Distribution Manager
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Distribution Manager coordinates storage, stock control, transport, and distribution of goods using logistics IT systems. May involve managing associated logistics and distribution staff members.
Job Outlook
There were 448 Distribution Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 13849 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Storage / Distribution Manager industry, which includes the Distribution Manager career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Distribution Manager jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $125,834.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $122,259.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Distribution Manager postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $93,688.
Education and Experience
Posted Distribution Manager jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 56.38% |
| Master's Degree | 13.75% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.31% |
| Other | 17.76% |
Posted Distribution Manager jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 18.38% |
| 3 to 5 years | 50.23% |
| 6 to 8 years | 18.07% |
| 9+ years | 13.32% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Distribution Manager positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (49.81%)
- Management (49.61%)
- Operations (48.57%)
- Leadership (42.37%)
- Customer Service (33.26%)
- Sales (30.71%)
- Planning (23.27%)
- Problem Solving (22.59%)
- Microsoft Excel (18.58%)
- Microsoft Office (16.75%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Warehousing (34.25%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Shipping And Receiving (8.23%)
- Business Metrics (5.23%)
- Workflow Management (9%)
- Supply Chain (23.67%)
- Data Analysis (8.76%)
- Procurement (7.73%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (18.41%)
- Inventory Management (13.31%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (16.65%)
- Marketing (14.32%)
- Warehouse Management Systems (12.17%)
- Auditing (9.31%)
- Purchasing (7.9%)
- Performance Metric (4.05%)
- Business Development (7.11%)
- Customer Relationship Management (6.46%)
- Inventory Control (9.4%)
- Finance (8.95%)
- Project Management (22.58%)
- SAP Applications (8.27%)
- Operations Management (13.73%)
- Supply Chain Management (9.58%)
- Sales Management (5.1%)
- Process Improvement (13.61%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Distribution Manager skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Fulfillment Manager
- Distribution Operations Manager
- Shipping and Receiving Manager
- Distribution Account Manager
- Order Fulfillment Manager
- Transmission Project Manager
- Distribution Engineer
- Operations Manager
- Fulfillment Operations Manager
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Director of Operations
- Logistics Manager
- Logistics Director
- Supply Chain Director
- Operations Manager (General)
- Warehouse / Distribution Supervisor
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Distribution Manager jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Amazon (469)
- Deutsche Post DHL Group (227)
- Johnson & Johnson (176)
- Ryder (161)
- Ericsson (161)
- HD Supply (92)
- The Judge Group (90)
- Uline (86)
- Burns & McDonnell (85)
- Baker Tilly (71)
North Carolina
- Amazon (9)
- Eaton Corporation (8)
- Deutsche Post DHL Group (6)
- WestRock (6)
- Leidos (6)
- Ingersoll Rand (6)
- Vestis (6)
- Ericsson (5)
- James Hardie Building Products (4)
- Suburban Propane (4)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.