Warehouse Manager
AeroFarms is part of that solution, transforming agriculture with people and the planet in mind. As a Certified B Corporation and pioneer in indoor vertical farming, we use our proprietary technology to grow produce using up to 95% less water and no pesticides ever. The result is a portfolio of products that burst with flavor, taste, and nutritional value. Leading the industry, AeroFarms has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies five years in a row, topped Fortune Magazine’s 2022 Change the World Company List, and was recognized as one of the 95 “Brands That Matter” by Fast Company.
Now in over 1,000 stores across the United States, we are scaling our award-winning brand and technology around the world. As AeroFarms approaches our next phase of explosive growth, we seek passionate and motivated individuals to join our team. If a team of intellectually curious coworkers and our change-the-world mission resonates with you, apply today. Learn more about AeroFarms and join us to change the world as we grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity.
Job Description:
AeroFarms, a leader in sustainable agriculture, is seeking a dynamic detail-oriented and proactive Warehouse Manager to join our team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of warehouse operations, including inventory management, shipping, and receiving functions. The Warehouse Manager will play a critical role in providing Team Leadership in ensuring accurate inventory control, maintaining lot traceability, and facilitating on-time shipments to our customers. This position requires strong organizational skills, effective communication abilities, and a thorough understanding of warehouse operations in the food manufacturing industry. Ideal candidates have relevant experience and a commitment to people safety, food safety, and ensure quality standards.
Core responsibilities and deliverables include:
Shipping and Receiving:
Oversee shipping and receiving operations to ensure timely processing of orders and receipts of materials and equipment according to standard operating procedures to ensure safety and security of food handling requirements.
Ensures finished goods orders are picked, packed, labeled and loaded efficiently and accurately to ensure 100% customer fulfilment daily.
Coordinates with the logistics manager to schedule all shipments to optimize transportation routes, loading, dock attendance and delivery of finished goods 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Coordinates with purchasing and suppliers to schedule inbound receipts to optimize direct material inspection, recording, put away practices 5 days a week. Saturdays on exception.
Ensures full verification of incoming shipments against purchase order documents in ERP, truck quality, load quality, material specifications, and ensures no contamination of received direct materials. Works with FSQA to ensure accurate sampling for internal testing.
Works with procurement to enforce and update supplier management performance rating program to fulfil FDA and USDA GMP requirements for all direct material receipts.
Prepares shipping documents, ERP transactions, and ensures compliance with shipping regulations for all out bound shipments both for Finished Goods, and any equipment, materials, chemicals, and or waste being shipped.
Ensures all outbound loads are within temperature requirements, expiry dating, are loaded onto clean trucks, BOL documentation is accurate and complete for all customer orders.
Manages inventory stock for all indirect materials required for labels, wraps, pallets, liners, etc. for operation of efficient shipping and packing department.
Track carrier performance for on-time, quality, and accurate inbound and outbound shipments.
Contact carrier representatives to arrange instructions for shipping between offsite and plant.
Maintain shipping logs of all outbound shipments and receiving logs for all inbound receipts.
Maintaining FIFO, creating, updating, reviewing SOPs, OPLs, work instructions and gap assessments as needed.
Inventory Management:
Develops, maintains and enforces inventory standard operating procedures for department staff which controls and ensures accurate stock levels of raw materials and finished goods.
Conduct regular cycle counts and reconcile discrepancies to maintain inventory accuracy at typical levels of a world class manufacturer.
Coordinate inventory needs with materials management for forecasting inventory needs and optimized stock levels to minimize idle inventory at both the plant warehouse and offsite warehouses.
Establishes efficient Kanban and raw material replenishment practices with the production teams
Ensures control over inventory, labeling of inbound, rotation of materials, transfer of materials from offsite to onsite with full use of ERP materials management labeling and transactions.
Monitor inventory rotations to minimize obsolete stock through efficient inventory management practices.
Lot Traceability:
Develops, maintains and enforces lot traceability standard operating procedures for department staff which controls accurate labeling of lot traced materials both with physical labels and ERP digital records. Responsible to track direct materials, processing chemicals, seeds, nutrient supplies as well as all levels of packaging materials. Accountable to demonstrate ability to trace material consumption in event of a recall requirement back to the supplier’s inbound shipments of direct materials.
Ensures compliance with food handling regulations under the FDA and USDA GMP’s for consumable food products. Ensures compliance with lot tracking while in inventory, transitioned to production, with accurate documentation files required in the event of a necessary product recall or product disposition due to incoming direct materials.
Conducts periodic department audits to verify lot traceability accuracy and completeness is being performed by department staff and departments standard operating procedures are thorough and complete to allow efficient traceability for all produced products.
Team Management:
Responsible for hiring, training, and managing the performance of Shipping and Receiving Team Associates
Supervises warehouse staff and provides leadership, prioritization, and guidance to ensure efficient and productive operations in carrying out department responsibilities.
Mentors and develops team members on warehouse, receiving, and shipping procedures, safety protocols, food safety/quality procedures and establishes best practices in all areas of responsibility.
Fosters a culture of teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement withing the shipping, receiving, and warehousing team.
Actively participates on and supports the Plant Leadership Team in plant wide initiatives, policies, procedures, improvements, and production requirements.
Quality Management:
Ensures enforcement of quality and security standards and procedures are being followed to maintain product integrity throughout warehouse, shipping, and receiving and ensuring all outbound shipments have sealed trailers.
Collaborates with FSQA (Quality Assurance) to address any issues related to inventory, finished goods, and or product quality.
Implements corrective and preventive measures to minimize quality and food safety related issues.
Maintains a high level of cleanliness and orderliness of department areas and establishes lean practices in all areas of responsibility.
Other: Performs all other duties as requested by management.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in logistics, supply chain management, business management and or administration, or related field (preferred) or more than 5 successful years leading warehousing, shipping, receiving functions in a similar position while at a food manufacturing company.
3 years prior Leadership Role in similar position with the respective degree and knowledge of logistics management.
Proven prior experience in warehouse management, preferably in the food manufacturing or packaging industry with FDA/USDA shipping requirements for food safety.
Strong knowledge of inventory control principles, lot traceability requirements, and shipping/receiving procedures.
Strong computer skills and full familiarity with warehouse management (WMS) and ERP inventory management systems.
Excellent leadership skills with proven ability to motivate and develop a high-performance team.
Detail-oriented with a focus on accuracy, efficiency, and continuous improvement practices in a lean operating environment.
Effective communication and interpersonal abilities to collaborate with plant wide functions and external to plant functions for high customer satisfaction and on time deliveries.
Ability to prioritize team activities and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment and able to show agility and flexibility in a newly established growing company which is continually improving and adapting to changing needs.
Strong focus on employee safety and food safety.
Internal candidates seeking a promotion must have completed a minimum of six months in their current role before becoming eligible for consideration.
*Please note that AeroFarms does not work with any external staffing/recruitment vendors. Any unsolicited resumes shared with the AeroFarms team will be considered property of AeroFarms and no recruitment fees of any kind will be paid or owed unless an existing recruitment agreement exists alongside with specific engagement for the role in question.
In accordance with organizational protocol, employees will at times be required to fill absences in the operation process that are equal to or lower than their positional hierarchy. Additionally, if an employee is absent, the role of the absent employee is to be completed by their immediate superior.