JOB DESCRIPTION

FULFILMENT SYSTEMS LEAD -- WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION & ERP

Industry: Technology / Warehousing / Logistics**

Location: Bellville, Cape Town with travel between operational and partner sites

Direct report: 1
Employment type:Permanent | In -office

About our client

Our client is a fast-growing business operating across warehousing, logistics, manufacturing and distribution. With significant year-on-year growth and an increasingly automated fulfilment environment, technology is central to maintaining inventory accuracy, order throughput and demanding delivery commitments.

The business is moving from manual warehouse processes towards an integrated automated fulfilment operation, incorporating warehouse management systems, warehouse control systems, scanning, conveyors, pick / put-to-light technology and robotics.

The opportunity

Our client is seeking an experienced Fulfilment Systems Lead aka SYSTEMS CHAMPION to take ownership of the systems that underpin its warehouse and order fulfilment operation.

This is a specialist, hands-on leadership role that sits at the intersection of warehouse operations, ERP systems, technology and automation partners.

You will be the primary internal expert on the Warehouse Management System (WMS), Warehouse Control System (WCS), robotics integration and their connection to the ERP environment. You will own system configuration, resolve complex L2 / L3 issues, manage system performance and ensure that technology accurately reflects the physical warehouse processes.

You will also lead the functional delivery of warehouse automation initiatives, from requirements gathering and solution design through integration, testing, commissioning, go-live and post-implementation stabilisation.

The role requires someone who understands both the operational realities of a warehouse and the technical requirements of integrated systems. You will translate business requirements into functional and integration specifications for external technology partners, while ensuring that delivered solutions meet operational needs.

You will also lead and develop the Fulfilment Systems Support Analyst, who provides first-line support on the warehouse floor.

Key responsibilities

1. Daily fulfilment systems operations and alignment

• Own the daily functional operation of the WMS, WCS and their integration with the ERP.

• Monitor system health, interfaces, message queues and exceptions, resolving held or delayed orders.

• Maintain an end-to-end process-to-system map for the warehouse.

• Ensure system configuration accurately reflects physical warehouse processes, including locations, routes, put-away and removal strategies, barcodes, lot tracking, slotting, replenishment and allocation rules.

• Monitor system outputs, transaction flows, exceptions and throughput.

• Reconcile ERP stock and transactions against warehouse and automation system data.

• Investigate variances and coordinate root-cause resolution with operational stakeholders and the automation partner.

• Monitor courier handoffs, including manifesting, labels, waybills, dispatch confirmation and cross-border documentation.

• Take accountability for system-related risks affecting same-day local, bulk and cross-border fulfilment commitments.

• Manage WMS and WCS user roles and access in line with security standards.

• Coordinate maintenance windows with operations and technology partners.

2. L2 / L3 support, incident and problem management

• Act as the primary L2 / L3 resolver/systems champion for WMS, WCS, automation and ERP integration incidents.

• Diagnose system, configuration, data and integration issues and restore service as quickly as possible.

• Investigate integration failures involving APIs, message flows, logs and data exchanges between systems.

• Determine whether issues relate to configuration, data, integration, business processes, infrastructure or robotics, and route them to the appropriate technical owner.

• Work closely with the ERP Product Owner and Platform Engineer on integration and platform-related issues.

• Escalate product defects to vendors with complete supporting evidence and manage cases through to resolution.

• Coordinate major incidents, including impact assessment, stakeholder communication and recovery.

• Lead root-cause analysis for recurring incidents and drive permanent corrective actions.

• Maintain known errors and technical knowledge articles.

• Participate in standby arrangements during go-lives, cutovers, maintenance windows and peak trading periods.

• Escalate suspected security incidents and information breaches through the appropriate internal channels.

3. Business continuity and downtime readiness

• Own the systems component of warehouse downtime and recovery procedures.

• Develop and maintain manual fallback and degraded-mode processes in collaboration with operational management.

• Rehearse downtime procedures with operations at least twice annually.

• Update recovery procedures following major incidents and automation go-lives.

• Reconcile stock and order statuses across the ERP, WMS and WCS following outages.

• Provide fulfilment system requirements for technology disaster recovery testing.

4. System performance, compliance and reporting

• Produce system performance reports covering availability, transaction throughput, interface errors, latency, response times and incident trends.

• Monitor vendor service-level performance.

• Report on compliance with technology governance, change control, configuration baselines and user access reviews.

• Monitor system-use compliance, including scan compliance, manual overrides and stock adjustment approvals.

• Build and maintain fulfilment dashboards using SQL and Power BI.

• Track key operational measures such as OTIF, perfect order fulfilment, order cycle time, pick / pack / dispatch accuracy, throughput and SLA attainment.

• Analyse system-related fulfilment failures and drive corrective action with operational stakeholders.

• Provide regular performance and compliance reporting to operational and technology management.

5. Configuration ownership and technology governance

• Own WMS and WCS configuration within the functionality provided by the vendor.

• Manage fulfilment-related configuration and settings within the WMS-to-ERP integration.

• Maintain an accurate configuration baseline and supporting documentation.

• Ensure all configuration changes follow formal change-control procedures.

• Assess operational impact before changes are implemented and ensure appropriate testing before production deployment.

• Work within the organisation's application delivery framework, ITSM processes and documentation standards.

• Assess whether requirements should be addressed through configuration, customisation or partner development, considering scalability and total cost.

6. Warehouse automation delivery and systems integration

• Act as the functional lead and subject matter expert for warehouse automation initiatives.

• Coordinate the integration of the ERP and WMS with the WCS, conveyors, scanning, pick / put-to-light, sortation and robotics.

• Define integration and data-flow requirements, message handshakes, exception handling and reconciliation rules.

• Design future-state warehouse processes and ensure these are correctly reflected in system configuration before go-live.

• Participate in technology and vendor selection where required.

• Lead functional involvement in Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), commissioning, volume simulations, cutover, go-live and hypercare.

• Lead data migration and master data readiness.

• Define infrastructure, device, network and environment requirements in collaboration with the relevant technical teams.

• Ensure dependencies such as RF / Wi-Fi coverage, handheld devices, label printing, edge servers and network resilience are addressed.

• Contribute fulfilment system requirements to the ERP and wider applications roadmap.

7. Vendor coordination and escalation

• Act as the primary internal contact for the WMS / WCS vendor and automation implementation partner on support and delivery matters.

• Log and manage vendor cases, ensuring that supporting evidence is complete and issues are tracked through to resolution.

• Coordinate vendor deliverables, statements of work, functional specifications, acceptance criteria and knowledge transfer.

• Translate operational requirements into clear technical specifications and explain vendor solutions and technical constraints to business stakeholders.

• Work closely with the vendor's onsite robotics engineer on issues spanning software and robotics.

• Assess vendor patches, releases and roadmap changes for operational impact.

• Coordinate testing and deployment windows.

• Ensure vendor remote access follows the organisation's security requirements.

8. Business analysis, solution design and enhancement management

• Facilitate workshops, interviews and warehouse floor observations to understand operational requirements and pain points.

• Work with Warehousing, Logistics, Sales, Manufacturing and Finance stakeholders to assess and document business requirements.

• Map current and future-state processes using BPMN and related process-mapping techniques.

• Translate business requirements into functional specifications, integration specifications, data mappings and user stories with clear acceptance criteria.

• Develop prototypes and proofs of value where appropriate.

• Assess the impact of proposed changes across the ERP, WMS, WCS, automation and supporting infrastructure.

• Manage improvements through the formal technology enhancement process.

• Maintain a prioritised backlog in collaboration with operational and technology stakeholders.

• Review vendor solution designs and estimates for functional suitability.

• Develop test plans, test cases and scripts covering functional, integration, end-to-end, volume, performance and cutover scenarios.

• Coordinate and lead UAT with warehouse and business users.

• Confirm functional readiness for deployment through the appropriate governance processes.

9. Training, documentation and user enablement

• Train new system operators before they work independently.

• Deliver refresher training to existing users and team leaders.

• Develop and maintain system configuration, integration and support documentation.

• Create and update user manuals, SOPs, quick reference guides and warehouse process documentation.

• Establish and develop a warehouse super-user network.

• Champion the adoption of system and process changes.

• Monitor user adoption following releases and automation go-lives.

10. Team leadership

• Lead, coach and develop the Fulfilment Systems Support Analyst.

• Allocate daily work, set objectives and review performance.

• Ensure appropriate L1 support coverage and cross-training.

• Maintain the support and standby roster.

• Promote ownership, accountability and continuous improvement within the support function.

Minimum requirements

• National Senior Certificate (Grade 12).

• Diploma or degree in Information Technology, Information Systems, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain and Logistics Management, Business Analysis or a related field.

• Alternatively, equivalent demonstrated prior learning and relevant experience.

• Approximately seven or more years' combined experience as a Business Analyst, Systems Analyst or ERP Functional Consultant.

• At least three years' experience in order fulfilment, warehousing or distribution, preferably within FMCG, wholesale, e-commerce or third-party logistics.

• Strong functional and configuration experience with a WMS and its integration with an ERP.

• Strong understanding of warehouse and order fulfilment processes, inventory management and warehouse controls.

• Experience implementing or operating an automated fulfilment environment, including WMS, WCS, scanning, conveyors, pick / put-to-light, sortation or robotics.

• Involvement in at least one automation go-live, covering requirements, design, testing, cutover and stabilisation.

• Demonstrated accountability for ensuring that system configuration aligns with physical warehouse operations and measurable outcomes such as inventory accuracy, pick accuracy and throughput.

• At least three years' L2 / L3 application and integration support experience in a time-critical operational environment.

• Experience specifying and testing integrations, including APIs, EDI, middleware, carrier and e-commerce integrations.

• Experience with data migration and master data governance.

• Experience managing external software vendors and implementation partners, including specifications, statements of work, FAT / SAT, SLAs and release testing.

• Proven business analysis experience, including BPMN process mapping, requirements elicitation, user stories, acceptance criteria and UAT.

• Experience producing system performance and compliance reports using SQL and BI tools.

• Experience working within formal IT governance, change control and ITSM frameworks.

• Experience developing SOPs, training material and super-user networks.

• Experience supervising, coaching or mentoring at least one team member.

Advantageous qualifications and experience

• IIBA certification, such as CCBA or CBAP, PMI-PBA or equivalent.

• ITIL V4 Foundation.

• Odoo functional certification or equivalent ERP certification, such as SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365 SCM, NetSuite or Sage X3.

• WMS / WCS vendor product training or certification.

• ASCM / APICS CLTD or CSCP.

• Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst certification (PL-300).

• Agile or Scrum certification.

• Experience with Odoo is preferred; relevant experience with SAP EWM / WM, Dynamics 365 SCM, NetSuite or Sage X3 integrated with a WMS will also be considered.

• Exposure to high-growth, high-volume fulfilment operations with demanding same-day delivery SLAs, bulk orders and cross-border / export fulfilment.

Technical and operational knowledge

Warehouse and order fulfilment

• End-to-end warehouse processes, including receiving, put-away, slotting, replenishment, allocation, wave and batch picking, packing, dispatch, returns and cycle counting.

• Inventory accuracy, ABC classification, replenishment parameters, stock status, lot / batch and expiry controls, FEFO and stock adjustments.

• Warehouse controls, scan-to-confirm processes, pick / pack / dispatch verification, approvals, segregation of duties and audit trails.

• Courier handoffs, manifesting, waybills, carrier integrations, tracking, dispatch reconciliation and cross-border fulfilment.

Warehouse automation

• WMS, WCS and WES functionality and integration.

• Barcode and RF scanning, conveyors, sortation, pick / put-to-light, goods-to-person systems and AMR / AGV robotics.

• PLC / WCS handshakes and the interaction between the WMS, WCS and automation equipment.

• FAT / SAT, simulation, commissioning and go-live stabilisation**.**

ERP and integration

• Strong functional understanding of ERP - Odoo Inventory / Warehouse, Barcode, Purchase, Sales, Manufacturing, Quality and Accounting.

• Multi-warehouse configuration, routes, put-away and removal strategies, lot and serial traceability and carrier integrations.

• WMS-to-ERP integration and data flows to WCS and courier platforms.

• REST / JSON, XML-RPC APIs, EDI, middleware, message queues and file interfaces.

• Integration logs, error diagnosis and data reconciliation.

Business analysis and delivery

• BPMN process mapping, swim lanes and value-stream mapping.

• As-is and to-be analysis and requirements elicitation.

• Functional and integration specifications, user stories and acceptance criteria.

• Configure-versus-customise-versus-partner-build assessments.

• Test planning, functional and integration testing, UAT, performance testing, cutover and simulation testing.

Reporting and governance

• SQL querying and data validation.

• Power BI and operational performance dashboards.

• Inventory accuracy, throughput, OTIF, order cycle time and SLA reporting.

• ITIL V4, incident, problem, change and request management.

• Vendor management, delivery governance and SLA monitoring.

• Business continuity and degraded-mode warehouse operations.

• Change management, training needs analysis, super-user networks and adoption tracking.

Key skills and competencies

• WMS and WCS functional configuration and administration.

• ERP functional knowledge, particularly Odoo.

• Warehouse process design and automation integration.

• Inventory management and fulfilment controls.

• Courier handoffs, dispatch reconciliation and cross-border order flows.

• L2 / L3 incident diagnosis and root-cause analysis.

• WMS-to-ERP integration analysis and troubleshooting.

• API and integration specification.

• Business requirements translation and vendor coordination.

• Vendor escalation, SLA and deliverable management.

• System performance and compliance reporting.

• Downtime and recovery planning.

• BPMN process mapping and requirements elicitation.

• Functional solution design and enhancement management.

• Test design, UAT, FAT / SAT and cutover planning.

• SQL and Power BI.

• Operator training, documentation and super-user development.

• Team leadership and coaching.

Personal attributes

The successful candidate will be analytical, practical and highly detail-oriented, with the ability to understand complex systems and translate them into workable operational solutions.

You should be comfortable working directly in a warehouse environment, engaging with operators and management, and balancing immediate operational requirements with longer-term technology improvements.

Strong communication and relationship-building skills are essential. You will need to influence external vendors, challenge technical proposals where necessary and explain complex system issues in language that business stakeholders can understand.

The role requires someone who can take ownership, lead through incidents and pressure situations, manage multiple delivery workstreams and remain focused on outcomes during go-lives and peak trading periods.

A combination of technical depth, business analysis capability and people leadership will be particularly important.

Working environment

This is an on-site role based at the fulfilment warehouse, with travel between operational sites and external vendor or automation partner locations as required.

Participation in after-hours support and standby arrangements is required, particularly during system incidents, maintenance windows, cutovers, go-lives and peak trading periods.