About this role

 

The Distribution Operations Manager leads the daily execution and operational performance of FLANDERS Motors, Drives and Electrical products related to the distribution business. The Manager owns Distribution follow through from initial customer inquiry through quotation, purchasing coordination, delivery, invoicing and order closure.

This is a people leadership position with direct reports and authority to assign work, set priorities, train employees and manage performance. The manager is responsible for resetting operating expectations, resolving process gaps and implementing the Distribution Operating Guide. Success requires reliable customer communication, accurate operating information and measurable improvement in execution and profitability.

The manager works with Sales, Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering, Shipping and Finance through established company processes. Accountability for Distribution progress continues across those handoffs; functional approvals and transaction authority remain with the designated departments.

Key Responsibilities

Team leadership and accountability

• Directly supervise assigned Distribution employees, establish individual expectations and manage daily workload, coverage and priorities.
• Assess skills and staffing needs, provide coaching and training, develop Operating Procedures, and address performance issues with HR support.
• Identify where process, training, capacity or performance gaps are preventing execution and implement corrective actions.
• Build team engagement and ownership through clear direction, regular feedback and follow-through on commitments.

Distribution execution and coordination

• Own the Distribution workflow and ensure every active request, quote and order has an assigned employee, due date and next action.
• Maintain visibility into open opportunities, quotations, customer POs and orders; resolve bottlenecks and escalate issues requiring other leaders' decisions.
• Establish clear handoffs and confirm completion across Sales, Quoting, Procurement, Shipping and Finance rather than relying on informal follow up.

Quoting and pricing oversight

• Ensure requests are acknowledged, assigned and completed within approved Quick, Standard and Complex quote expectations.
• Verify requirements, vendor costs, freight, tariffs, delivery terms, margins and pricing approvals before quote release.
• Track vendor information requests, follow up and escalate nonresponse; ensure customers receive timely status and customer-ready information.
• Review quote accuracy, conversion and lost-order reasons with Sales and correct recurring pricing or response issues.

Operational ownership

Vendor and purchasing coordination

• Ensure complete purchasing requirements and BOMs reach Procurement through the established process; verify alignment to customer specifications, pricing and delivery commitments.
• Track requisition and supplier PO status, vendor acknowledgments, availability, lead times and pricing changes with Procurement.
• Escalate credit holds, vendor nonresponse and supply constraints to the responsible leaders and communicate the impact to Sales.
• Confirm that purchasing actions are completed. Procurement retains responsibility for issuing supplier POs and its assigned supplier processes.

Technical and customer support

• Provide motor and related electrical product guidance and ensure appropriate products are quoted and purchased for the application.
• Interpret customer specifications and coordinate Engineering, Sales and vendor expertise when requirements need clarification.
• Resolve specification discrepancies, incorrect orders and fulfillment concerns; maintain clear communication on availability, lead times and order status.

Order fulfillment and delivery

• Ensure accepted customer POs are validated and entered promptly, with purchasing requirements and delivery commitments documented.
• Track orders through purchasing, receipt where applicable, direct shipment and delivery; confirm partial shipments and supporting documentation.
• Identify at-risk and overdue orders, assign recovery actions and update Sales before customer commitments are missed.
• Coordinate with Shipping and Finance to resolve documentation and billing issues; track billable work until invoiced and completed orders until closed.

Backlog management and forecasting

• Own the accuracy of Distribution backlog and reconcile accepted customer POs with open customer orders and purchasing status.
• Ensure scheduled end dates, vendor promise dates, customer commitments, order status and next actions remain current and supported.
• Retain original commitments and reasons for changes; correct stale dates and verify completed orders are properly closed.
• Provide a supported invoicing forecast and explain changes, overdue work and risks to the VP and Finance.

Performance management and continuous improvement

• Implement the Distribution Operating Guide, train the team and verify compliance through routine reviews.
• Maintain the scorecard and action log; investigate missed targets, assign corrective actions and verify improvement.
• Work with Sales to improve quote conversion and profitable growth while protecting approved pricing and resolving recurring customer issues.
• Monitor GPM, gross profit dollars and quoted versus actual costs with Finance; recommend process and staffing changes supported by workload and performance data.

Supervisory responsibility and authority

Direct supervision of assigned Distribution employees is a core requirement of this role. The manager assigns work, sets deadlines, evaluates performance and recommends hiring, development and corrective action within company policy. The approved reporting structure must provide the authority needed to meet these expectations. Buyers and other supporting employees outside Distribution retain their functional reporting relationships unless separately approved.

 

Required Qualifications

• Five or more years in industrial distribution, purchasing, inside sales, quoting or related operations, including demonstrated people leadership and performance management.
• Experience managing quoting, customer orders, purchasing coordination and fulfillment in an industrial or technical product environment.
• Working knowledge of motors, drives and related electrical products; ability to interpret specifications, applications, vendor quotations and pricing.
• Demonstrated ability to improve processes, train employees, manage competing priorities and resolve issues across departments.
• Strong communication, analytical and problem-solving skills; proficiency with ERP systems, Excel and business reporting tools.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience in motor and drive distribution, industrial equipment distribution or motor repair and service environments.
• Familiarity with horsepower, voltage, speed, frame size, efficiency, application requirements and industrial manufacturer offerings.
• Experience rebuilding team performance and implementing documented operating standards and quote-to-order improvements.

Metrics and monitoring

The manager maintains one scorecard with actual results, approved targets, prior-period results and corrective actions.