Wave Planner

Michael Lewis Company is seeking a detail-oriented and organized Wave Planner to support warehouse operations at our McCook, IL facility. The Wave Planner is responsible for planning, organizing, and releasing warehouse orders to optimize labor productivity, equipment utilization, and on-time order fulfillment.

This position plays an important role in coordinating warehouse planning with daily floor execution, ensuring balanced workloads and an efficient flow of orders through picking, packing, and shipping operations. The ideal candidate has experience in warehouse operations, logistics, or distribution and is comfortable working with warehouse management systems (WMS) in a fast-paced environment.

Warehouse Planning & Order Management

• Organize and release customer orders into optimized waves based on shipping deadlines, carrier requirements, product types, warehouse zones, and operational capacity.
• Prioritize order releases to ensure customer service expectations and shipment deadlines are met.
• Coordinate wave release timing to maintain consistent workflow and prevent operational bottlenecks.
• Adjust order priorities based on changing operational needs and workload demands.

Warehouse Management System (WMS)

• Utilize the Warehouse Management System (WMS) to allocate inventory, create picking waves, and release work assignments to warehouse personnel.
• Monitor system activity to ensure orders move efficiently through picking, packing, and shipping.
• Ensure wave releases align with operational priorities and shipping schedules.
• Assist in maintaining accurate system transactions and order processing.

Workflow Coordination

• Balance available labor, equipment capacity, and order volume to maintain efficient warehouse operations.
• Partner with the Shipping Supervisor to distribute work effectively and support daily productivity targets.
• Monitor workload distribution and adjust wave releases to minimize idle time and operational congestion.

Problem Solving & Issue Resolution

• Identify operational issues that may impact order fulfillment, including inventory discrepancies, stock shortages, order allocation issues, and system processing delays.
• Communicate operational challenges promptly to the Shipping Supervisor to support timely resolution.

Cross-Functional Communication

• Coordinate with Customer Service and Operations teams to prioritize urgent or expedited orders.
• Provide warehouse leadership with visibility into wave progress, workload balance, and potential operational constraints.
• Maintain clear communication with warehouse teams to support smooth execution of released work.

Safety & Compliance

• Ensure released work aligns with established warehouse procedures and operational standards.
• Support warehouse leadership in maintaining a safe, organized, and productive work environment.

• 1–3 years of experience in warehouse operations, logistics, or distribution.
• Understanding of warehouse workflows, including picking, staging, packing, and shipping operations.
• Experience working with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) preferred.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Strong attention to detail and operational awareness.
• Effective communication skills with the ability to coordinate across warehouse teams and leadership.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and operational demands.

• Ability to safely and successfully perform the essential functions of the position in accordance with applicable ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local requirements.
• Ability to maintain regular and punctual attendance.
• Ability to communicate effectively with team members and leadership.

We are looking for someone who is proactive, organized, and analytical, with a strong understanding of warehouse operations. The successful candidate will be able to anticipate workflow challenges, balance competing priorities, and work collaboratively with warehouse leadership to keep daily operations running efficiently.