Zaharah Russell

Led end-to-end operations for a high-volume, USDA-certified Ready-to-Heat and Ready-to-Cook production facility, aligning production, quality, and supply chain with business growth objectives. Owned full P&L responsibility for $7M in annual expenses, driving margin improvement through cost discipline and operational strategy. Directed and developed leadership team of 6 managers and 180 frontline employees, building a performance-driven, safety-first culture.

• Delivered a 12% reduction in cost per meal through strategic cost control, vendor optimization, and waste elimination initiatives.
• Increased production efficiency by 27% by implementing Lean methodologies, removing process bottlenecks, and optimizing throughput.
• Enhanced customer experience by redesigning fulfillment operations and strengthening QA systems, reducing credits from 1.6% to 0.4%.

Led kitchen operations in a USDA Ready-to-Heat and Ready-to-Cook meal manufacturing facility with full budgetary ownership of $14.4M in annual expenses. Directed 13 salaried leaders and 267+ hourly associates in a high-volume environment.

• Achieved the facility’s highest-ever SQF food safety score (99%) for two consecutive years through strict adherence to policies and procedures.
• Reduced cost per unit by 36% through process streamlining and disciplined budget management.
• Cut waste by 28%, generating $328K in annual savings, by enforcing production plans and developing tools and dashboards to improve visibility on production flow.

Provided operational leadership, financial oversight, and talent development across two multi-client facilities totaling 220K sq. ft, with full P&L responsibility for $23.2M in annual revenue. Led a team of 9 salaried leaders, 100 warehouse associates, and 100 contract drivers.

• Drove 77% revenue growth and improved margins by 22% through strategic planning and operational execution.
• Reduced site operating expenses by 6% by implementing structured cost control measures.
• Developed a driver scorecard to enhance accountability and visibility, improving on-time performance by 3%.

Led strategic and day-to-day operations for a 250,000 sq. ft. high-volume, multi-shift grocery fulfillment center. Directed a team of 12 salaried leaders and 250 hourly associates.

• Cultivated a safety-first culture through training, awareness, and accountability—achieving 420 days injury-free.
• Drove a 32% reduction in variable cost per unit (VCPU) through continuous improvement, data-driven planning, and operational efficiency.
• Implemented strict quality measures, audit processes, and rapid inventory reconciliation, achieving 99% order fill rate and 99.2% inventory accuracy.
• Successfully led all fulfillment operations during Jet 2.0 relaunch, reducing order splits by 15%, improving on-time delivery by 5%, and boosting NPS by 17%. Designed and launched the company’s first package sortation process, enabling same-day delivery for NYC customers.

Led new site launches and implementation projects within the retail distribution vertical. Projects to include WMS implementations, facility design, and creation of SOPs and standard work instructions.

• Successfully launched a West Coast distribution center for UNIQLO, transferring over 500K units from the previous 3PL four weeks ahead of schedule and saving $65K in rent. Developed a value-added service to expedite merchandise delivery, generating $250K in additional annual revenue.
• Lanch outbound operations for Target’s first stand-alone fulfillment center, hiring, training, and directing 14 operations managers and supervisors during the ramp-up phase.

Responsible for the overall safe execution of night shift operations, within a 600,000 sq ft package sort facility. Led and developed a team of six salaried and 200 hourly associates.

• Increased buildings thru put 67% in a three months span and exceeded peak volume 22%, through an aggressive onboarding and training process.
• Drove quality by implementing an aggressive audit/retraining process, drove miss sort effectiveness to 99.3% and damages to 99.8% effectiveness.

Directed all aspects of safe and efficient second shift operations, leading a team of 9 salaried managers and 150 hourly associates.

• Drove operational excellence via benchmarking; increased UPH by 15% over three consecutive quarters, boosted sorter throughput by 20%, and raised palletization by 18%.
• Served as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for outbound distribution; selected to pilot the company’s first fluid loading process, resulting in a 23% improvement in trailer cube utilization.