Sr. Operations Specialist

BioSpace; North Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401(k)

Job summary

AbbVie is seeking a Senior Distribution Operations Specialist to own outbound distribution execution across US distribution centers and partner with cross-functional teams to ensure timely, compliant fulfillment. The role emphasizes data-driven decision making, issue resolution, and collaboration with Customer Service, Quality, IT, and Supply Chain.

Typical work hours are CST with various shifts; the position focuses on optimizing warehouse and delivery performance, troubleshooting shipment

Qualifications

• 5+ years warehousing, distribution, or supply chain experience.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent preferred.
• Experience with analytics to monitor operations and resolve issues.

Responsibilities

• Own outbound operational support across US distribution centers, ensuring on-time fulfillment.
• Monitor deliveries and identify aging shipments, delays, or discrepancies requiring cross-functional follow-up.
• Lead resolution of delivery blocks and escalate issues with cross-functional teams to ensure timely closure.
• Investigate order fulfillment issues and communicate status and next steps clearly to stakeholders.
• Resolve outbound SAP IDOC issues with BTS, 3PLs, and internal teams to ensure data integrity.

Skills

Warehousing/Distribution experience

Analytics and data-driven

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree or below in Business/Supply Chain

Tools

SAP

S/4

JDA

WMS platforms

Job description

Company Description

About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

Position Summary: We are looking for a highly motivated and analytical Senior Distribution Operations Specialist to serve as the primary owner for customer-facing distribution execution and outbound operations across key US distribution centers.

This role will support the US distribution operations by leading day-to-day outbound execution, delivery monitoring and issue resolution, export coordination, LTL and partial shipment management, returns management, Value Added activities (VAS) support, product complaint returns, outbound IDOC monitoring and resolution. Additionally, this position will support the Distribution Manager in process optimization, logistics data analysis, and investigation of shipment delays, damages, discrepancies, and other operational inefficiencies.

The Senior Distribution Operations Specialist will also partner closely with distribution centers, customer service, quality, Business Technology Services, transportation, trade compliance, planning, and other cross-functional stakeholders to drive timely issue resolution, improve operational flow, strengthen warehousing and delivery performance, and ensure service commitments are met for customers and patients.

Working Hours: Typical working hours are M, TH, F 9am – 6pm and T/W 10am to 7pm (all times CST). Monday, Thursday, and Friday: 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday: 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.

Position Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day outbound operational support across all US/PR distribution centers, ensuring consistent execution of order fulfillment, shipment readiness, dock activity, carrier handoffs, and issue escalation in alignment with service, compliance, and customer commitments.
• Perform daily delivery monitoring and open delivery reviews across the outbound network to identify aging deliveries, delayed pick/pack activity, blocked orders, shipment discrepancies, and other risks requiring cross-functional follow-up.
• Lead resolution of delivery blocks, delivery push requests, zero-pick investigations, and warehouse cancellations by identifying root cause, aligning owners, documenting actions, and driving timely closure with distribution centers, Customer Service, Planning, Quality, Transportation, and BTS as needed.
• Serve as a key operational escalation point for Customer Service by investigating order fulfillment issues, delivery status concerns, partial shipment impacts, cancellation requests, and urgent customer needs while ensuring clear communication of status, next steps, and ownership.
• Monitor and resolve outbound SAP IDOC issues by partnering with BTS, 3PL partners, and internal operations teams to troubleshoot failures, validate corrections, reduce recurring errors, and support accurate system-to-system transaction flow.
• Support Value Added Services operations by coordinating VAS readiness, execution timing, inventory availability, labeling or packaging requirements, exception management, and post-activity reconciliation to ensure compliant and on-time customer fulfillment.
• Support HVR/LVR processes by monitoring order/release activity, coordinating with distribution centers and cross-functional partners, resolving exceptions, and ensuring appropriate prioritization, documentation, and timely execution in support of customer and business requirements.
• Support product complaint return activity, including OZ requests, by coordinating return authorization needs, partnering with Customer Service, Quality, distribution centers, and transportation teams, tracking status through closure, and escalating delays or documentation gaps as needed.
• Optimize distribution processes: Analyzing and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the physical movement of goods.
• Analyze data: Interpreting data related to warehousing and delivery performance.
• Identify and resolve distribution inefficiencies: Investigating and addressing issues such as delays, damages, or discrepancies in shipments.

Qualifications

• Preferred Bachelor’s degree or below equivalent experience, preferably in business or supply chain

Skills And Competencies

• Experience with fulfillment services, warehouse operations, warehouse design, and system configuration support
• Familiarity with warehouse management systems, including WMS platforms used by external 3PL partners
• 5 years’ experience in warehousing, distribution, and/or supply chain management
• Hands-on experience applying basic to advanced analytics tools and techniques to monitor operational performance and support issue resolution
• Ability to analyze and interpret data to identify trends, assess root causes, and support timely operational decisions
• Strong analytical mindset with demonstrated ability to use data-driven decision making to prioritize operational issues, support root cause analysis, and drive continuous improvement across distribution execution.
• Demonstrated ability to identify distribution inefficiencies, evaluate shipment delays, damages, and discrepancies, and coordinate corrective actions that improve physical goods movement, warehousing performance, and delivery reliability.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with Information Technology/BTS, Commercial, Finance, Supply Chain, distribution centers, external 3PL partners, and stakeholders at varying levels of the organization
• Extensive knowledge of SAP, S/4, JDA, external 3PL WMS platforms, and/or other similar distribution and supply chain systems.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills including strong presentation, verbal, and written communication skills.

Key Stakeholders

Global Functional Supply Chain and GDL leadership, Brand, Planning, Distribution, Warehousing, Logistics, Transportation, IT/Business Technology Services, Quality, Trade Compliance, Customer Service, Commercial, Finance, distribution center operations teams, external 3PL partners, and internal analytics/reporting stakeholders

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law:
The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
• This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

US & Puerto Rico only – to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:
https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html