Operations Manager

Confidential Industrial Company; West Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential Industrial Company is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to lead packaging, warehouse, fulfillment, logistics, and customer-support activities on-site near Chicago. This hands-on leadership role coordinates production, inventory, purchasing, shipping, maintenance, and safety while pursuing growth through new opportunities and customer relationships.

The position requires strong leadership, scheduling, and data-driven decision making to optimize operations, reduce waste, and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of operations, production, warehouse, or plant management experience in packaging-related industries.
• Experience managing production scheduling, inventory, purchasing, warehouse operations, fulfillment, shipping, and receiving.
• Experience leading and developing hourly production and warehouse staff.

Responsibilities

• Direct daily production, warehouse, fulfillment, shipping, and receiving activities to meet customer orders.
• Develop production schedules based on demand, capacity, inventory, and shipping requirements.
• Monitor metrics such as downtime, throughput, and on-time delivery.
• Lead safety and continuous improvement initiatives using Lean methods.
• Coordinate with logistics partners and vendors to optimize lead times.

Skills

Operations leadership

Production scheduling

Forecasting

Inventory management

Warehousing

Shipping & logistics

ERP / MES / WMS familiarity

Preventive maintenance knowledge

Lean manufacturing

Data-driven decision making

Customer communication

Business development

Team leadership

Tools

ERP software

Job description

Operations Manager - 50 miles Northwest of Chicago

We are seeking an experienced Operations Manager to lead the day-to-day operations of our packaging, warehouse, fulfillment, logistics, and customer-support activities.

This is a hands-on leadership position responsible for coordinating production, inventory, purchasing, shipping, receiving, maintenance, safety, labor, and customer requirements. The Operations Manager will also support business growth by developing customer relationships, identifying new opportunities, and negotiating commercial agreements.

What Your Day Will Look Like:

• Direct daily production, warehouse, pick/pack, fulfillment, shipping, and receiving activities to ensure customer orders are completed accurately and on schedule.
• Develop daily and weekly production schedules based on customer demand, labor availability, equipment capacity, raw materials, inventory, and shipping requirements.
• Monitor key operating metrics including downtime, scrap, setup/changeover time, throughput, Units Per Hour (UPH), labor efficiency, and on-time delivery.
• Adjust staffing, schedules, equipment utilization, and workflow based on changing business requirements.
• Maintain appropriate safety stock, reorder points, lead times, and customer and item master data.
• Monitor customer forecasts, historical usage, open orders, and inventory requirements to support production and purchasing decisions.
• Oversee warehouse organization, rack utilization, inventory accuracy, cycle counting, material flow, and identification of slow-moving, excess, obsolete, or dead stock.
• Supervise carrier scheduling, dock activity, order staging, palletized freight, shipping, and receiving.
• Coordinate with freight companies, local carriers, 3PL/4PL providers, and other logistics partners to improve delivery performance and control lead times.
• Monitor purchasing requirements and vendor performance to ensure raw materials, packaging materials, supplies, and services are available when required.
• Maintain working knowledge of supplier lead times, pricing, purchasing, and purchase-order management.
• Oversee preventative maintenance for production and warehouse equipment and coordinate repairs with employees, technicians, contractors, and electricians.
• Maintain working knowledge of facility requirements including electrical power, compressed air, water, and other utilities required for safe equipment operation.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts using Lean Manufacturing and practical problem-solving methods to reduce waste, improve productivity, and lower costs.
• Identify opportunities to improve plant layout, material flow, warehouse utilization, fulfillment processes, and overall operating efficiency.
• Manage labor scheduling, overtime, temporary labor, headcount, training, and cross-training based on production requirements.
• Establish and enforce strong safety practices involving machinery, forklifts, material handling, loading docks, warehouse traffic, and general plant operations.
• Communicate directly with customers regarding order status, inventory requirements, forecasts, delivery schedules, and operational concerns.
• Identify and pursue new customer opportunities, develop relationships with prospective and existing customers, understand their packaging and logistics requirements, present solutions, and negotiate pricing, service agreements, and customer contracts in coordination with company leadership.
• Work closely with sales, customer service, purchasing, accounting, production, warehouse, and management to ensure customer requirements are communicated and executed.
• Provide oversight related to customer pricing, billing, and invoicing to ensure operational and commercial information is accurate.
• Maintain working knowledge of payroll and employee timekeeping procedures; Paylocity experience is a plus.
• Use operational systems, reporting, and data to identify issues, improve planning, measure performance, and support management decisions.
• Manage multiple customer priorities, operational projects, and deadlines while maintaining effective communication throughout the organization.

What We Are Looking For:

• Strong operations leadership experience within packaging manufacturing, corrugated converting, commercial printing, fulfillment, industrial packaging, or a related industry.
• Hands-on leadership style with the ability to work directly with employees on the production and warehouse floor.
• Strong understanding of production scheduling, forecasting, capacity planning, purchasing, inventory management, warehousing, shipping, and logistics.
• Knowledge of warehouse layout, rack utilization, inventory control, material flow, and fulfillment operations.
• Working knowledge of packaging equipment, warehouse equipment, facility utilities, and preventative maintenance.
• Familiarity with corrugated packaging, cartons, packaging materials, pallets, and other packaging formats.
• Experience with MES, WMS, ERP, inventory management, or production planning systems.
• Strong mechanical and practical problem-solving skills.
• Strong customer communication and relationship-management abilities.
• Business development experience, including identifying prospective customers, developing new accounts, negotiating pricing and commercial terms, and building long-term customer relationships.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to train, motivate, manage, and hold employees accountable.
• Strong organizational, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to use operational data and reporting to make informed decisions.
• Comfortable managing a role that combines operations, logistics, customer service, purchasing, maintenance coordination, and business development.

Requirements:

• 5+ years of operations, production, warehouse, or plant management experience, preferably within packaging, corrugated converting, commercial printing, fulfillment, or a related industry.
• Experience managing production scheduling, inventory, purchasing, warehouse operations, fulfillment, shipping, and receiving.
• Experience managing and developing hourly production, warehouse, shipping, and receiving employees.