Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Operations Associate

🎯 Role Definition

An Operations Associate is a detail-oriented, process-driven professional who supports day-to-day operational execution across order fulfillment, inventory control, vendor management, and cross-functional process improvement. This role ensures SLAs and KPIs are met through accurate data management, process documentation, root cause analysis, and stakeholder coordination. Ideal candidates combine strong Excel and data skills with practical experience using ERPs, CRM systems, and operational best practices to reduce cost, improve cycle time, and increase customer satisfaction.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Customer Service Representative with exposure to order management and escalations.
Administrative Assistant or Office Coordinator responsible for vendor and facilities coordination.
Logistics Coordinator or Warehouse Associate with hands-on inventory or fulfillment experience.

Advancement To:

Senior Operations Associate / Operations Lead responsible for process redesign and cross-functional projects.
Operations Manager overseeing a team, P&L responsibility, and strategy execution.
Supply Chain Analyst or Continuous Improvement Specialist focused on analytics and efficiency programs.

Lateral Moves:

Project Coordinator (cross-functional program management).
Vendor/Partner Manager (third-party relationship and contract performance).
Account Manager (client-facing operational account management).

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Manage daily order processing and fulfillment workflows end-to-end, ensuring orders are validated, routed, and shipped according to SLA targets while minimizing errors and exceptions.
Monitor key operational KPIs (on-time delivery, order accuracy, inventory turnover, cycle time) and prepare weekly/monthly dashboards with trend analysis and actionable recommendations.
Reconcile inventory discrepancies by coordinating physical counts, cycle count programs, root cause investigations, and corrective actions to reduce shrink and stockouts.
Execute and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for core operational processes, documenting step-by-step instructions, escalation paths, and quality checks to support consistency and training.
Coordinate with suppliers and 3PL partners to schedule shipments, manage lead times, track inbound performance, and resolve delays or damages to protect service levels.
Serve as point of contact for cross-functional incident management, triaging production issues, assigning owners, driving resolution, and communicating status to stakeholders.
Analyze operational data (Excel, Google Sheets, SQL) to identify process bottlenecks, cost-saving opportunities, and automation candidates, producing prioritized recommendations for leadership.
Support onboarding of new vendors and service providers by validating SLAs, configuring integrations, and monitoring initial performance during ramp-up periods.
Maintain and update master data in ERP/OMS systems (item master, SKU attributes, pricing, vendor records) ensuring data integrity across sales and operations channels.
Manage returns, chargebacks, and warranty processes from receipt to disposition, collaborating with customer success and finance to minimize cost and cycle time.
Coordinate cross-functional launches (product releases, promotions) by building operational readiness plans, runbooks, resourcing plans, and go/no-go checklists.
Perform quality assurance checks on outbound shipments, packing accuracy, and documentation to reduce customer complaints and expedite claims resolution.
Lead or participate in continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Kaizen) to reduce process cycle time, handoffs, and non-value-added activities.
Process and investigate operational exceptions (shortages, overages, backorders) using ticketing systems, and document root-cause analyses with corrective action plans.
Administer vendor contracts and pricing agreements, tracking performance against SLAs and escalations for non-compliance while recommending renegotiation opportunities.
Train and mentor junior operations staff on best practices, system usage, escalations, and performance expectations to build team capability and resilience.
Manage billing and reconciliation tasks related to logistics and operations (freight cost validation, 3PL invoices), coordinating with finance to resolve discrepancies.
Implement and monitor safety, compliance, and regulatory requirements across operations, ensuring appropriate documentation and training are current.
Support demand planning and forecasting activities by providing historical fulfillment data, lead time trends, and insights into promotional impacts on operations.
Coordinate facilities and equipment needs (warehouse layout changes, MRO purchases, vendor maintenance) to ensure uninterrupted operational throughput.
Maintain and optimize operational dashboards and reporting automations (Power BI, Looker, Tableau) to reduce manual reporting and improve decision-making cadence.
Engage with customer success and sales teams to resolve escalations impacting operations, document recurring issues, and implement preventative fixes to protect retention and NPS.
Assist with seasonal staffing plans, temporary labor coordination, and workforce scheduling to align capacity with peaks and troughs in demand.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist in the preparation of operational budgets and monthly variance analysis to leadership.
Participate in vendor audits, supplier scorecards, and quarterly business reviews to drive accountability and performance improvement.
Provide operational support for integrations with new sales channels or marketplaces, ensuring fulfillment rules and inventory allocations are set correctly.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced Excel (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, Power Query) for data reconciliation and reporting.
Basic SQL for ad-hoc queries against order and inventory datasets.
Experience with ERP/OMS platforms (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Shopify Plus, Magento) and order lifecycle management.
Familiarity with warehouse management systems (WMS) and 3PL portals for shipment tracking and inventory control.
Experience using CRM and ticketing tools (Salesforce, Zendesk, Jira) to manage escalations and cross-functional tasks.
Reporting and visualization tools (Power BI, Looker, Tableau) to build dashboards and automated reports.
Knowledge of logistics concepts (incoterms, freight billing, carrier performance metrics) and basic freight cost reconciliation.
Understanding of inventory control practices (ABC analysis, cycle counting, safety stock) and demand-supply balance.
Basic scripting or automation exposure (Zapier, Python basics, macros) to reduce manual work.
Familiarity with SOP creation, process mapping tools, and quality assurance checklists.
Experience with vendor contract management and SLA enforcement, including scorecard development.
Working knowledge of compliance requirements relevant to operations (OSHA, DOT, customs regulations where applicable).

Soft Skills

Strong analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into prioritized operational actions.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills for stakeholder updates and cross-functional alignment.
Problem-solving orientation: root-cause analysis, hypothesis testing, and sustained follow-through to resolution.
Time management and organizational skills to juggle multiple priorities with competing deadlines.
Collaboration and influence: comfortably work across procurement, finance, sales, and customer success to implement solutions.
Attention to detail and high accuracy when reconciling invoices, inventory counts, and system updates.
Adaptability and resilience working in fast-paced environments with changing priorities.
Customer-centric mindset to improve on-time delivery and reduce friction in the customer experience.
Initiative and ownership: anticipate risks, propose mitigation plans and lead small projects end-to-end.
Comfort with change management and training colleagues on revised processes and systems.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Associate degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Logistics, or related field OR equivalent professional experience (2+ years) in operations or logistics roles.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Industrial Engineering, or Economics.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management
Business Administration
Operations Management
Industrial Engineering
Logistics and Transportation

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–4 years of operations, logistics, or supply chain experience supporting order fulfillment, inventory, or vendor management.

Preferred:

2–5 years experience in an operations or logistics role with exposure to ERPs, WMS, and cross-functional program coordination.
Demonstrated track record of process improvement, KPI ownership, and hands-on problem resolution.