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 256 Distribution Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 9125 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 2016:
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 $128,039.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $131,174.
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 $104,812.
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 | 59.96% |
| Master's Degree | 13.71% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.33% |
| Other | 11.11% |
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 | 14.32% |
| 3 to 5 years | 53.95% |
| 6 to 8 years | 20.48% |
| 9+ years | 11.25% |
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.
- Operations (55.15%)
- Management (55.08%)
- Communication (54.87%)
- Leadership (47.97%)
- Customer Service (34.97%)
- Sales (31.75%)
- Planning (26.67%)
- Problem Solving (25.99%)
- Microsoft Excel (19.75%)
- Microsoft Office (17.93%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Warehousing (31.3%)
- Supply Chain (26.39%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Process Improvement (16.05%)
- Supply Chain Management (9.9%)
- Sales Management (5.71%)
- Sales Presentations (3.85%)
- SAP Applications (8.06%)
- Performance Metric (8.32%)
- Operations Management (15.09%)
- Warehouse Management Systems (13.01%)
- Project Management (29.98%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (20.8%)
- Inventory Control (8.2%)
- Inventory Management (15.54%)
- Marketing (15.77%)
- Order Fulfillment Management (9.57%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (5.12%)
- Selling Techniques (8.24%)
- Performance Management (6.14%)
- Finance (9.93%)
- Procurement (10.85%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (21.64%)
- Customer Relationship Management (6.06%)
- Business Development (8.33%)
- Data Analysis (6.53%)
- Auditing (9.56%)
- Logistics (7.18%)
- Electrical Power Transmission And Distribution (6.62%)
- Warehouse Operations (10.72%)
- Workflow Management (11.34%)
- Profit And Loss (P&L) Management (7.92%)
- Shipping And Receiving (9.1%)
- Business Metrics (8.05%)
- Sales Strategy (2.6%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Supply Chain (100%)
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
- Transmission Project Manager
- Distribution Account Manager
- Order Fulfillment Manager
- Distribution Engineer
- Fulfillment Operations Manager
- Distribution Sales 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 Logistics
- Logistics Manager
- Director of Operations
- Operations Manager (General)
- Director of Supply Chain
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 (428)
- Deutsche Post DHL Group (296)
- Ericsson (202)
- Cardinal Health (160)
- Johnson & Johnson (135)
- Burns & McDonnell (124)
- Res Agency (111)
- Walmart (97)
- Sargent & Lundy (90)
- Electrical Consultants (86)
North Carolina
- Siemens Energy (10)
- John Wood Group (8)
- Deutsche Post DHL Group (6)
- Burns & McDonnell (6)
- Leidos (6)
- Ericsson (6)
- US LBM Holdings (5)
- Amazon (4)
- James Hardie Building Products (4)
- Best Buy (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.