Description
The Transportation Specialist is responsible for managing day-to-day transportation operations, including oversight of third-party vendors and freight forwarders.
This role ensures efficient, cost-effective, and compliant movement of goods while driving continuous improvement across transportation processes.
Key Responsibilities
- Responsible for onboarding all vendors to the new Control Tower 4PL partner
- Coordinate and oversee daily transportation activities
- Manage relationships with 3M vendors, carriers, freight forwarders, and logistics service providers
- Ensure timely delivery performance and adherence to service level agreements (SLAs)
- Monitor shipment status, proactively resolving delays, disruptions, or service issues
- Act as the primary point of contact for carriers/transportation vendors and freight forwarders locally
- Serve as the key transportation contact for material vendors/suppliers to coordinate shipment readiness, collection planning, and issue resolution
- Evaluate vendor performance using KPIs such as on-time material readiness, cost, and service quality
- Conduct regular business reviews and implement corrective actions as needed
- Ensure compliance with transportation regulations, trade requirements, and company policies
- Review shipping documentation for accuracy
- Maintain audit-ready records for all transportation activities
- Identify inefficiencies in transportation processes and recommend improvements
- Analyze shipping data to drive cost savings, route optimization, and performance enhancements
- Lead or support projects related to network optimization, system improvements, and process standardization
- Monitor continuous improvement using metrics, root cause analysis, and best practices
- Monitor freight spend and identify cost-saving opportunities
- Support budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis for transportation expenses
- Ensure cost-effective transportation solutions without compromising service quality
- Work closely with supply chain, vendors, procurement, and customer service teams
- Align transportation strategies with business needs and customer expectations
- Communicate effectively with internal stakeholders and external partners
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- +5 to 7 years of experience in transportation, logistics, or supply chain operations
- Experience managing carriers, freight forwarders, or 3PL providers
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills
- Proficiency in transportation management systems (TMS), ERP systems, and Microsoft Excel
- 10% of domestic travel to visit local suppliers
- Ability to converse in Chinese, Japanese, and English (optional: Korean)
Preferred
- Experience with international shipping, Air, Ocean and LCL modes, customs processes, and trade compliance
- Knowledge of continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, etc.)
- Familiarity with KPI development and performance reporting