WHAT DOES A DISTRIBUTION CENTER SUPERVISOR DO?

Published: Dec 06, 2024 - The Distribution Center Supervisor oversees shipping/receiving, inventory control, and capacity planning, ensuring alignment with business objectives. This role drives operations strategy, supports customer needs for delivery and quality, and builds functional excellence by leading teams and projects. Additionally, the supervisor fosters a productive team environment, ensuring timely product delivery and maintaining housekeeping standards within the distribution center.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Distribution Center Supervisor

1. Distribution Center Supervisor Duties

  • Leadership: Lead and manage a team of 30 to 50 part-time and full-time associates
  • Staff Management: Monitor staff levels to ensure the flow of merchandise through the department to meet deadlines and goals to maximize throughput and productivity
  • Goal Setting: Develop performance goals and objectives to achieve desired results in productivity, teamwork, quality, safety and job knowledge
  • Communication: Effectively communicate policies while maintaining compliance and consistency in order to take corrective action
  • Budget Monitoring: Monitor budget and payroll information of departments
  • Process Improvement: Create solutions to identify improvements in processes
  • Cost Management: Contribute cost-saving ideas on a continuous basis
  • Record Keeping: Maintain associate records (time statements, PA’s, PTO and attendance tracking, etc.) in partnership with administrative teams
  • Safety Compliance: Support all safety measures and OSHA compliance to ensure a safe work environment for all associates

2. Distribution Center Supervisor Details

  • Leadership: Lead the activities related to shipping/receiving, capacity planning, inventory control, and site functions within Resideo
  • Process Management: Develop, implement, and maintain policies, procedures, and material control systems
  • Customer Support: Support the Distribution Centers to meet the customer needs in terms of delivery, inventory, cost, and quality
  • Functional Excellence: Accountable for building up functional excellence to support business objectives
  • Project Management: Lead project teams within the business
  • Strategy Execution: Drive operations strategy and vision execution to enable business value and productivity
  • Operational Efficiency: Keep ADI distribution centers moving by ensuring product is received, shipped, and accurately delivered on time, every time
  • Team Development: Empower team members to achieve business objectives by hiring the right people, and developing, coaching, and retaining top talent
  • Team Building: Create a team environment for our employees through motivation, candid feedback, positive feedback, and consistent communication
  • Cross-functional Communication: Communicate effectively across departments within DC to achieve daily operational goals
  • Housekeeping Standards: Ensure housekeeping standards are met on a daily basis

3. Distribution Center Supervisor Responsibilities

  • Leadership: Provide clear and consistent leadership in motivating, organizing, and encouraging teamwork to strive for continuous improvement and ensure productivity targets are met or exceeded
  • Logistics Coordination: Plan, coordinate, and monitor the receipt, order assembly, and dispatch of goods
  • Operational Efficiency: Assume a holistic viewpoint of Canadian warehousing operations to identify efficiencies and improvements to work practices and arrangements and raise opportunities for senior management
  • Stakeholder Management: Develop business relationships with third-party supply chain partners
  • Vendor Liaison: Liaise with third-party supply chain partners to ensure collection and delivery are made in full and on time
  • Inventory Management: Ensure that the highest levels of inventory integrity are maintained through perpetual inventory processes, stock takes, and other IRA measures as required
  • Process Improvement: Develop systems, processes, and approaches to drive continuous improvement opportunities across all areas within the warehouse to ensure timely fulfillment and dispatch of all orders within the constraints of budgetary targets
  • Staff Management: Organise staff recruitment, rostering, and training, and drive engaged and empowered staff performance
  • Task Management: Complete any other reasonable tasks assigned by the Head of Logistics & Distribution
  • Safety Culture: Promote a culture of safety and putting our customers first
  • Staffing: Ensure that the work area is appropriately staffed for assigned shifts and that production, quality, and safety standards are maintained
  • Coaching and Training: Provide coaching and training to assigned employees on department processes and systems

4. Distribution Center Supervisor Job Summary

  • Workload Management: Organize the workload, identify priorities, and ensure high-quality of work
  • Delivery and Cost Management: Accountable for meeting on-time delivery and reducing cost per unit
  • Policy Compliance: Ensure team compliance with all corporate and departmental work policies and procedures
  • Problem Solving: Effectively resolve operational challenges to achieve specified productivity and operational targets
  • Escalation: Escalate matters to Team Managers
  • Reporting: Assist Team Manager in completing necessary shift and productivity reports
  • Continuous Improvement: Sustain the outcome of Kaizen events
  • Collaboration: Participate and contribute to meetings
  • Safety Awareness: Demonstrate safety awareness in the work environment
  • Health & Safety Compliance: Ensure health & safety guidelines are followed by all team members
  • Safety Audits: Participate in the monthly health & safety audits
  • Incident Management: Responsible for recording and investigating all incidents/accidents and promoting a safe work environment

5. Distribution Center Supervisor Accountabilities

  • Team Building: Act as a team builder and create environments to sustain highly motivated teams
  • Recruitment and Training: Participate in the recruitment process and lead employee training and development
  • Workload Planning: Assist Team Manager in day-to-day workload planning and staffing requirements
  • Skill Development: Proactively acquire information to develop new skills to improve job performance
  • Change Management: Actively participate in the implementation of any operational changes
  • Leadership: Lead by example by following all Indigo policies and procedures
  • Communication: Work in a team environment, and communicate effectively with all levels of personnel while maintaining an adequate level of confidentiality
  • Performance Coaching: Provide ongoing feedback and daily performance coaching to team members
  • Appraisal Participation: Participate in annual performance appraisals with team managers
  • Disciplinary Actions: Effectively conduct and deliver disciplinary actions
  • Cultural Alignment: Understand/demonstrate in a manner that promotes, and is aligned with, Indigo's Mission, Vision, Beliefs, and DC Team Norms
  • Safety Promotion: Actively promote a culture of a safe work environment
Relevant Information
What Does A Distribution Center Manager Do?