About our family of companies:
We are on a mission to bring learning to life! At our family of companies, Learning Resources®, Educational Insights, and hand2mind, we create a unique range of toys, educational products and supplemental curriculum trusted by teachers and loved by families alike. Voted among the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces for the last four consecutive years, we are a 350-person strong, family-owned organization dedicated to helping kids succeed in school and develop a love of learning. In addition to high-quality, hands-on products like VersaTiles® and Cuisenaire® Rods, we make award-winning toys, including top sellers such as the Pretend & Play® Cash Register, the Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set and Toy of the Year winner Botley® the Coding Robot as well as Educational Insights top sellers Kanoodle®, GeoSafari® Jr. series, and Playfoam™. We pride ourselves on being committed to our employee’s personal and professional development, a thriving culture and a diverse, creative atmosphere. Along with our culture and competitive benefits package, we offer opportunities for training and development by Harvard and UCLA professors as well as in-demand, motivating external speakers. We are looking for professionals who are truly just kids at heart! We hope you’ll come join our award-winning team today!
Team & Position Description:
We are currently seeking an Industrial Engineer, Continuous Improvement to join our growing team. This role is a highly visible and cross-functional role within the organization that will contribute to our dynamic and fast moving distribution environment. This individual will be responsible for material handling optimization projects and improving operational capabilities/efficiency. Familiarity and experience with a WMS or related software is preferred for this role. Responsibilities for the position include identifying and remedying operational inefficiencies and bottlenecks, prototyping solutions, slotting of material, labor standards, and building out internal datasets. This position will be highly collaborative and requires an independently driven person willing and able to work with others to drive change. Innovation, thinking outside the box, being results oriented, and challenging the norm will be essential in this role.
What we’re looking for (Key Performance Objectives):
- Re-work the slotting and putaway process at both companies within first 6 months and own all warehouse slotting initiatives going forward.
- Build out labor & pricing models and create measurements to effectively assess assembly efficiency within first year.
- Become the subject matter expert on internal business intelligence tool for the warehouse operations team within first 6 months. Create reports, review data, and identify data driven opportunities for improvement. Once opportunities are identified, work with Operations leadership on implementing new procedures.
- Own the relationship with third party warehouse operational vendors within first 6 months. Work with warehouse and technical leadership on prioritizing and troubleshooting problems, identify bottlenecks and improvement opportunities, and spec out new change orders.
- Innovate: Observe and proactively suggest 3 operational improvements to widen the pipe at both organizations within first 12 months that show a 5% cost reduction, 5% productivity increase, or 20% data visibility increase for the focus area.
Requirements/Ideal Attributes:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or equivalent work experience
- 3 to 5 years of experience in a similar role is preferred, but candidates with additional experience are welcome to apply
- Excellent communication skills; both verbal and written (read, write) clearly in English
- Proficient with MS Word, Excel, and experience with WMS or WCS programs
- Flexible to work weekends and extended periods of time as required
- Strong analytical skills and an understanding of internal controls
- Ability to communicate effectively with vendors in English
Physical Demands:
- Standing – up to 50%
- Sitting – up to 50%
- Computer usage – 70%
- Ability to travel as needed – less than 5%
- Ability to lift up to 50lbs unassisted
We are a drug-free workplace and an EEO employer.
Please note: This role will be filled by our internal recruitment team, so no assistance is needed from any outside staffing agency at this time.
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