Director of Storage Operations

Description

Lawson Drayage is a fourth-generation family-owned company specializing in machinery moving, rigging, millwright services, transportation, warehousing, and industrial storage. As the company continues to grow, storage has become a major part of the business, supporting customers with equipment, machinery, and large-scale industrial storage needs across Northern California, Nevada, and future expansion markets.

Lawson Drayage is seeking a Director of Storage Operations to oversee and grow the company’s warehouse and storage business across multiple locations, including Hayward, Sacramento, Nevada, Stockton, and future expansion markets such as Houston.

Storage revenue has become a significant and growing part of Lawson’s business, and this role will be responsible for bringing structure, consistency, accountability, and strategic oversight to all storage operations. The Director of Storage Operations will manage storage processes across all facilities, support customer agreements, oversee invoicing, implement improved tracking systems, monitor market pricing, and ensure Lawson is operating efficiently while charging appropriate market rates.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee storage operations across all Lawson warehouse and storage facilities, including Hayward, Sacramento, Nevada, Stockton, and future locations such as Houston.

• Develop consistent storage procedures across all locations while accounting for site-specific requirements, customer needs, equipment types, and facility capabilities.

• Work with local warehouse employees and division managers to ensure customer equipment is properly received, stored, tracked, protected, documented, and released.

• Conduct regular reviews of storage yards and warehouses to ensure organization, accuracy, safety, and efficient use of space.

• Help establish storage capacity planning for each facility and provide visibility into current occupancy, future availability, and upcoming customer needs.

• Lead the selection, implementation, and management of a Warehouse Management System or similar tracking platform to better manage customer equipment.

• Develop a standardized process for tracking equipment from receipt through storage, movement, billing, and release.

• Ensure each stored item has accurate location information, customer identification, photos, condition reports, dimensions, billing status, and supporting documentation.

• Create clear reporting tools for management, operations, customers, and accounting.

• Work with internal teams to improve accuracy and reduce manual tracking, duplicate entry, missed billing, and customer disputes.

• Take responsibility for storage invoicing across all facilities.

• Work with accounting and operations to ensure invoices are accurate, timely, and supported by proper documentation.

• Review monthly storage billing to confirm all stored equipment is being invoiced correctly based on customer agreements, square footage, unit pricing, minimums, handling charges, and other applicable terms.

• Develop procedures to prevent missed invoices, duplicate billing, incorrect rates, and billing for items no longer in Lawson’s possession.

• Maintain clear records for customer storage charges, billing start dates, load-in/load-out dates, and special pricing arrangements.

Contracts and Storage Agreements

• Assist with drafting, reviewing, and managing storage agreements where applicable.

• Work with ownership, legal counsel, insurance providers, and customers to ensure storage agreements properly address pricing, term, liability, insurance requirements, handling charges, billing terms, access requirements, and termination procedures.

• Maintain a central record of active storage agreements, pricing terms, expiration dates, renewal options, and special customer requirements.

• Support negotiations with customers on storage terms, pricing, and scope.

• Monitor market rates for warehouse storage, yard storage, equipment storage, heavy equipment storage, Megapack/BESS storage, and related services.

• Make recommendations to ownership on pricing adjustments to ensure Lawson is charging appropriate market rates.

• Review customer pricing on a regular basis and identify accounts that may need rate increases, updated agreements, or revised billing terms.

• Help develop standard rate sheets for different storage types, including indoor storage, outdoor storage, high-value equipment, oversized equipment, battery storage, project-based storage, and long-term customer storage.

• Support revenue forecasting by location, customer, equipment type, and future project pipeline.

• Develop storage revenue forecasts based on current inventory, signed agreements, customer pipeline, upcoming projects, and expected equipment movement.

• Work with estimating, and operations teams to understand future storage demand.

• Provide regular reporting to ownership on occupancy, revenue, open capacity, upcoming load-ins/load-outs, and major customer opportunities.

• Identify when additional space, equipment, staffing, or systems may be needed to support storage growth.

• Create and maintain standard operating procedures for customer equipment storage.

• Develop clear methods for receiving, photographing, inspecting, tagging, locating, storing, moving, and releasing customer equipment.

• Ensure all locations follow consistent documentation procedures, including photos, BOLs, condition notes, inventory logs, and customer approvals.

• Create customer-facing procedures where needed, including delivery requirements, release requirements, access rules, billing policies, and handling expectations.

• Work with safety and operations teams to ensure stored equipment is protected and handled properly.

• Serve as a key internal point of contact for storage-related questions, pricing, billing, agreements, customer requirements, and reporting.

• Support customer communications related to storage programs, inventory status, billing questions, and upcoming equipment movements.

• Work closely with warehouse staff, dispatch, estimators, project managers, accounting, and leadership to ensure all departments are aligned.

Help resolve customer billing or inventory disputes quickly and professionally. 

Requirements

Qualifications

• Prior experience in warehouse operations, storage management, logistics, transportation, equipment storage, industrial services, or related fields.

• Experience managing multiple facilities or operating across multiple locations is strongly preferred.

• Strong understanding of billing, customer agreements, inventory tracking, and operational procedures.

• Experience implementing or managing a WMS, inventory system, ERP, CRM, Smartsheet, Method, or similar platform preferred.

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to create structure in a growing business.

• Comfortable working with operations teams, accounting teams, customers, legal counsel, and ownership.

• Strong attention to detail, especially related to billing, contracts, inventory, and documentation.

• Ability to analyze pricing, market rates, revenue trends, occupancy, and profitability.

• Strong communication skills and the ability to create clear written procedures.

• Experience with heavy equipment, industrial machinery, battery storage, rigging, warehousing, or project logistics is a plus.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is highly organized, operationally minded, commercially aware, and comfortable building systems from the ground up. This person should be able to work with warehouse staff in the field, accounting, and customers at a professional level. They should understand that storage is not just a warehouse function, but a major revenue center that requires accurate tracking, proper agreements, disciplined billing, strong customer service, and constant oversight of market pricing and capacity.