Distribution Centre Manager - Harlow

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 Harlow

During the post-war period as Britain was faced with rebuilding millions of shattered homes and re-housing their inhabitants, a radical solution was to build a series of new towns. Most cities of the UK have some form of new town within them or in their orbital range. Harlow in Essex was one such town. Situated 20 miles (33 km) north east of the centre of London, it was a grand project, with thousands of homes as well as industrial, shopping, entertainment and communications infrastructure being built around what was a village dating back at least to the Domesday Book.

Expansion was steady, taking place between the late 1950s and the 1970s, as jobs were created and the town became a reasonably attractive place to live. Although manufacturing was once a major industry in Harlow, it has since declined, and now the economy is largely service-based. The large factories have recently been demolished and smaller units for start-ups have been built with the hope of kickstarting a new tech sector. However the town is still home to some major employers, most notably GlaxoSmithKline and American defence firm Raytheon.

The town is well placed to serve London, situated as it is on the M11 that runs from the capital to Cambridge, and there are also good rail links to both cities. Stansted Airport is just 20 minutes up the motorway, too. With much regeneration going on in the town, it’s likely that the demand for Distribution Centre Manager jobs will grow over the coming years. Keep checking back or get in touch if you’d like us to search the area for such positions.

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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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