Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) Manager & Senior Process Engineer in Saint Peters

We are seeking a hands-on Manager of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) who also serves as a Senior Process Engineer to lead the strategy, configuration, rollout, and ongoing support of our Nextworld CloudInventory WMS across our Regional Distribution Center (RDC) and an expansion program to 40+ branch locations, including additional RDCs. This role owns both the technical system lifecycle and operational process excellence, leading cross-functional discovery, documentation, data integrity, and continuous improvement initiatives. The successful candidate will partner closely with Operations, IT, Supply Chain, and vendor teams to deliver scalable, reliable, and compliant warehouse solutions. This position is ideal for a leader who thrives in a fast-moving environment, combines deep operational expertise with systems knowledge, and can translate business processes into robust WMS capabilities that drive measurable business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• WMS Ownership & Strategy
• Serve as Product Owner for Nextworld CloudInventory WMS.
• Define multi-year roadmap, standards, governance, and architectural guardrails.
• Establish enterprise configuration controls, master data governance, and change management practices across all sites.
• Implementation & Rollout
• Lead discovery, fit-gap analysis, configuration, testing, and deployment activities.
• Manage pilots and phased go-lives across multiple locations.
• Develop repeatable deployment playbooks, including readiness checklists, cutover plans, and hypercare support to ensure consistent outcomes.
• Process Engineering & Documentation
• Map, analyze, and optimize end-to-end warehouse workflows including receiving, putaway, slotting, replenishment, picking, packing, shipping, returns, and cycle counting.
• Produce and maintain SOPs, RACI matrices, swimlanes, and value-stream maps.
• Manage controlled documentation repositories for training, compliance, and audit readiness.
• Integration & Data Management
• Coordinate WMS integrations with ERP, ecommerce, transportation, labeling, and RF/scanner devices.
• Partner with IT on APIs, middleware, and system interoperability.
• Define and monitor master data standards and quality rules (item masters, locations, UOMs, lot/serial, ASN).
• Lead corrective actions for discrepancies, losses, and inventory adjustments.
• Testing, Release & Support
• Own testing strategy across unit, integration, and UAT phases.
• Manage release planning and environment governance.
• Develop regression test suites for ongoing system updates.
• Establish SLAs, incident management, root-cause analysis processes, and vendor escalation paths.
• Performance, Analytics & Continuous Improvement
• Design KPI dashboards tracking inventory accuracy, dock-to-stock, order cycle time, pick productivity, perfect order %, and space utilization.
• Lead Lean/Kaizen initiatives and continuous improvement programs.
• Implement slotting optimization, wave/batch strategies, and labor management practices.
• People Leadership & Training
• Lead and mentor a small cross-functional team and site champions.
• Develop operator, supervisor, and manager training programs.
• Drive adoption, change readiness, and operational maturity across locations.
• Compliance, Risk & Security
• Ensure system auditability, role-based access controls, and adherence to company policies and regulatory requirements.
• Conduct post-implementation reviews and risk assessments.
• Implement preventative controls to reduce operational and system risk.
• Stakeholder & Vendor Management
• Collaborate with Operations Directors, Branch Managers, Supply Chain, IT, Finance, and Quality teams.
• Manage vendor relationships, SOWs, deliverables, and performance metrics.
• Budgeting & Planning
• Develop and manage budgets for licenses, hardware, services, and training.
• Track ROI and benefits realization for WMS initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in WMS leadership, administration, process engineering, or distribution operations with responsibility for multi-site systems.
• Hands-on configuration, deployment, and support of a modern WMS platform (Nextworld CloudInventory preferred).
• Deep understanding of warehouse and distribution processes including ASN receiving, directed putaway, slotting, replenishment, wave/batch picking, packing, shipping, cycle counting, and lot/serial control.
• Experience with ERP/WMS integrations, APIs, labeling systems, RF/device management.
• Proficiency in SQL and data analysis for troubleshooting and reporting.
• Demonstrated success documenting, standardizing, and optimizing processes.
• Experience applying Lean, Kaizen, or continuous improvement methodologies.
• Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong planning, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Effective change management and problem-solving capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Multi-site WMS rollout and support experience.
• Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt (or equivalent).
• Experience in packaging distribution or industrial supply networks.
• Familiarity with Azure DevOps or similar backlog/release tools.
• Power BI or equivalent analytics/dashboarding experience.
• Broad knowledge of warehouse operations technologies and best practices.