Distribution Centre Manager

The first Koko Black store opened in December 2003 and as luck and love would have it, our delight in sharing the immense pleasure and happiness of chocolate has turned into a local Melbourne enterprise with a factory based in Melbourne and retail stores across Australia.

Koko Black’s Creative Centre is based in Coburg, Melbourne, and distributes to its retail stores, wholesalers, corporate clients and online customers nationally.

The purpose of the Distribution Centre Manager is to manage a team, packing, dispatching and delivering orders for business, corporate and online customers maintaining a high standard of service appropriate for a chocolate gifting experience. In addition to being responsible for daily operations and logistics, this role will play a key role in continuous improvement and development of this space.

The Distribution Centre Manager reports to the General Manager of Operations & Supply Chain. Some weekend work is required particularly during seasonal periods.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead the Distribution Centre effectively

• Lead the team to pick, pack, dispatch and deliver finished goods orders in an efficient, accurate manner and timely manner.
• Manage, recruit and support staff, facilitate thorough onboarding and training, demonstrating a hands-on approach and leading by example
• Plan the workload, labour and material resource to deliver business needs. Plan in advance of demand using forecasted and actual sales information.
• Ensure orders are completed in line with any special instructions including retail requirements, wholesale customer requirements, online and gifting specifications.
• Liaise with transport providers as necessary to ensure we deliver the highest possible level of customer service to our customers, solving resource, materials and logistics problems as they occur.
• Manage performance and KPIs by providing daily written and verbal communication to management and other stakeholders.
• Own stock accuracy by leveraging tools to support accurate picking as well as conduction regular stocktake.
• Always adhere to and ensure the team comply to safe work practices, GMP and HACCP requirements. 

Manage internal and external stakeholders

• Collaborate and liaise with other internal departments, retail stores, third party suppliers and transport companies to understand and action customer requirements in order fulfilment.
• Communicate requirements to the team and ensure the team adhere to customer order requirements, Koko Black quality standards, and complete the necessary system transactions and documentation. 

Active focus on continuous improvement

• Challenge the status quo by identifying opportunities to enhance company systems with particular focus on stock management, order fulfilment, traceability and freight.
• Review and implement appropriate measures to improve and track productivity.
• Optimise spend on labour costs to cater for both low and peak season.

Support a culture of customer service and improvement

• Demonstrate leadership and commitment to company goals, excellence in quality, customer service and operational performance.
• Take ownership of performance, support employees in training and performance improvement.
• Lead the team, implementing business growth, new retail sites, new customers, collaborate with other internal departments to support growth.

Strategy & Project Management

• Support transitions to new or additional Distribution Centres in line with Koko Black’s growth strategy
• Provide recommendations on short-term and long-term strategic objectives
• Lead and support to deliver multiple projects simultaneously by ensuring strong collaboration among stakeholders

A successful candidate will have the below attributes

• A growth mindset and desire to always continue improving.
• A strong sense of responsibility to support and grow people and achieve as a team.
• Experience in and detailed understanding of warehouse operations and order processing systems, including WMS, EDI, ASNs, barcoding standards, RF Devices.  
• Strong knowledge of manual handling methods and OH&S.
• The ability to maintain performance through good planning and the ability to respond to opportunities and challenges through being flexible and responsive.

Experience in a Distribution Centre or warehouse with multiple channels is essential, as we need someone who will come into the business and confidently take the lead in this space.

Working at Koko Black:

We are ambitious and see the potential we have for growth in this business, it's an exciting journey to be a part of, but not for the faint of heart!

We encourage new ideas and will provide an environment where this way of thinking is supported and encouraged. Challenging the status quo is important, and we never want do something just because that's how it's always been done.

To set you up for success, we will provide a thorough onboarding that allows you to work in all parts of the business and spend time with key stakeholders to give you a thorough understanding of Koko Black and start building strong working relationships.

Where to from here?

If this glimpse into the world of Koko Black sparks something in you, we would love to hear from you!

Even if you don't check every box above, we want to encourage you to introduce yourself and tell us how your work or life experiences make you a great fit for Koko Black and the role.

We believe a diversity of perspectives and experiences makes a team stronger — and the stronger our team, the better we will be at providing the best possible experience in the chocolate world.