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 Widnes
At the north-eastern edge of Cheshire lies Widnes, a town of around 60,000 population built on heavy industry, particularly chemicals, where ICI had a huge presence for decades before fragmenting in the 1990s. The chemical industry chose Widnes partly for the plentiful supply of water, just like Runcorn, to which it is joined by a railway and road bridge over the Mersey.
The centre of Liverpool is 11 miles (17 km) to the west, with Liverpool John Lennon Airport just 4 miles (7km) form the centre of Widnes. Although not actually in Widnes, the Jaguar Land rover car production plant is just outside the town in Halewood, and it has been a large employer of people from Widnes. For decades the plant was owned by Ford, and the locals still cal the main boulevard that passes it “The Ford Road”. Under the new management, the factory is doing extremely well, helped by a local enthusiastic workforce.
Widnes has two musical claims to fame, one certain, one apocryphal. First was the Stone Roses’ Spike Island gig, the pinnacle of the Madchester scene in 1990. The second claim is that Paul Simon wrote “Homeward Bound” at Widnes Station, although Simon isn’t 100% sure himself!
Widnes has retained many of its industrial plants, although they are no longer owned by the giant ICI, and have been taken over by a multitude of companies. The well-connected town is handy for Liverpool, Warrington, St Helens and Runcorn, and has the M62 at its northern point. All this makes it a good place to locate any logistics operations, and indeed, Distribution Centre Manager jobs or similar positions have been through our system in Widnes.
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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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