WHAT DOES A DISTRIBUTION SUPERVISOR DO?
Published: Dec 10, 2024 - The Distribution Supervisor leads daily operations of the Order Processing department while ensuring the highest safety standards through employee-led safety programs such as BBS and Take Action. This role drives performance across quality, accuracy, and productivity, fostering a continuous improvement mindset to meet Best in Class benchmarks. Responsibilities include managing KPIs, ensuring compliance with EHS and GMP SOPs, and overseeing employee training while maintaining data integrity across systems like Kronos, SAP, and Manhattan.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Distribution Supervisor
1. Distribution Supervisor Duties
- Procedure Adherence: Follow all Standard Operating Procedures.
- Program Participation: Participate in all reasonable work activities as directed by management, including special initiatives and programs such as Demo and ReNu pick up/drop off activities.
- Training Delivery: Provide in-service training/retraining on products and new processes.
- Training Compliance: Support the completion of all training, including timely submission of training records.
- Evaluation Assistance: Assist in completing annual competency evaluations for employees.
- Performance Input: Provide input on employee performance to the Territory Service Manager (TSM) and assist with HR matters as requested under TSM guidance.
- Scheduling Support: Assist the TSM in determining the service center team schedule to ensure 24/7 coverage for the service territory.
- Technician Coverage: Provide coverage for service technicians during vacations, leaves of absence, etc.
- Managerial Coverage: Provide coverage for the Territory Service Manager.
- On-Call Participation: Participate in on-call and holiday work requirements.
- Values Demonstration: Demonstrate Arjo core values in daily activities.
- Operational Support: Support and facilitate training, scheduling, parts distribution, and completion of all field-based product improvements including Technical Advisories (TANs), Field Corrections, Product Upgrades, etc.
- Technical Assistance: Assist and/or facilitate technical support via phone to field service employees.
- Onsite Support: Assist field service employees with difficult repairs onsite at customer locations and/or service centers.
- Report Preparation: Assist in the preparation and distribution of required reports to the assigned team.
- Maintenance Support: Support the delivery of preventative maintenance and repair services at customer establishments in accordance with established procedures and techniques, using proper tools, test equipment, and replacement parts.
- Installation Assistance: Assist in the installation process at customer locations.
- Relationship Management: Establish and maintain positive and collaborative working relationships with internal and external customers.
2. Distribution Supervisor Details
- Policy Implementation: Ensures all corporate policies, procedures, and guidelines are applied fairly and consistently.
- Team Leadership: Leads and inspires his/her team of associates to ensure daily tasks are executed effectively.
- Performance Understanding: Ensures team members fully understand all Key Performance Indicators and other operational performance targets.
- Communication Promotion: Promotes and encourages open communication to help build a trusting and collaborative work environment.
- Team Training: Trains and coaches new team members to help build a high-performance work culture.
- Safety Advocacy: Promotes safety in the workplace and ensures team members contribute to a safe work environment.
- SOP Training: Ensures team members are thoroughly trained on all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the department.
- Resource Planning: Plans and organizes the use of resources (space, labor, equipment) to ensure daily production plans are achieved.
- Performance Review: Reviews and analyzes departmental performance to the work plan throughout each shift and adjusts resources accordingly.
- Performance Reporting: Reports hourly/daily on departmental performance, variances, and any staff issues to the Senior Operations Manager.
- Continuous Improvement: Provides opportunities for team members to be involved and participate in continuous improvement initiatives.
- Cross-Department Collaboration: Works with other internal departments to establish and grow the core business.
- Revenue Support: Assists the region in achieving revenue goals related to the sale of company products and services.
- Product Demonstration: Demonstrates effective use of products and technical data provided by the company.
- Equipment Repair Assessment: Assesses, provides cost estimates for, and completes repairs for customer-owned medical equipment or customer-damaged rental assets.
3. Distribution Supervisor Responsibilities
- Safety Management: Ensuring the safety of the warehouse is the top priority.
- Tool Provisioning: Ensures that associates have the proper tools for success and are performing job functions safely.
- Distribution Execution: Able to execute all distribution functions associated with order fulfillment including waving, printing, picking, packing, shipping, and troubleshooting.
- Shipment Scheduling: Works closely with Reorder Buying to schedule inbound shipments to meet PO due dates.
- Validation: Validates Bills of Lading before signing for shipments.
- Discrepancy Reporting: Reports PO discrepancies immediately to Finance and Reorder Buying.
- Quality Concern Reporting: Reports any Vendor Quality concerns to Reorder Buying.
- System Updates: Updates all Oracle transactions related to the receipt and stocking of items received.
- Vendor Assessment: Updates Vendor Scorecard-related notes.
- Training Management: Ensures subordinates are trained to perform all tasks related to the job, including RF use.
- Performance Accountability: Holds subordinates accountable for performing tasks accurately and efficiently.
- Inventory Validation: Validates that all Raw Material Inventory, Finished inventory, shipping supplies, and office supplies have accurate on-hand inventory balances in the system.
- Hands-On Leadership: Must be hands-on and willing to jump in to perform tasks when appropriate.
- Zone Administration: Responsible for the administration of the assigned 6S Zones.
- Recycling Management: Responsible for the shipment of recycled corrugate, scrap pallets, and trash.
4. Distribution Supervisor Job Summary
- Safety Leadership: Leads and delivers best-in-class safety standards across all departmental activities, enabling an employee-led safety culture including BBS and Take Action programs.
- Performance Excellence: Drives outstanding performance across quality, accuracy, and productivity, and fosters a continuous improvement mindset to deliver best-in-class results.
- Operational Management: Plans and leads day-to-day operations of the Order Processing department.
- Strategy Development: Works with the distribution manager to develop and deliver labor management strategies that execute operational objectives.
- KPI Management: Develops, measures, and drives the planning and execution of Department Key Performance Indications (KPIs) to meet or exceed Best in Class benchmarks.
- Process Improvement: Analyzes key processes and metrics, identifies and drives continuous improvement initiatives.
- Quality and Safety Communication: Ensures that all Quality Control and Industrial Safety Standards are communicated to all employees.
- Professional Conduct: Demonstrates a high level of professionalism and conduct as expected by Company standards.
- Training and Compliance: Ensures all employees are trained and adhere to EHS and GMP SOPs to contribute to a safe working environment.
- Priority Management: Prioritizes demands based on business needs.
- Policy Implementation: Responsible for implementing and training members on all policies and procedures including SOPs, Health and Safety, WHMIS, Loss Prevention, and Human Resource Policies.
- Record Supervision: Supervises employees who maintain and update records.
- Data Integrity: Ensures the integrity of data systems such as Kronos, SAP, Manhattan, etc.
5. Distribution Supervisor Accountabilities
- Team Leadership: Supervise, lead, and coach warehouse associates while spending time on the operations floor.
- Operational Management: Meet daily operational activities (receive, storage, pick, pack, and ship) and proactively identify and resolve issues.
- Technical Systems Utilization: Utilize multiple technical systems including Labor Management and Warehouse Management tools to support daily operational activities.
- Quality Compliance: Meet quality objectives by ensuring compliance to quality systems and partnering with the Quality function as necessary.
- Financial Accountability: Meet facility and department cost, budget objectives, and business group goals.
- Goal Communication: Support development and communication of departmental goals to achieve effective core metric performance.
- Safety Promotion: Promote, monitor, and ensure a safe work environment and adhere to all safety policies.
- Strategic Leadership: Participate in, and in some cases lead, strategic and business improvement activities.
- Cross-Department Management: Facilitate and manage cross-department communications and initiatives.
- Global Collaboration: Work with global supply chain managers and planning groups to resolve issues and work to improve business processes.
- Logistics Coordination: Acts as a logistics facilitator to ensure all elements of the distribution process are coordinated to meet customer requirements and time constraints.
- HR Administration: Responsible for administering some human resources processes.
- Budget Support: Provide insight and support in department budgeting.
- Equipment Oversight: Oversee the management of the department's mechanical equipment fleet and other equipment.
- Supply Management: Oversee the processing, packaging, and storage of supplies, materials, and equipment.