Take Lean Six Sigma Black Belt plus APICS CSCP within 24 months and own one named transformation (eg. cut DC pick-to-ship time 30%) — credential + measurable result is the combination that gets you to director-level interviews.

Move from a stable mid-cap into a high-growth e-commerce or 3PL operator that's scaling DCs aggressively — ops leaders who oversee 2–3 site launches accelerate to RVP-level roles 5+ years faster than those who optimize a single mature facility.

Build fluency in WMS/TMS data and basic SQL so you can own the analytics that drive operational decisions — ops leaders who only manage people are being squeezed by ops leaders who manage people AND own the dashboard.