Why the Best Supply Chain Leaders Start on the Warehouse Floor
By Charlotte Herbertson, Senior Consultant.
When people picture supply chain leadership, they often imagine boardrooms, strategy decks, or crisp logistics diagrams. They don’t tend to think of fluorescent lights, the rattle of forklifts, or the sheer physical grind of a packing shift. But that’s exactly where my leadership story began, and looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way, as it has taught me so much.
There was no grand plan. No fast-track graduate scheme. Just a short-term summer job at a local mobile phone distributor because it was within walking distance from home. I was in my early twenties. I’d never set foot in a warehouse before. My job? Pack boxes. Tidy up. Help out where I could.
I loved it.
Every day brought something new to figure out. The pace was fast, the energy high. Soon, I had a full-time role, and not long after that, I found myself managing the warehouse. I didn’t get there by ticking boxes on a leadership checklist. I got there by learning, listening, and getting stuck in.
You Don’t Learn Leadership From a Slide Deck
There’s no training manual for what to do when a river floods into your warehouse and your sales director says, “Can we still ship?” That actually happened to me. I remember standing ankle-deep in water, figuring out how to keep people safe while somehow keeping the operation running.
Moments like that shape how you lead. You learn quickly that staying still is riskier than making the wrong decision. And you realise leadership isn’t about a job title. It’s about being the person others trust when things go sideways.
It All Comes Back to People
Anyone who’s spent time on the warehouse floor knows this: systems don’t keep things moving, people do. When you’ve raced to meet a late DPD truck or worked through a backlog with a team running on caffeine and grit, you understand just how much every single role matters.
That experience stays with you. It changes how you lead, how you communicate, and how you make decisions. It teaches you to listen. Not just to the managers, but to the forklift driver who spots the gap in your process. To the picker who sees an error coming before it happens. Some of the smartest ideas I’ve heard came from people who were never asked to speak up, but did anyway.
Warehouse Leadership Isn’t Shouting Louder
In high-pressure environments, it’s tempting to lead by volume. But some of the most powerful leadership I’ve seen has been quiet and steady. Lorraine, a former mentor of mine, was a master of this. She didn’t fight to be heard. She stayed calm, solved problems, and backed her team completely, because essentially…
working within the supply chain industry is problem-solving, and remaining calm whilst doing so.
She believed in me long before I believed in myself. That kind of leadership is priceless. It’s also why I make the effort, even now, to spend time on-site, especially speaking to women. Logistics is still male-dominated, but change is happening. We need to keep showing up and speaking out, so more people feel like this is an industry where they belong.
Advice for Anyone Starting Out
If you’re at the beginning of your journey, maybe in your first warehouse role, here’s what I’d say:
Start by talking to people. Ask questions. Watch how things work. Learn from those around you.
Remember that you don’t need to know everything. Leadership is about bringing people together to find the answers, rather than having all the answers yourself.
Also, don’t underestimate your own story. Whether you’re straight out of university or stepping into logistics mid-career, your experience has value. The best teams I’ve worked in are built on mutual respect, not job titles.
Know the Way Out
There’s a story I often come back to. A man falls into a well and shouts for help. His friend jumps in with him. “Why did you do that?” the man asks. “Now we’re both stuck.” His friend replies, “Yes, but I’ve been here before. I know the way out.”
That’s what real-world experience gives you. Not just theory, but understanding. The kind of leadership that says, “I’ve been there. Let’s figure this out together.”