WMS Transformation Lead Case Study: Books-A-Million Distribution Center

Client profile

Books-A-Million is a national bookstore chain headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Its distribution operation, American Wholesale Book Company (AWBC), runs a distribution center in Florence, Alabama. AWBC was preparing to implement Manhattan WMS and needed a leader on site to guide the rollout.

The facility rarely hires for leadership roles, and this was the first time Books-A-Million's talent team brought in a recruiting firm for this type of position.

The challenge

Books-A-Million needed a WMS Transformation Lead to guide the implementation, then lead training and change management after go-live. Four factors made the role hard to fill.

1. Niche candidate requirements

The role needed a specific combination of experience: running operations inside a distribution center and working with Manhattan WMS. The client had found this a niche market. The talent team had been sourcing through online applications for months, and the applicants rarely brought both.

2. Depth of experience needed

The client wanted a super user: someone with expert, hands-on experience using and implementing Manhattan WMS. The ideal canddiate can configure the system, run it day to day, train staff on it, and fix problems as they come up during go-live. Many people who have been part of an implementation contributed requirements from a larger project team. This role needed someone who had done the hands-on work in the rollout.

3. The role required relocating

The implementation required the leader on site every day in Florence, a growing but smaller market. The right candidate would most likely be relocating, so the role had to be a strong enough career move to justify it.

4. The implementation needed a leader in place quickly

Books-A-Million needed the new leader in place as soon as possible. The implementation was already planned, with training and change management to follow after go-live, so the hire had to happen before that work began.

How we approached the search

1. A custom search strategy

We started by working with Books-A-Million's talent team to define the must-haves, then built the search around implementation depth. That meant focusing on what each candidate had actually done. We asked whether they had led or run a Manhattan rollout, or contributed requirements as part of a larger project team.

We also mapped where these candidates were likely to be. That included operations managers at larger companies without a clear path to running their own facility, and leaders in industries going through restructuring. For both groups, this role could be a real next step.

2. Direct outreach to passive candidates

Since online applications weren't surfacing the right people, we reached out directly to passive candidates whose background matched the profile. We drew on our own network and sourced across the wider market. Reaching out directly let us explain the role, the implementation, and the career step it offered to people who fit what Books-A-Million needed. Being based in nearby Huntsville, we know the North Alabama market and could talk candidates through what living and working in Florence looks like.

3. Screening for hands-on WMS work

Our recruiters have worked in supply chain, including in warehouses, and that shaped how we screened. We asked follow-up questions about each candidate's specific role in past implementations: what they were responsible for, how hands-on they were, and whether they trained others on the system. Those answers showed whether their experience matched their resume.

Each candidate we submitted came with a scorecard comparing them to the profile. Books-A-Million's team could see how each person matched the must-haves and where the gaps were.

4. Qualified candidates in week one

We committed to 3 to 5 candidates who met every must-have within the first week. We kept submitting at that pace until Books-A-Million had its finalists, which kept the search moving on the client's timeline.

The placement

We placed a candidate who brought the WMS technology skills the role required along with hands-on warehouse experience. That combination matters for the next phase of the project. After go-live, the work shifts to training the team and managing change on the floor. She has experience training and mentoring employees, which is what the transition calls for.

The results

We placed Books-A-Million's WMS Transformation Lead 6 weeks after starting the search. The talent team had spent months sourcing through online applications before bringing us in.

Takeaway

This search was hard for three reasons. The talent pool with this exact profile was limited, the role required relocating to Florence, and Books-A-Million needed someone in place quickly. Reaching the right candidate took a search strategy built around implementation depth, direct outreach to passive candidates, and screening by recruiters who understand warehouse work. That approach filled the role in 6 weeks.

If you're hiring for a warehouse leadership or technology role, talk with our warehouse recruiting firm about your search.