Company Name

Berlin Packaging

Search Job Title

Dual Operations Managers for Distribution Centers in Toronto and Atlanta

Client Profile

Berlin Packaging is a global supplier of packaging solutions, serving customers across a wide range of industries through an extensive distribution network. As the company continued to expand its reach, new demands emerged within its distribution and operations leadership structure. Berlin Packaging requires leaders who not only understand warehouse and distribution fundamentals but who also bring strong business acumen, financial oversight capabilities, and the ability to influence strategy across sales, supply chain, and customer service functions. Their culture emphasizes agility, process discipline, and high-performance leadership, making the selection of the right operations manager critical to the success of each DC.

Role Objectives & Challenges

Berlin Packaging needed leaders capable of stepping beyond the traditional duties of warehouse or distribution center management. The typical DC manager profile—which often emphasizes frontline supervision, labor allocation, and daily operational execution—did not align with the company’s expectations. Instead, the ideal candidate required a hybrid background that combined retail or wholesale management with inventory-heavy operational experience. The company needed someone who understood process optimization, budgeting, customer service, and business operations, and who had experience managing teams while influencing profitability and strategic outcomes.

This challenge became even more complex considering the dual-location requirement. Berlin Packaging needed one leader in Toronto and another in Atlanta, and each market demanded a different talent approach. Toronto required someone with strong multi-unit retail leadership experience in an environment where inventory management played a central role. Atlanta demanded a blend of wholesale and retail experience combined with strong operational oversight, but the available talent pool was different and required more extensive sourcing before identifying qualified finalists. In both markets, the candidates needed to step into a distribution environment and quickly adapt to Berlin Packaging’s systems, planning expectations, and strategic operating model.

Our Approach to Solve the Search

SCM Talent Group began the search by reframing the talent profile to reflect Berlin Packaging’s unique vision for the role. Rather than pursuing traditional warehouse leadership candidates, the team focused on brick-and-mortar retail and wholesale managers with proven experience in business operations, customer service, and inventory-heavy environments. Candidates were sourced directly from each local market to align with Berlin Packaging's preference for leaders who understood regional labor dynamics, customer expectations, and operational norms.

Because the roles required a balance between strategic capability and technical operational knowledge, SCM Talent Group performed extensive screening to evaluate candidates’ experience with inventory planning, budgeting, ERP systems, cross-functional collaboration, and customer-facing decision-making. The screening process also ensured that candidates possessed the leadership maturity, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities needed to support a high-performance operation and partner effectively with sales and supply chain counterparts.

This refined sourcing strategy allowed SCM Talent Group to home in on candidates with strong business acumen and operational credibility—leaders capable of excelling in a demanding, metrics-driven environment while also contributing to Berlin Packaging’s broader organizational strategy.

The Hire & Results

The Toronto search moved quickly and efficiently. SCM Talent Group sourced approximately thirty potential candidates and identified one standout finalist early in the process—a leader overseeing multi-unit operations at Staples who demonstrated the right mix of business operations experience, inventory oversight, and leadership maturity. From a final slate of four candidates, two advanced to onsite interviews, and the selected candidate accepted the offer. The Toronto role was successfully filled within thirty days, meeting the client’s timeline and aligning closely with their strategic expectations.

The Atlanta search followed a different trajectory. The market required a broader and more prolonged sourcing effort because fewer candidates possessed the right balance of wholesale, retail, and operational leadership experience. SCM Talent Group expanded the search parameters and submitted a larger volume of candidates before ultimately developing a final slate of nine individuals for interview consideration. The successful hire came from a wholesaler with enough retail and managerial exposure to translate seamlessly into Berlin Packaging’s hybrid operations and business leadership model. Although the Atlanta search required an additional two months to complete, the extended effort ensured that the selected candidate aligned fully with the organization’s high-performance expectations and operational complexity.

Both placements strengthened Berlin Packaging’s distribution leadership structure in two distinct markets, providing the company with operations managers capable of contributing at both tactical and strategic levels while reinforcing the company’s values, culture, and commitment to disciplined operational excellence.