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Director of distribution vs warehouse manager

The differences between directors of distribution and warehouse managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a director of distribution and a warehouse manager. Additionally, a director of distribution has an average salary of $126,210, which is higher than the $62,189 average annual salary of a warehouse manager.

The top three skills for a director of distribution include continuous improvement, project management and distribution operations. The most important skills for a warehouse manager are customer service, safety regulations, and safety procedures.

Director of distribution vs warehouse manager overview

Director Of DistributionWarehouse Manager
Yearly salary$126,210$62,189
Hourly rate$60.68$29.90
Growth rate6%-
Number of jobs21,75156,944
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

What does a director of distribution do?

A distribution director spearheads and oversees an organization's distribution procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to coordinate with different departments to identify and understand the distribution needs, set goals and guidelines, manage budgets and schedules, delegate tasks among managers, develop strategies to optimize operations, and present reports to the executives and shareholders. They must also liaise with externals parties, building positive relationships with them. Moreover, a distribution director must lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals while monitoring the progress of operations.

What does a warehouse manager do?

Warehouse managers oversee the overall operations of a company's warehouse. They manage the inventory by ensuring that the inventory records are updated and accurate. They tend to deliveries and check all items. They ensure that items in the warehouse are appropriately stored and secured. They also supervise the shipping of items from the warehouse and ensure that the correct products are delivered. Warehouse managers continuously find ways to improve the efficiency of warehouse operations. Warehouse managers manage warehouse personnel as well, ensuring that they are trained well and motivated to work.

Director of distribution vs warehouse manager salary

Directors of distribution and warehouse managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Director Of DistributionWarehouse Manager
Average salary$126,210$62,189
Salary rangeBetween $88,000 And $179,000Between $37,000 And $103,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAReno, NV
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyMetaPayPal
Best paying industryManufacturingTechnology

Differences between director of distribution and warehouse manager education

There are a few differences between a director of distribution and a warehouse manager in terms of educational background:

Director Of DistributionWarehouse Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Director of distribution vs warehouse manager demographics

Here are the differences between directors of distribution' and warehouse managers' demographics:

Director Of DistributionWarehouse Manager
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 85.2% Female, 14.8%Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 6.1% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 6.2% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between director of distribution and warehouse manager duties and responsibilities

Director of distribution example responsibilities.

  • Manage a staff of 80 in many healthcare locations.
  • Lead the development of operational and transportation KPIs to cover cost, quality and service.
  • Manage logistics operations issues that include branch logistics plan implementation, warehouse and delivery personnel management, inventory management and security/safety/housekeeping.
  • Enhance and publish procedures for FDA product recall requirements.
  • Improve communications with foreign vendors to reduce and improve upon FDA holds.
  • Orchestrate selection, acquisition and implementation of agile ERP and WMS technologies.
  • Show more

Warehouse manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage distribution costs; maintain contracts with shipping companies; organize mass mailings using USPS.
  • Manage 130 team members in the carton sortation, garment on hanger, will call and outbound operations.
  • Manage all small packaging shipping and receiving duties along with negotiating all pricing discounts and all LTL and full truck loads.
  • Experience with managing logistics and inventory in multiple facility locations and ERP databases.
  • Manage payroll and oversee center/facility expenses and accounts payable practicing cost containment strategies.
  • Experience with DRP, ERP, VMI, WMS.
  • Show more

Director of distribution vs warehouse manager skills

Common director of distribution skills
  • Continuous Improvement, 9%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Distribution Operations, 6%
  • Distribution Centers, 5%
  • Direct Reports, 4%
  • Process Improvement, 4%
Common warehouse manager skills
  • Customer Service, 14%
  • Safety Regulations, 9%
  • Safety Procedures, 8%
  • Logistics, 7%
  • Inventory Control, 6%
  • Shipping Receiving, 5%

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