment? Our growing company is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to lead the Pet Distribution business at our Milwaukee, WI location. The Pet Distribution team works together to supply our customers with the nation’s top brands of pet supplies like Hill's Pet Nutrition, Nylabone, Kaytee, and Aqueon. In this role you will be responsible for overseeing all activities including order selecting and shipping. If you have experience leading others, are committed to safety and can create and support a culture of continuous improvement, this may be the job for you! 
 
Full-time employees enjoy excellent benefits including medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, short-term and long-term disability, free life insurance, tuition reimbursement, product discounts and more! You will play an important role in helping the organization achieve our goals of providing a high level of customer satisfaction.  
 
JOB SUMMARY
Responsible for the supervisor of exempt and non-exempt administrative, warehouse and delivery personnel at our Distribution Center. Responsible for ensuring that all activities for the Distribution Center are completed in a timely, accurate and cost-effective manner. This includes receiving, warehousing, shipping and delivery of pet foods and accessories as well as the direct-to-consumer operation within the facility. Also, is responsible for the hiring, training and development of warehouse and transportation personnel. This position has full P&L expense responsibility for the facility and is expected to meet all established KPI’s. Implementation, enforcement, and management of company and vendor policies and programs is also required; this includes but not limited to safety and AIB.
 
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
  • Manage and perform all personnel management activities, including recruitment, hiring, training, directing, developing, scheduling, and disciplining employees. Ensure timely, accurate and constructive feedback and transactional items for employees. This includes providing new hires with a comprehensive onboarding and training process, completion of new hire 30-60-90 day performance reviews, continual coaching and employee development, review, approval, and submission of hourly employee timesheets and bonuses, attendance tracking, listening and addressing employee concerns and following up as needed, issuing corrective action as warranted, reporting work injuries, and processing employment termination paperwork upon approval. Will notify management and the human resources department of any high-level concerns including but not limited to: employee complaints or concerns relating to harassment, discrimination, accommodation, unethical practices.  
  • Create and promote a culture of safety, productivity and process efficiency where employees are developed and know how their work is evaluated and fits into the big picture.
  • Maintain knowledge of systems, processes, and general business activities to execute root cause analysis, solve problems, hold teams accountable, and support hands-on functions. Own the implementation of new processes and tools. Lead training and ensure operations team proficiency.
  • Lead operations team with a Continuous Improvement mindset. Work with managers, supervisors, and cross functional teams to develop, implement, and administer policies, procedures, and controls to increase safety, service level, profits, employee engagement/retention, and efficiency across all departments.
  • Plan, organize, and implement a long-term strategic plan to maintain distribution efficiency and leadership stability with growth of the business. 
  • Partner with Warehouse Managers, Warehouse Supervisors, Transportation Manager and other Department Managers to meet site, business unit and company objectives. Actively contribute to the leadership team by taking ownership of key projects or activities and mobilizing cross-functional team members to deliver goals.
  • Partner with the finance team to develop budget and establish cost-control measures to operate in a cost-effective and profitable manner. Responsible for achieving monthly and annual budget goals.
  • Communicate with external and internal stakeholders; including sales, customer experience, customers, human resources and employees in a professional and timely manner to solve problems and share information.
  • Meet all KPI requirements including but not limited to: fill rate, on time delivery, inventory accuracy, employee retention and turnover.
  • Implement and maintain effective inventory control measures for Central Pet, Hills and Direct-to-Consumer product lines.
  • Meet all requirements of Direct-to-Consumer partner Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
  • Develop, implement and administer a comprehensive pest management program to ensure safety and integrity of pet food products. This program should be maintained in accordance with Central Pet Distribution, Hill's Pet Nutrition, AIB and FISA guidelines.
  • Negotiate and partner with outside vendors and freight carriers on maintenance and purchases to maintain low shipping rates and control expenses. Manage supply vendor contract communications, contacts and relationships.
  • Ensure operations are compliant with federal, state and local laws and regulations, including OSHA and the Department of Transportation.
  • Implement a Safety Committee at the site and promote a safety culture, which includes scheduling quarterly meetings and walk-through inspections of the facility, following up on any safety concerns, electing safety committee members on an annual basis and ensuring the safety of all employees, guests, vendors, etc.
  • Ensure timely and accurate completion of all reports and necessary paperwork related to customers, Hill's and government agencies.
  • Coordinate order processing and customer delivery (daily, weekly, monthly and annual) activities for Hill's Pet Nutrition , including all SAP activities, daily lot and inventory control, monthly inventory reconciliation, cycle count program, physical inventory count, etc.
  • Oversee maintenance of the facility, material handling equipment and vehicle fleet. Communicate any property issues to Director and/or property manager.
  • Develop, implement and maintain an integrated route delivery system for Central Pet Distribution and Hill's Pet Nutrition customers.
  • Communicate any operational or personnel issues with the Director or VP; include Human Resources on personnel concerns.
  • Regular attendance and onsite presence including an off-shift presence at sites with multiple work shifts.
  • Responsible for maintaining a constant state of compliance with all quality systems for the warehouse including, but not limited to, AIB standards, compliance with GDPs (Good Distribution Practices) and all employee training required to support quality systems. This includes managing quality processes such as hold requests and mock recoveries when required.
  • Complete and submit productivity and metric reporting in a timely manner.
  • Recommend capital improvement requests.
  • Know, understand and incorporate our Company’s Values into all aspects of the job.
  • Annual evaluations of managers and review process.
  • Other duties as directed by manager.
 
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent distribution and transportation management experience.
  • 7+ years of progressive distribution operations management experience in a fast-paced, high volume distribution environment overseeing order fulfillment, delivery, safety, inventory control in a sales driven organization. Experience in a direct-to-consumer operation is a plus.
  • Strong leadership and management skills.
  • Must have clear, concise, written and oral communication skills.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to interact effectively with all levels of the organization.
  • Strong work ethic with a "can do" attitude; ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
  • A hands-on, high-energy individual with excellent presentation skills.
  • Strong analytical, conceptual and problem solving skills and possess an extreme attention to detail.
  • Detailed knowledge of distribution operations including receiving, stocking, order filling, replenishment, shipping and inventory control.
  • Comprehensive understanding of OSHA/DOT regulations/compliance.
  • Ability to work closely with customers, service providers, facility management, and corporate supply chain members to develop innovative performance improvement and cost reduction solutions to ongoing operating concerns.
  • Experience with a Warehouse Management System (WMS) and RF experience.
  • Must have excellent computer skills in MS Office; Advanced Excel skills required.
  • Ability to work in a constant state of alertness and safe manner.
 
QUALIFICATIONS PREFERRED
  • Previous forklift certification.  
  • Previous delivery, routing, material handling experience and warehouse sanitation programs. 
  • Previous experience in a continuous improvement environment, Lean or Six Sigma
 
This is not intended to be an exhaustive set of duties, responsibilities, and qualifications, but acknowledgement of the main duties, responsibilities, and job qualifications of this position.  Individuals will be required to perform other functions as required by management. Reasonable accommodation will be offered to qualified applicants or employees as needed.
 
POSITION INFORMATION
  • This position will work Monday - Friday, normal business hours but will be expected to be flexible based on the needs of a two shift operation.
 
BENEFITS PACKAGE & EMPLOYEE PROGRAMS
  • Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
  • Free Life and Disability Insurance
  • Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
  • 401k with company match
  • Paid vacation and holidays
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Access to thousands of free online courses
  • Product discounts
  • Education Assistance (both college degrees and professional)
  • Referral program with cash bonus
  • Access to on-demand pay
  • Paid Parental Leave
 
Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) (NASDAQ: CENTA) is a leading consumer goods company in the pet and garden industries. Guided by the belief that home is central to life, the Company's purpose is to proudly nurture happy and healthy homes. For over 45 years, its innovative and trusted solutions have helped lawns grow greener, gardens bloom bigger, pets live healthier, and communities grow stronger. Central is home to a diversified portfolio of market-leading brands including Amdro®, Aqueon®, Best Bully Sticks®, Cadet®, C&S®, Farnam®, Ferry-Morse®, Kaytee®, Nylabone®, Pennington®, Sevin® and Zoёcon®. With fiscal 2025 net sales of $3.1 billion, Central has strong manufacturing and logistics capabilities supported by a passionate, entrepreneurial growth culture. The Company is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and employs over 6,000 people, primarily across North America. Visit www.central.com to learn more.
 
We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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About the Company

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Central Garden & Pet