Director Warehouse & Network Optimization

Rite-Hite•Milwaukee, WI

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director Warehouse & Network Optimization leads Rite-Hite’s distributed warehouse and distribution network, including its strategy, operations, people, technology, inventory, and financial performance. The role owns execution of a multi-year warehouse and distribution master plan, evaluates network changes, and leads or co-leads warehouse launches and facility improvements. It also establishes consistent standards, operating routines, metrics, and accountability across the network. The director oversees warehouse operations that support service and field execution, including technician truck stocking and replenishment. The role works closely with Service, Supply Chain, Distribution Operations Excellence, Finance, Real Estate, Legal, Logistics, Manufacturing, Sales, Procurement, and other partners to improve material availability, customer responsiveness, first-time fix performance, and total network cost. The position is based in an office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and requires travel throughout North America of up to approximately 35%, with increased travel possible during major initiatives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Industrial Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related field.
At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience in warehouse operations, distribution, logistics, inventory operations, supply chain, or a related function.
Demonstrated experience leading multi-site or geographically distributed warehouse operations across a large operating footprint.
Direct experience successfully launching, building, or materially scaling at least three warehouse or distribution facilities from the ground up.
Strong understanding of warehouse operations, network design, inventory control, material flow, capacity planning, cycle counting, technician truck replenishment, and operational standards.
Experience with enterprise WMS, TMS, ERP, CRM, and analytics platforms.
Strong analytical and financial skills, including ability to build business cases, manage budgets, and use metrics to drive performance.
Demonstrated ability to lead teams through significant change and create structure, standards, and accountability in evolving environments.
Strategic thinking and ability to translate network strategy into practical operating execution.
Strong attention to detail and a disciplined, process-oriented approach to warehouse operations.
Ability to manage multiple priorities, facilities, and initiatives across a geographically distributed network.
Strong communication, executive presence, and customer-service orientation.
Ability to build trust, influence cross-functional partners, and drive accountability across a distributed organization.
Ability to balance customer responsiveness, operational performance, and cost discipline.
Ability to meet customer site access and safety requirements.
Ability to travel throughout North America up to approximately 35%, with increased travel possible during facility launches, site assessments, or major operational initiatives.
Valid driver’s license.
Ability to pass a background check.
Eligibility to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Salesforce, JDE EnterpriseOne, and Tableau is strongly preferred.
Experience with network design/modeling tools such as Optilogic, Coupa/LLamasoft, or comparable platforms is preferred.
Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Industrial Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related field.
ASCM/APICS certification (CSCP or CPIM), Lean Six Sigma certification, or similar professional credentials.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, develop, and hold regional warehouse coordinators and warehouse operations analyst resources accountable.
Establish role expectations, performance objectives, standard work, accountability standards, and an operating cadence for the warehouse organization.
Foster safety, accountability, collaboration, urgency, continuous improvement, and customer focus; identify training needs and address performance or process gaps.
Own and execute the multi-year warehouse and distribution master plan with Distribution Operations Excellence and Supply Chain leadership.
Assess the warehouse network and identify opportunities to add, consolidate, relocate, expand, or redesign facilities based on demand, service coverage, growth, cost, and performance.
Lead or co-lead greenfield and brownfield warehouse rollouts, including site assessment, real estate input, lease negotiations, operational requirements, layout design, capacity planning, launch readiness, and commissioning.
Partner with Supply Chain, Finance, Real Estate, Legal, and other stakeholders on site selection, capital requirements, and business cases.
Conduct network modeling and trade-off analysis across freight, inventory, facilities, labor, and operating costs; define service boundaries, warehouse capabilities, material-flow standards, and future-state operating models.
Spearhead deployment of warehouse technologies, including modern WMS and TMS.
Oversee warehouse operations supporting service and field execution, including receiving, staging, storage, inventory movement, transfers, replenishment, material organization, and local warehouse support.
Own the technician truck-stocking and replenishment operating model; set truck-stock standards, min/max levels, routines, accuracy expectations, and exception-management processes using service demand and consumption data.
Partner with Service leadership and field teams to resolve truck-stock shortages, excess inventory, transfer needs, and urgent material requirements; optimize inventory placement to improve availability and first-time fix performance.
Drive warehouse performance across safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and inventory; establish network-wide metrics and operating standards.
Own inventory accuracy, cycle counting, stock adjustments, truck-stock accuracy, transfer controls, and inventory-governance practices across the network.
Use operational and financial data to identify root causes, improve performance, and reduce waste, excess handling, emergency purchasing, and avoidable service delays.
Define warehouse technology requirements and partner with business and technology teams to improve WMS, TMS, ERP, CRM, reporting, and inventory capabilities.
Use Salesforce, JDE EnterpriseOne, Tableau, and other enterprise systems to improve inventory visibility, reporting, demand analysis, and decision-making; establish reliable network dashboards.
Develop and manage warehouse operating budgets, capital needs, and cost-improvement opportunities; balance service requirements with inventory, labor, facility, transportation, and operating costs.
Partner with Supply Chain and Logistics leadership on 3PL and 4PL relationships, carrier performance, and external warehousing or transportation solutions as required.
Collaborate with Manufacturing, Sales, Procurement, Service, and Supply Chain to align warehouse capacity and inventory with customer demand and business growth.
Maintain a customer-first focus on responsiveness, material availability, and first-time fix performance; connect warehouse strategy and priorities to customer and field-service outcomes.
Evaluate warehouse processes and standardize, simplify, automate, and improve them; maintain standard work, SOPs, checklists, operating routines, and audit expectations.
Use operational metrics and continuous-improvement methods to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and inventory performance.
Serve as the primary escalation point for warehouse-network issues, inventory concerns, truck-stock issues, facility constraints, material-related service risks, and performance gaps.
Communicate network priorities, operating performance, risks, investment requirements, and improvement initiatives to leadership; build strong cross-functional and local partnerships.
Support and promote a culture of safety, follow Company and OSHA safety policies and procedures, use required PPE, and promptly report hazards, near misses, and incidents.