Distribution Operations Leader

FLANDERS Inc.; Evansville (IN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

FLANDERS Inc. in Evansville, IN seeks a Distribution Operations Manager to lead daily execution and improve profitability across the distribution business.

You will own the workflow from inquiry through quotation, ordering, delivery and invoicing, while supervising a team and aligning with Sales, Procurement, and Finance. Responsibilities include developing SOPs, coaching staff, and driving process improvements.

Qualifications

• Five or more years in industrial distribution, purchasing, inside sales, quoting or related operations, including demonstrated people leadership and performance management.
• Experience managing quoting, customer orders, purchasing coordination and fulfillment in an industrial or technical product environment.
• Working knowledge of motors, drives and related electrical products; ability to interpret specifications, applications, vendor quotations and pricing.
• Demonstrated ability to improve processes, train employees, manage competing priorities and resolve issues across departments.
• Strong communication, analytical and problem-solving skills; proficiency with ERP systems, Excel and business reporting tools.

Responsibilities

• Directly supervise Distribution employees, establish individual expectations and manage daily workload, coverage and priorities.
• Assess skills and staffing needs, provide coaching and training, develop Operating Procedures, and address performance issues with HR support.
• Own the Distribution workflow and ensure every active request, quote and order has an assigned employee, due date and next action.
• Maintain visibility into open opportunities, quotations, customer POs and orders; resolve bottlenecks and elevate issues requiring other leaders' decisions.
• Establish clear handoffs and confirm completion across Sales, Quoting, Procurement, Shipping and Finance rather than relying on informal follow up.
• Ensure complete purchasing requirements and BOMs reach Procurement through the established process; verify alignment to customer specifications, pricing and delivery commitments.
• Track requisition and supplier PO status, vendor acknowledgments, availability, lead times and pricing changes with Procurement.
• Elevate credit holds, vendor nonresponse and supply constraints to the responsible leaders and communicate the impact to Sales.
• Provide motor and related electrical product guidance and ensure appropriate products are quoted and purchased for the application.
• Interpret customer specifications and coordinate Engineering, Sales and vendor expertise when requirements need clarification.
• Resolve specification discrepancies, incorrect orders and fulfillment concerns; maintain clear communication on availability, lead times and order status.
• Ensure accepted customer POs are validated and entered promptly, with purchasing requirements and delivery commitments documented.
• Track orders through purchasing, receipt where applicable, direct shipment and delivery; confirm partial shipments and supporting documentation.
• Identify at-risk and overdue orders, assign recovery actions and update Sales before customer commitments are missed.
• Coordinate with Shipping and Finance to resolve documentation and billing issues; track billable work until invoiced and completed orders until closed.
• Own the accuracy of Distribution backlog and reconcile accepted customer POs with open customer orders and purchasing status.
• Ensure scheduled end dates, vendor promise dates, customer commitments, order status and next actions remain current and supported.
• Retain original commitments and reasons for changes; correct stale dates and verify completed orders are properly closed.
• Provide a supported invoicing forecast and explain changes, overdue work and risks to the VP and Finance.
• Implement the Distribution Operating Guide, train the team and verify compliance through routine reviews.
• Maintain the scorecard and action log; investigate missed targets, assign corrective actions and verify improvement.
• Work with Sales to improve quote conversion and profitable growth while protecting approved pricing and resolving recurring customer issues.
• Monitor GPM, gross profit dollars and quoted versus actual costs with Finance; recommend process and staffing changes supported by workload and performance data.

Skills

People leadership

ERP systems

Excel

Supply chain coordination

Vendor management

Tools

SAP

Job description

FLANDERS Inc. in Evansville, IN seeks a Distribution Operations Manager to lead daily execution and improve profitability across the distribution business.

You will own the workflow from inquiry through quotation, ordering, delivery and invoicing, while supervising a team and aligning with Sales, Procurement, and Finance. Responsibilities include developing SOPs, coaching staff, and driving process improvements.