What the Warehouse Manager Does: Jobs and Skills

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Description of Warehouse Manager Work

What the Warehouse Manager Does

The job of a warehouse manager is to ensure that a warehouse is functioning efficiently. It then manages the staff (such as warehouse workers, loaders, millers and logistics workers) and organizes the resources and processes necessary for the reception, sorting, storage and shipping of goods of all kinds – electronics, clothing, fruits and vegetables, mechanical components, car parts etc.

What does a warehouse manager do?

The warehouse manager oversees and manages all the activities that take place within a warehouse, which summing up are:

Receiving/accepting goods
Control
Storage
Picking
Packing
Shipping

In organizing the work of these functional areas of the warehouse, the manager takes into account quality standards and business goals related to the quantity of goods in transit, speed of operations, compliance with delivery terms, average inventory level and other typical parameters used to measure inventory performance. Efficient warehouse management is, in fact, crucial for the operation of a company’s supply chain, and therefore for the competitiveness of the entire company.

Skills of the Warehouse Manager

The warehouse manager coordinates and manages the staff that operates inside the warehouse – warehouse workers, trolley drivers, logistics workers, shipping office employees and billers. It also interfaces with suppliers and truckers and couriers who deliver the incoming goods and pick up the outbound goods, in coordination with the logistics manager and the production manager.

The warehouse manager organizes daily activities, schedules work shifts and monitors the procedures of receiving, handling, storing, picking/packing and shipping goods. It oversees material inventory activities in transit and storage, ensures the integrity and right placement of items within the warehouse, verifies product match and documentation, and ensures that it maintains an optimal stock level to meet business needs.

Not only that:

A warehouse manager ensures that all workers comply with the safety regulations in place within the warehouse, to minimize the risk of accidents in day-to-day operations.

It rationalizes the use of budget, resources and organizes the physical spaces available (work stations, loading/unloading areas, shelving, machinery, equipment, technology and software) to make handling and storage of goods cheaper and more efficient. If workflows are experiencing problems or slowdowns, the warehouse manager must identify the causes and take prompt action to resolve the issues.

He also has the task of analyzing and controlling the management of the warehouse, to keep track of all the activities and the related costs for the company.

Where does a warehouse manager work?

Any company that has warehouses, storage areas, or distribution centres may need a warehouse manager. In particular, most of the job offers for managers or warehouse coordinators come from manufacturing and industrial production companies, from companies offering logistics and transport services, from commercial companies dealing with wholesale and retail, either through physical stores (such as GDO, large retailers, retail chains) and through the online (e-commerce) channel.

Similar job searches: Clothing Warehouse Manager, Food Warehouse Manager, Pharmaceutical Warehouse Manager, Parts Warehouse Manager

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Tasks of the Warehouse Manager

The main tasks of a warehouse manager are:

Ensure warehouse efficiency
Manage human resources working in the warehouse
Supervise the loading, unloading and handling of goods
Monitor procedures in the warehouse and check stock levels
Identify and resolve issues that slow down your activity
Manage the allocated budget and control inventory costs
Optimize warehouse resources, spaces, and activities
Ensuring compliance with safety standards in the warehouse

How to Become Warehouse Manager? Training and Requirements

How to become a Warehouse Manager?

To become a warehouse manager you usually need to have direct experience of working in the warehouse: in order to fill this position, companies tend to select in-house staff such as warehouse workers and logistics workers with strong management and managerial skills and years of experience within the company logistics.

Requirements for the role include, for example, an in-depth knowledge of the functional areas and procedures typical of a warehouse, the different methodologies of inventory management – reorder point, fixed period, consignment stock, vendor management inventory (VMI), collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) – and stock documentation (such as accompanying invoices, loading and unloading cards, purchase and sales listings).

Also important is the knowledge of the IT and electronic tools used in warehouse management, such as warehouse management software (WMS) and automatic item identification systems (from bar-code to RFID).

The warehouse manager may also be required to hold the driver’s license for the mule, in case it is necessary to conduct and operate forklifts for the loading/unloading of goods, storage and picking.

The frequency of a course for warehouse manager can still be useful to obtain a qualification and acquire additional skills also in the managerial and economic management aspects typical of the position. For example, courses cover topics such as human resource management, forecasting, cost analysis and control, and improved inventory performance.

Skills of a Warehouse Manager

The main skills and qualities of a warehouse manager are:

Competence in the management of warehouse transactions
Knowledge of freight handling, storage, inventory procedures
Responsibility in inventory management
Competence in assessing warehouse performance
Mastery of IT tools and warehouse management software
Knowledge of workplace safety regulations in warehouses
Organizational and management skills
Communication and leadership skills
Goal Orientation
Reliability and accuracy

Warehouse Manager’s Career

A warehouse manager’s career usually starts from entry-level positions such as warehouse worker, logistics clerk or trolley driver, so you can learn the practical and technical aspects of the work and the best practices of the logistics industry.

Once you have reached the position of warehouse manager, you can develop your career by applying for similar roles at larger companies, with a higher volume of managed goods or with an international business. Or, you can specialize in the management of a specific type of goods, for example as a food warehouse manager or chemical warehouse – pharmaceutical, each characterized by different methods of storage and procedures of inventory management.

A further step is to expand their expertise in logistics management and supply chain management to become experts in the efficient management of every aspect of a company’s logistics, for example as a logistics manager or as Supply Chain Manager.

Good Reasons to Work as Warehouse Manager

The profession of warehouse manager is suitable for those who have a solid experience in warehouse logistics and possess the management and managerial skills necessary to coordinate all the resources involved, from human to economic. This is a challenging role that requires taking on high responsibilities: efficient warehouse management is critical to the success of companies in every industry.

The warehouse manager is required to constantly optimize the performance of the warehouse (stock level, material availability…) reducing time and costs, and to solve critical situations in a tight timeframe: for this reason, the work environment can become hectic and stressful. However, responsibilities and stress are rewarded with a salary voucher, which provides frequent bonuses related to the achievement or exceeding of the goals set.