Distribution Centre Manager jobs
With the rise of mail-order and online shopping, distribution centres of major retailers are becoming a huge source of logistics employment. It’s no surprise they’re hiring: a busy high-street store’s distribution centre might have to deal not only with its store deliveries but also potentially millions of home deliveries per year. Needless to say, this will produce a high-pressure environment where confident and able managers are highly valued if customer satisfaction and stocked shelves are to be maintained.
The role will be concerned with the day-to-day management of the centre, from personnel and security to the deliveries and warehousing themselves, but will also involve the implementation of cost-saving measures and the introduction of new systems as they are fed through from head office.
The distribution manager of a mainstream centre could well be in charge of tens or hundreds of staff, making the human resources responsibilities as crucial as the technical and physical. And in the other direction, the manager will have a head office to keep just as happy by driving efficiencies and keeping rigidly to budget.
The skills required
The distribution centre manager will need to be a highly professional and motivated person, able to work on many strands simultaneously while understanding the possibilities and limitations of delegation of tasks and roles. Great communication skills and a team attitude will keep the corporate massage and aims alive and enacted while also helping to keep the staff motivated.
With many of the deliverable tasks expected of the manager being based on IT systems, some experience in the common warehousing software will be useful, as will experience in word processing, accounting and presentation software.
Distribution Centre Manager Jobs in Hemel Hempstead
After World War 2, the government set about a programme of building New Towns around the UK to re-house those made homeless by the Blitz. One of the towns built for Londoners was Hemel Hempstead, although a village of the same name had existed there since before medieval times. The town is situated 20 miles (33 km) north west of the centre of London and 10 miles (17 km) south of Luton, with St Albans just to the east.
The town has a shopping centre in the middle, and to the north east there is a large industrial complex called the Hemel Hempstead Industrial Estate. The estate came to worldwide prominence in December 2005 when there was a massive explosion at the Buncefield oil storage terminal. The explosion was supposed to be so loud that it was heard on mainland Europe; the sky glowed and a pall of black smoke covered drifted over London; thousands of properties were damaged. As well as being a depot for forecourt tankers, the depot had pipelines going directly to Heathrow Airport, which had to ration fuel and caused some travel disruption.
The depot was such an important part of the nation’s fuel infrastructure that it was ordered to be rebuilt, and it continues to grow as new parts are brought on stream. The rest of the industrial park continues to rebuild, and the town remains an important element in the UK’s supply system. With such good connections to London by road and rail, and with Luton Airport just up the M1, the town is well placed to continue growing. It’s not unusual for Distribution Centre Manager jobs to come up in Hemel Hempstead, so it’s worth checking with us if you are looking.
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Cast UK’s logistics opportunities
Cast UK is a growing force in the UK logistics, procurement and supply chain recruitment sector. People approach us for many reasons, whether seeking more job fulfilment or simply relocating with the family, so it’s good to know that we always have the complete range of positions available all over the country.
Our founder members and consultants all come from the same sectors, so we know what employers and candidates are looking for in their staff and careers respectively. As we only deal with these fields, many employers come to us first to create a candidate shortlist because they know we’re tightly focused on delivering the best people to them.
Please see what’s available in your region and if you’ve seen something you’re interested in, please get in touch – whether it’s today or tomorrow, we might have a position with your name on it!
To find out more about how Cast UK can help you recruit a Distribution Centre Manager for your business or find you a job as a Distribution Centre Manager then contact one of our consultant team on 0333 121 3345.
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