Operations Manager – Continuous Improvement

Who is QLS?

Europe’s fastest-growing e-commerce fulfilment provider. A family business born from a single DHL depot in Dordrecht in 1990, now shipping 34 million+ orders a year for 3,000+ webshops. We built our own WMS (my.QLS), operate a 110,000-bin AutoStore, and run sites in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK. Over 1,000 colleagues. Short lines. No-nonsense. We’re growing fast — and growth without process discipline creates chaos. That’s why this role exists.

The fulfiment flow

Fulfilment at QLS is a precise, high-volume chain. Quality doesn’t start at pick & pack — it starts the moment a product enters our building:

De role

As Operations Manager – Continuous Improvement (Fulfilment), you are the person who makes this chain better — every day, on the floor. You own the quality and process optimisation of the fulfilment flow from inbound to outbound, identify where it breaks down, and build lasting solutions with your team. You’re not writing improvement plans from a meeting room. You’re in the warehouse, watching how goods are received, how the AutoStore is loaded, how orders are picked and packed, and where errors are introduced.

You lead a subteam of supervisors and work closely with the Operations Manager Capacity Planning to ensure process improvements translate into real productivity gains.

Improvements happen on the floor, not behind a desk. You are present, visible, and hands-on — every day.

What you’ll do

On the floor: see it, fix it

• Be physically present across all fulfilment areas — inbound, AutoStore, pick & pack, dispatch, and returns — and use what you see to drive improvement.
• Identify quality failures at the source: incorrect inbound scanning, AutoStore loading errors, pick errors, packing defects, mislabelled shipments.
• Address problems directly on the floor with the team — not through a chain of emails.
• Coach supervisors and shift leaders in CI thinking so improvement becomes a daily habit, not a quarterly initiative.
• Use KPIs daily to steer quality and process performance, not just to report it upward.

Quality & process optimisation: inbound to outbound

• Own the quality standard for the full fulfilment chain: correct receipt and storage of inbound goods, accurate AutoStore input, pick accuracy, pack quality, and correct labelling.
• Map the flow from inbound to outbound and identify the root cause of problems — not just where they surface.
• Set and maintain pack and process standards; ensure every outbound order meets the client’s expectations.
• Develop and maintain work instructions and SOPs that are practical, visual, and actually followed on the floor.
• Train supervisors, shift leaders, and floor staff on quality and process standards — hands-on, not classroom-style.

Structured CI: Lean applied in practice

• Set up and deliver continuous improvement across inbound, AutoStore, pick & pack, dispatch, and returns.
• Run value stream mapping and structured root cause analysis to find waste and bottlenecks in the process.
• Design, pilot, and scale improvements using Lean standards — executed on the actual floor, not just documented.
• Measure the impact of every improvement: before, during, and after.

Systems & data

• Use my.QLS data to identify quality trends, error patterns, and improvement opportunities across the fulfilment chain.
• Work with the Product Owner on WMS improvements that support quality and process discipline.
• Develop KPI dashboards that give the operations team a real-time picture of fulfilment quality.

What you bring

Must-haves

• Proven operational excellence background in a 3PL, fulfilment, or warehouse environment — and you’re comfortable on the floor, not just behind a laptop.
• Understanding of the fulfilment chain: inbound, storage, pick & pack, dispatch, and returns — you know where quality and processes go wrong and why.
• Hands-on Lean command: 5S, Kaizen, PDCA, standard work, root cause analysis — applied in real operations.
• Strong data skills: advanced Excel/Sheets as a minimum; Power BI, Tableau, or similar preferred.
• Experience developing and delivering work instructions and SOPs that stick.
• Natural coach: you build CI capability in the people around you, not just deliver projects yourself.
• English fluency; Dutch is a strong plus given the working environment.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with AutoStore, goods-to-person, or other automated fulfilment systems.
• Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt minimum; Black Belt a strong advantage).
• Familiarity with my.QLS or comparable WMS platforms.

What QLS offers

• A real mandate to improve — leadership backing, floor access, and the data to prove your impact.
• A family culture at scale: short lines, no politics, colleagues who put their shoulders into it.
• Room to grow in a business expanding across three countries.
• 25 days leave + public holidays, travel allowance, pension.

Ready for your next step?

Do you want to help build a future-proof operation and play an important role in the continued growth of QLS? Apply now — we look forward to meeting you!