Director of US Operations

OUTER'S MISSION

We are on a mission to get people outside and inspire healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives by creating innovative outdoor furniture.  Outer is a Series B venture-backed startup based in Santa Monica, California.

 

ABOUT OUTER

Outer started by creating the perfect outdoor sofa: beautiful, durable, comfortable, and innovative. We also invented a new model for retail because we believe that the furniture buying experience can be much better than stale, traditional showrooms with four walls, fluorescent lighting, and pushy salespeople. Our Neighborhood Showroom® platform turns our customers' backyards into our physical showrooms where our customers can see, touch, and feel our products in a real backyard alongside a real customer (think: Airbnb meets retail).

Our Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer was the former Head Furniture Designer at Pottery Barn, and our Executive team brings decades of experience from P&G, OXO, Casper, IDEO, Zynga, Rebag, Riot Games, and Wayfair.

 

THE ROLE

The Director of US Operations will organize and monitor transportation and storage of finished goods throughout our 3PL warehouses for last mile distribution. This key team member will also oversee our customer experience team to solve any issues that arise from our last mile fulfillment. 

The goal is to manage the entire order cycle so as to enhance business growth and ensure sustainability and customer satisfaction. They will be the main 3PL contact and manage all storage, kitting, and inventory tracking. They will also be the main auditor of last mile customer shipping across all the major carriers. They will link all of these initiates to company goals and margin targets to drive operational efficiency.    

 

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

US Logistics

• Optimize DC placement throughout the US which may or may not include a full RFP process to redistribute inventory as needed. 
• Establish and manage third party logistics relationships negotiating pricing and deal terms, measuring performance (time, quality, and cost), and continuously improving product delivery to customers. 
• Design and implement systems and processes for the processing and fulfillment of orders Anticipating scaling issues that will cause breakdowns in every step of the supply chain and be ready with alternative solutions and fulfillment capabilities.
• Establish and actively report out quality, quantity, stock levels, delivery times, transport costs and efficiency.
• Arrange warehouse, catalog goods, plan routes, manage ongoing rework and kitting, and process shipments.
• Establish safety stock guardrails and internal standards. 
• Establish re-commerce and recycling programs.

Customer Support

• Incorporate the customer service department to ensure fast response to arising customer needs. Creatively troubleshoot systemic solutions with Engineering to prevent reccurance. 
• Set clear delivery standards to communicate out to customers.
• Automate customer notification workflow and communications. 
• Monitor and analyze incoming tickets to spot trends and develop paths of quick response. 

Integration with International Supply Chain

• Partner with international Supply Chain leader in order to anticipate and optimize incoming inventory
• Anticipate and communicate key OOS positions, partner with demand planning on forecasting and inventory dependencies. 

Project Management

• Manage cross functional technical or process projects.
• Collaborate with other teams, Including intimate understanding of inputs that are outside of logistics to accomplish function goals.
• Contribute to the broad senior leadership team relevant data and insights to drive broader business decisions
• Pull in context from across the business to proactively improve the logistics function

 

Team Leadership 

• Inspires people in accordance with the company’s values; unlocks passion and growth in team members by creating an environment that is inclusive, respectful, professional, developmental, innovative, collaborative and fun.
• Provide coaching, feedback and accountability to leaders in the fulfillment organization to ensure the team executes with excellence and achieves business commitments.
• Design a Fulfillment organization that is flexible, scalable, and responsive to the critical needs and goals of the business.
• Hire, develop, engage a world-class team committed to excellence, rigor, and exceptional operations.
• Manage vendor relationships as needed to provide exceptional service to members, operational effectiveness, and scalability. 
   

QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years directly relevant experience (Furniture Logistics).
• Experience building third party logistics and distribution for direct to consumer and channel partner sales.
• Experience managing 3PLs.
• Experience with residential delivery of freight.
• Ability to thrive in a startup environment where self-direction and initiative are highly encouraged.
• Ability to juggle many balls at once, without dropping any of them.
• Super analytical, with the ability to keep digging until you have reached the best answer.
• Good interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
• Strong leadership skills 

 

WHAT WE VALUE

• Benevolence--we seek to do good for everyone in our orbit: our customers, our teammates, our vendors, our community, our planet
• Collaboration--we acknowledge each other's humanness and are each other’s biggest advocates, cheerleaders, and caretakers
• Action--we value progress over process and have the courage to challenge the status quo
• Curiosity--we are lifelong learners and seek to understand before being understood

WHAT WE PROVIDE IN RETURN 

Outer provides a robust total rewards package, including competitive compensation packages, unlimited PTO, medical & wellness plans, 401(k), life insurance, and more.

Outer is an equal opportunity employer, and we value diverse voices, backgrounds, and perspectives on our team. We don’t discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.