Warehouse and Operations as a Career

When people think about recruiting, they often picture office jobs, LinkedIn searches, polished resumes, and candidates who know how to sell themselves. But today, I want to talk about a very different role the Light Industrial Recruiter and why I believe it can be an outstanding career path for the right person. In many cases, becoming a light industrial recruiter is not someone’s first job. It’s...

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty and I thought we’d get to some more questions today, another Ask Me Anything episode. We had some really good ones come in, a couple of topics I’ve been wanting to get to myself. Let’s start off with this one from Carol, a forklift operator in the distribution industry. Carol feels there’s a trend developing where...

Marty here with Warehouse and Operations as a Career. This has always been my favorite time of year. Not just because of the holidays, although I do enjoy a little time off and getting to spend some quality time with family and friends. It’s always been my reset or reboot time of year. I know a lot of people that look at spring as their reboot season. I don’t know, maybe because one year is...

I feel Looking for Work Is Hard Work. One of the biggest misunderstandings about unemployment or career change is the idea that looking for work is something you do casually, or in between other things. A few clicks here, a few applications there, maybe scrolling on some job boards late at night from the couch. And then the frustration sets in when the phone doesn’t start ringing.   The truth is s...

Ghosting has become a two-way street in today’s hiring world. Job seekers feel like recruiters disappear after they send in their application or even after a face-to-face interview. Recruiters, on the other hand, feel that applicants vanish just as often, not showing up for interviews, not returning calls, or even skipping their first day after completing the entire onboarding process. And at the...

Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career, I’m Marty, and today I thought we’d have another Ask Me Anything episode. I always like these because the questions don’t come from textbooks, supervisors, or managers, they come directly from real associates and warehouse workers with real concerns. Our industry welcomes so many first time job seekers, and those wanting to change career paths....

In warehousing and operations, none of us begin our shifts planning to create risk or endanger someone. Most of us show up, jump on the forklift, our rider pallet jacks, or another piece of powered industrial equipment, to put away pallets, run freight across the dock, build loads, and try to hit our numbers. We hear the safety rules during orientation, we sign the training sheets, we watch the vi...

Welcome back to another episode of Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty, and today I want to talk about something a listener asked a few weeks ago. How does one choose a career, and more specifically, how do they end up in the light industrial, warehousing, and transportation fields.   One of the things I’ve learned over the decades is that very few people wake up at 18 years old and sa...

When we think about goals and planning, most of us picture big dreams, buying a house, raising a family, finding stability, choosing a career, or one day reaching retirement. But for today’s young light industrial workforce, many of those ideas feel far away, maybe even impossible. And honestly, it’s not their fault. The world changed fast, faster than the rulebook was updated.   But here’s the tr...

Few things disrupt operations more quickly than a No Call, No Show (NCNS). Whether it’s a missed interview, a new-hire training, an equipment certification, or the first day on the job, a single NCNS can derail productivity, frustrate clients or supervisors, and ripple through the schedule of an entire shift. It’s not a new problem, it’s just becoming more visible, more costly, and more accepted t...

Marty here with Warehouse and Operations as a Career. Today we’re talking about staffing agencies, what they are, why they exist, and the benefits they bring from both a client’s perspective and the applicant’s perspective. In our light industrial environment, warehousing, distribution, production, and manufacturing, staffing agencies play a massive role. They help keep product flowing, equipment...

Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career! I’m Marty, and today we’re diving into something that quietly runs the show in almost every modern warehouse, the Warehouse Management System, or WMS.   If you’ve ever scanned a label, followed a pick path, dropped a pallet in a location, or received directions from a handheld or voice system — you’ve been interacting with it. But how often do...

I heard of three individuals, in 3 different states, losing their positions this week, and that bothered me a bit. Two of them I’d worked with on and off over the last year. All three were right at the year mark in their positions, and each believed they had found their long term if not their retire from organization. What struck me as odd was that as all 3 shared their thoughts with me, each used...

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career . I’m Marty, and today we’re talking about something that reaches far beyond the warehouse floor, beyond any title, and beyond the company walls, we’re talking about leadership.   Now, when you hear the word leader, most people instantly think of a boss, a supervisor, or someone in charge. But I’d like to challenge that a bit...

What do you think of when you think of forklifts? I’m sure a lot of us picture those forks sliding into a pallet, lifting it up, and moving it across the dock or racking it in the air to a reserve location. But the forklift can do so much more than just move and store pallets. I’m Marty T Hawkins with Warehouse and Operations as a Career. And today let’s talk about attachments. And specifica...

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career . Today, I want to talk about turnover.   I’m not talking about the dollars it cost , the HR paperwork, maybe some orientation expenses. Some look at just the expense of it. But in operations, we know there’s more to it. Turnover isn’t just about dollars. It’s about disruptions, headaches, safety concerns, and sometimes...

Hello all! Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty, and I’m glad you’ve chosen to spend a few minutes with us today.   Now, I was sitting down the other day thinking about a simple question: Why do we work? Of course we work for a paycheck. But when you dig in a little deeper, there’s more to it. A lot more, actually.   So today, I want to share some thoughts on three thing...

Marty here with Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I want to start off by saying a huge “thank you” to every truck driver out there. This week, Sept 14 th thru the 20 th , is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week here in the states, and I can’t think of a better time to talk about just how important our drivers are, not only to the supply chain but really to every single one of us. The food o...

Here we are in week 37, about to end the 3 rd quarter of 2025. I’ve always found this time of year to be an important part of the year in the light industrial fields. The kids just went back to school, people are starting to think about, and plan for the upcoming holidays. I noticed this week that jobs are opening up. Staffing agencies are flooding the social media job groups with ads, and all the...

Warehouse and Operations as a Career the podcast. Marty T Hawkins here. We need to get to a lot of questions being sent in regarding several of the positions we’ve been speaking on so I’ll try and get something put together in the next couple of weeks. I had to charge our equipment over at the distribution training center this week, so I thought of today’s battery changers and how different...

Hey everyone, Marty here with Warehouse and Operations as a Career. As we continue our series on job descriptions, task, and their opportunities, I thought we’d stick with transportation as a topic. Tonight, I want to dig into a position that doesn’t always get the spotlight but is absolutely critical across several industries, the driver helper. It’s one of those roles that can look a little diff...

When we talk about logistics, warehousing, and distribution, transportation is the vital link that keeps everything moving. Without trucks on the road, vans on the streets, and skilled professionals planning routes, freight doesn’t move, and shelves don’t get replenished. While warehouses store and organize, transportation makes the connection to customers, businesses, and ultimately, our communit...

Here we are in the middle of the 3 rd Quarter already. Schools are starting back up here in the states, the summer vacations were great, visiting with all the friends and family was a bit exhausting and everyone’s getting ready for that final push through to the holidays next quarter.   I mention all that because this is a unique time of year regarding employment, careers, and opportunities...

Welcome back to another episode of Warehouse and Operations as a Career . I’m Marty, and today we’re going to shine a well-deserved spotlight on a role that might not always get the recognition it deserves—but one that most large warehouses relies on.   We’re talking about the floor sweeper/scrubber, the man or woman behind that buzzing machine who glides through the aisles after a long shift, pre...

It’s week 31 of 2025. Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career , I’m Marty, and today we’re diving into two important yet often misunderstood roles within the warehouse world—Inbound Dispatchers and Outbound Dispatchers.   Now, if you’ve worked in a distribution center, chances are you’ve interacted with one or both of these dispatch teams. But for those new to the field—or...