Depot & Fulfillment Manager

About Otto Tiles

Otto Tiles is one of the UK's leading suppliers of premium handmade tiles, serving homeowners, designers, architects and trade professionals nationwide.

We pride ourselves on exceptional products and outstanding customer service, and our warehouse operation is central to delivering on that promise.

As our business continues to grow, we are looking for an experienced Warehouse & Fulfilment Manager to lead our warehouse operation in Ashford and drive excellence across inventory management, logistics, order fulfilment and warehouse performance.

The Role

This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for the safe, efficient and profitable operation of our warehouse and fulfilment function.

You will lead the warehouse team while taking ownership of inventory accuracy, outbound performance, inbound logistics, warehouse safety and continuous operational improvement.

You will work closely with Purchasing, Customer Experience, Sales and Finance to ensure customers receive the right products, on time, every time.

Key Responsibilities

• Warehouse Leadership
• Lead the day-to-day warehouse operation, ensuring a safe, organised and efficient working environment.
• Recruit, train, coach and develop warehouse employees.
• Schedule staffing and workloads to meet business demands.
• Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork and continuous improvement.
• Conduct regular one-to-one meetings and performance reviews.
• Inventory Ownership
• Take full ownership of warehouse inventory accuracy.
• Oversee cycle counting, stock reconciliations and annual stocktakes.
• Investigate and resolve stock discrepancies.
• Ensure all inventory movements are accurately recorded.
• Work with Purchasing to optimise stock availability and storage capacity.
• Inbound Logistics
• Find and negotiate rates with shipping providers.
• Coordinate receipt of UK supplier deliveries and imported containers.
• Plan efficient unloading, inspection and put-away of incoming stock.
• Identify damaged or incorrect deliveries and resolve supplier issues promptly.
• Ensure inbound stock is available for sale as quickly as possible.
• Order Fulfilment
• Ensure customer orders are picked, packed and dispatched accurately and efficiently.
• Confidently and accurately coordinate deliveries with customers.
• Maintain high service levels for both trade and retail customers.
• Find and maintain relationships with shippers to get good pricing and have good relationships.
• Coordinate with courier and pallet freight partners.
• Reduce picking errors, shipping delays and freight damage.
• Warehouse Operations
• Maintain an organised warehouse layout that supports productivity and safe movement of heavy, fragile tile products.
• Manage warehouse equipment and maintenance.
• Oversee packaging materials and warehouse consumables.
• Continuously improve warehouse processes and standard operating procedures.
• Health & Safety
• Ensure compliance with all Health & Safety legislation and company policies.
• Conduct regular warehouse inspections and risk assessments.
• Maintain safe operation of forklifts and warehouse equipment.
• Lead accident prevention initiatives and safety training.
• Continuous Improvement
• Analyse warehouse performance and identify opportunities to improve efficiency.
• Introduce new systems and processes where appropriate.
• Work with senior leadership to support future warehouse growth and operational scalability.
• Develop reporting and dashboards to monitor key warehouse metrics.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Success in this role will be measured against

• Inventory accuracy of
• 99.5% or higher
• Order accuracy of
• 99.8% or higher
• On-time dispatch performance of
• 98% or higher
• Freight damage rate below
• 0.5%
• Inventory shrinkage below
• 0.25% annually
• Zero reportable Health & Safety incidents
• Showroom stock availability above
• 98%
• Warehouse productivity targets achieved
• Positive team engagement and retention
• Continuous improvement initiatives delivered each quarter

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Minimum five years' experience managing a warehouse or distribution operation.
• Strong leadership experience managing warehouse teams.
• Excellent inventory management and stock control knowledge.
• Experience working with warehouse management systems or ERP software.
• Strong organisational and planning skills.
• Excellent communication and problem-solving abilities.
• Good Microsoft Excel skills.
• Knowledge of UK Health & Safety requirements.
• Experience handling palletised, heavy or fragile products.

Desirable

• Experience within the tile, flooring, stone, building materials or home improvement sector.
• Experience managing imported container shipments.
• IOSH Managing Safely qualification.
• Forklift licence.
• Experience with Shopify and integrated inventory or ERP systems.
• Lean, Six Sigma or continuous improvement experience.
• Personal Attributes
• Leads from the front and enjoys working alongside the team.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail.
• Commercially aware and focused on operational efficiency.
• Calm under pressure and able to prioritise effectively.
• Proactive, dependable and accountable.
• Passionate about delivering an outstanding customer experience.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary of £35,000–£45,000, depending on experience.
• Discretionary annual performance bonus.
• Company pension.
• Generous holiday allowance.
• Employee discount on Otto Tiles products.
• Ongoing training and development.
• Opportunity to shape and improve warehouse operations within a growing premium home interiors business.