WMS / Distribution Systems Manager

Position Summary

Seeking an experienced Warehouse Management System (WMS) Manager to support our distribution center in Tifton, Georgia. This role will serve as the primary on-site owner of the warehouse management system and a key liaison between Distribution Center Operations, IT, and our technology and automation partners.

The WMS Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day health, support, configuration, and continuous improvement of the WMS environment while ensuring that warehouse technology effectively supports receiving, inventory, replenishment, picking, packing, shipping, and fulfillment operations.

This position requires a strong combination of warehouse operations knowledge and technical WMS expertise. The ideal candidate understands how a distribution center operates, can identify and troubleshoot system and process issues, and can translate operational requirements into effective system solutions.

The role will also play an important part in the continued stabilization and optimization of the recently implemented WMS and warehouse automation environment.

Key Responsibilities

WMS Ownership & Operational Support

• Serve as the primary on-site owner and subject matter expert for the Tifton Distribution Center's WMS environment.
• Provide daily support for warehouse operations, including receiving, inventory, replenishment, waving, allocation, picking, packing and shipping processes.
• Monitor WMS performance and proactively identify issues affecting warehouse productivity, inventory accuracy or order flow.
• Troubleshoot operational issues and determine whether root cause is related to the WMS, integrations, automation, data, hardware or warehouse processes.
• Manage system configurations and operational parameters in partnership with IT and WMS vendors.
• Support peak-volume operations and ensure WMS processes are prepared to handle changing business volumes and requirements.
• Escalate complex issues to technology vendors when necessary and manage issues through resolution.

Warehouse Automation & Technology

• Support the integration and operation of WMS processes with warehouse automation technologies, including Exotec goods-to-person automation and Tompkins T-Sort.
• Work closely with Operations, IT and automation vendors to troubleshoot issues affecting order routing, picking, sorting and fulfillment.
• Monitor system interfaces and data flows between the WMS, ERP, automation platforms and other distribution technologies.
• Support RF devices, printers, scanners, tablets and other technology used within warehouse operations.
• Coordinate with IT infrastructure teams and technology vendors when network, device or infrastructure issues affect DC operations.

Process Improvement & Optimization

• Partner closely with Distribution Center leadership to identify opportunities to improve warehouse processes, productivity and system utilization.
• Analyze order flow, inventory movement, wave performance and warehouse productivity to identify bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement.
• Recommend WMS configuration changes and process improvements based on operational data and business requirements.
• Develop and maintain reporting and dashboards related to warehouse performance, system health and operational KPIs.
• Use SQL and other reporting tools, where appropriate, to investigate issues and provide actionable operational insights.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives designed to increase throughput, improve inventory accuracy and reduce manual intervention.

System Changes, Testing & Deployment

• Gather and document business requirements for WMS enhancements and process changes.
• Develop test scenarios and coordinate functional and regression testing for WMS configuration changes, integrations and software releases.
• Work with IT, Operations and vendors to validate changes prior to production deployment.
• Coordinate deployment activities and provide post-deployment support.
• Maintain appropriate change control and documentation for WMS configuration and process changes.

Training & Documentation

• Develop and maintain WMS process documentation, troubleshooting guides and standard operating procedures.
• Train warehouse supervisors, managers, super-users and other associates on WMS functionality and process changes.
• Build WMS knowledge within the Distribution Center to improve first-level support and reduce dependency on external vendors.
• Ensure system processes and configurations are documented sufficiently to support operational continuity.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Act as the primary liaison between Distribution Center Operations and corporate IT for WMS-related issues and initiatives.
• Work closely with DC leadership to prioritize system issues and improvement opportunities based on operational impact.
• Coordinate with WMS, automation, carrier and hardware vendors as required.
• Participate in technology planning for future distribution center capabilities and operational growth.
• May lead or provide direction to WMS analysts, super-users or other DC technology support resources as the function evolves.

Qualifications

• 7 years of experience supporting Warehouse Management Systems in a high-volume distribution environment.
• Strong hands-on understanding of distribution center operations and fulfillment processes.
• Experience supporting major WMS platforms such as Manhattan, Blue Yonder/JDA, Körber/HighJump, Infor, SAP EWM, Intra1 or similar enterprise WMS solutions.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting WMS and warehouse process issues in a production environment.
• Experience with WMS configuration, testing, upgrades, deployments and post-go-live stabilization.
• Strong understanding of receiving, inventory control, replenishment, waving, allocation, picking, packing, shipping and fulfillment processes.
• Experience working with ERP-to-WMS integrations and system interfaces.
• Experience with RF devices, scanners, printers and other warehouse technology.
• Experience working with warehouse automation systems strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of SQL and experience analyzing warehouse data strongly preferred.
• Experience developing operational reports and KPIs.
• Strong vendor-management and issue-escalation skills.
• Excellent communication skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively across Operations and IT teams.

Preferred Experience

• Experience supporting a consumer goods, apparel, retail or direct-to-consumer distribution environment.
• Experience supporting both wholesale and ecommerce/DTC fulfillment.
• Experience with automated picking, goods-to-person, sortation or other warehouse automation technologies.
• Experience with Exotec, Tompkins Robotics/T-Sort or Hy-Tek Intra1 WMS
• Experience supporting a WMS implementation, major upgrade or post-go-live stabilization.
• Previous leadership experience within Distribution Center Operations is highly desirable.
• Experience managing or mentoring WMS analysts, super-users or operational support teams.

Hiring Manager's Key Requirements*

• Distribution center experience with any major WMS (Manhattan, Körber, Infor, etc.)
• Exposure to warehouse automation systems
• Understanding of ERP/WMS integrations and ability to troubleshoot issues between systems
• Ability to support communication between WMS and Movex ERP environment