Regional Warehouse Manager

A Regional Senior Manager – Warehouse for leading Home Furnish company Chennai would own end to end regional warehouse operations, people, and performance, ensuring service to stores/customers while optimizing cost and compliance. Below is a JD you can paste into your internal format and tweak for grade/band and CTC.

Role overview

Regional Senior Manager – Warehouse (Chennai) will lead regional distribution center, responsible for inbound, storage, inventory control, order picking, dispatch and returns for all formats serviced from Chennai. The role ensures OTIF service, space and cost optimization, adherence to safety and statutory norms, and drives process excellence in line with Company standards.

Key responsibilities

• Lead end to end warehouse operations for the Chennai regional DC, covering inbound, put away, storage, picking, dispatch, returns and value added services for Company
• Plan and manage daily, weekly and seasonal volumes to meet store and customer SLAs (OTIF, fill rate, lead time) while optimizing manpower, MHE and space utilization.
• Own inventory accuracy for the warehouse; drive robust cycle counting, stock reconciliation and root cause analysis of variances in coordination with supply chain and finance.
• Ensure strict adherence to all health, safety, fire, security and housekeeping standards; implement and monitor SOPs, safety trainings and incident reporting.
• Implement and continuously improve warehouse processes, layouts, storage strategies and material flows (e.g., ABC zoning, fast pick areas) to increase productivity and reduce damages and shrinkage.
• Drive effective utilization and maintenance of WMS, scanners and other technology; ensure all transactions are executed accurately and on time in the system.
• Monitor key performance metrics (productivity, cost per case, OTIF, dock to stock, picking accuracy, damages, shrinkage) and drive action plans to close gaps.
• Coordinate closely with transport/logistics partners to plan dispatch schedules, optimize vehicle utilization, and ensure on time deliveries to stores/customers in the region.
• Partner with Buying, Planning, Stores Operations and Customer Service teams to resolve service issues, support launches and peak events, and provide clear visibility on stock and dispatch status.
• Prepare and manage the warehouse operating budget (manpower, MHE, transport, consumables); identify and drive cost saving and productivity improvement initiatives.
• Ensure full compliance with all statutory requirements related to labour, EHS, fire, legal metrology and any local warehousing regulations applicable in Tamil Nadu.
• Lead operational readiness for audits (internal, external, safety, compliance) and close audit observations within agreed timelines.
• Support network/footprint expansion projects, warehouse capacity enhancements and any automation initiatives for the Chennai site.

People management

• Lead a team of Assistant Managers, Executives, Supervisors and warehouse associates (including 3P workforce), ensuring clear role clarity, shift planning and performance management.
• Recruit, train, coach and develop the warehouse team on SOPs, WMS usage, safety, 5S and continuous improvement; build strong internal successors for critical roles.
• Drive a performance oriented, safe and inclusive culture on the shopfloor, ensuring high engagement and low absenteeism/attrition.

Key interfaces

• Internal: Regional Supply Chain, Central Supply Chain, Buying & Planning, Store Operations, Finance, HR, Admin/Facilities, Loss Prevention, IT.
• External: Transporters, 3PL partners (if any), statutory authorities, auditors and other vendors related to warehouse operations.

KPIs / success measures

• OTIF to stores/customers, order cycle time and fill rate.
• Inventory accuracy, shrinkage/damages, and stock loss.
• Productivity (lines picked per hour, cases handled per FTE) and cost per unit handled.
• Safety metrics – LTIFR, number of incidents/near misses, audit scores.
• Team stability, training coverage and engagement indicators.

Candidate profile

• Graduate in any discipline; MBA/PG in Operations/Logistics/Supply Chain preferred.
• 10–18 years of experience in large warehouse/DC operations, Tamil language is mandatory
• Industry Preferred: Retail, Ecommerce or 3PL; Consumer Durables minimum 3–4 years leading a mid to large site.
• Strong working knowledge of WMS, inventory management, MHE operations and safety regulations in warehouse environments.
• Proven experience managing large teams and 3P workforce in high volume, fast paced operations.
• Data driven with strong analytical, problem solving and stakeholder management skills; able to influence cross functional teams and external partners.
• Working knowledge of English; familiarity with Tamil is mandatory as its an advantage for managing shopfloor workforce and local stakeholders.