Customer Operations Manager

Cleveland Kitchen; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 70,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

Cleveland Kitchen is seeking a Customer Operations Manager to own the relationship with our 3PL partners and internal warehouse team, while overseeing daily order and customer-service operations to keep product flowing to customers.

You will support quality and food safety with data and documentation for shipment-related investigations and claims. Strong analytics and cross-functional collaboration are essential.

Qualifications

• 2+ years in a logistics-related role (internal freight/transportation or 3PL/freight).
• Comfort with inventory tracking, allocation, or order-management systems (lot tracking, shelf-life).
• Ability to manage multiple daily priorities across warehouse, 3PL, and customer-facing issues with accuracy.
• Analytical mindset for pulling data into a clear narrative to support investigations.
• Clear, professional communicator capable of holding 3PL and internal teams accountable.

Responsibilities

• Own 3PL relationship management and day-to-day performance vs SLAs.
• Coordinate daily between 3PL and internal warehouse/shipping teams on inbound/outbound activity.
• Provide accurate shipping documentation and shelf-life requirements for outbound orders.
• Manage dock scheduling and review daily for conflicts; support returns and RMA processes.
• Support claims and deductions with well-documented findings.
• Own KPI tracking (OTIF and logistics scorecards) and drive corrective actions.
• Oversee order operations; supervise Customer Operations Coordinator and review orders for accuracy.
• Assist in allocation, communication of shortages, and system updates; support Commercial team to resolve customer issues.
• Troubleshoot EDI and other automated order-processing systems; partner with IT as needed.

Skills

Logistics experience

Inventory systems

Operational rigor

Analytical mindset

Communication

Systems proficiency

Tools

Excel

EDI

OpenDock

ERP/OMS

Job description

Cleveland Kitchen is looking for a Customer Operations Manager to own the relationship between our 3PL partners and our internal warehouse team, while also managing the daily order and customer-service operations that keep product flowing to our customers. This role is the connective tissue between order fulfillment, transportation, inventory accuracy, and the customer - making sure product moves on time, in full, and in the condition our customers expect. The role also supports Quality/Food Safety with data and documentation when shipment-related claims or complaints require investigation.

What You'll Own

3PL, Warehouse & Inventory

• 3PL Relationship Management: Serve as the primary point of contact for our 3PL partner(s), managing day-to-day performance, issue resolution, and accountability against service-level expectations.
• Warehouse-3PL Coordination: Coordinate daily between the 3PL and internal warehouse/shipping teams on inbound receipts, outbound loads, appointment scheduling, and dock activity.
• Shipping Documentation: Provide the warehouse/shipping team with accurate temperature-recorder and target shelf-life requirements for outbound orders.
• Logistics Systems: Manage dock/appointment scheduling (e.g., OpenDock) for 3PL and customer pickup shipments; review daily for accuracy and resolve conflicts.
• Claims Support: Compile factual, well-documented findings to support or dispute freight and logistics-related customer claims and deductions.
• KPI & Scorecard Ownership: Track OTIF and logistics scorecards; identify recurring service gaps with the 3PL or carriers and drive corrective action.

Customer & Order Operations

• Order Management: Manage our Customer Operations Coordinator and their related order review processes ensuring completeness and accuracy in all order details.
• Customer Service: Oversee the Customer Service inbox with the department coordinator and resolve customer order/service issues directly; attend broker meetings as needed.
• Allocation & Shortage Coordination: Review MRP allocations against inventory availability, coordinate allocation adjustments and system updates, and communicate shortages to customers and internal teams.
• Account Executive Support: Partner with our Commercial team in executing excellent customer satisfaction and resolution of any complaints.
• EDI & Order Systems: Troubleshoot EDI and other automated order processing systems in partnership with IT/systems support.
• Returns Management: Own the Return Authorization (RA) process from initiation through completion.

Quality & Food Safety Support

• Investigation Support: Partner with the QA/Food Safety team on shipment-related complaints or claims - pulling load data, temperature records, timelines, and warehouse documentation to support root-cause analysis.

What We're Looking For

• Logistics Experience: 2+ years in a logistics-related role - internal freight/transportation management, or external freight (3PL, freight brokerage, or carrier-facing role).
• Inventory & Systems: Comfort working with inventory tracking, allocation, or order-management systems (lot tracking, shelf-life, EDI); prior use of an ERP/OMS platform is a plus.
• Operational Rigor: Able to manage multiple daily priorities across warehouse, 3PL, and customer-facing issues without losing accuracy under time pressure.
• Analytical & Investigative Mindset: Comfortable pulling data together into a clear, factual narrative - this role regularly supports claims and investigations where documentation quality matters.
• Communication: Clear, professional communicator who can hold a 3PL and internal teams accountable while keeping relationships collaborative.
• Systems: Proficient in Excel; experience with EDI, dock scheduling tools (e.g., OpenDock), or order management systems is a plus.