Freight Forwarding Manager

Job Purpose:

Manage end-to-end air, sea, and land freight forwarding operations to deliver reliable, compliant, and profitable services while meeting customer commitments and strengthening carrier and agent performance.

Key Activities

• Plan, manage, and oversee daily freight forwarding operations, including import, export, and cross-trade shipments across air, sea, and land transportation modes.
• Ensure efficient execution of multimodal logistics operations while maintaining high service quality, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
• Manage shipment bookings, documentation, customs coordination, tracking, billing readiness, and exception handling to ensure timely and accurate service delivery.
• Coordinate with Sales, Finance, Transportation, Warehousing, Customs, carriers, and overseas agents to ensure seamless end-to-end shipment execution.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with shipping lines, airlines, freight agents, customs brokers, and subcontractors to support reliable and cost-effective logistics services.
• Negotiate competitive freight rates, carrier allocations, and service agreements to optimize operational costs and maintain profitability.
• Monitor and evaluate carrier, agent, broker, and subcontractor performance against agreed service levels, contractual obligations, and operational requirements.
• Oversee shipment profitability, gross profit margins, revenue performance, operational expenses, and cost control to achieve established financial targets.
• Identify and minimize revenue leakage, unnecessary operational costs, demurrage, detention charges, and shipment-related claims.
• Monitor shipment progress, booking accuracy, delivery timelines, and service performance to ensure compliance with customer expectations and operational targets.
• Manage customer inquiries, shipment exceptions, service disruptions, and escalations by implementing timely corrective actions and service recovery solutions.
• Ensure compliance with customs regulations, international trade requirements, dangerous goods handling standards, sanctions, security procedures, and internal policies.
• Identify and mitigate operational, financial, regulatory, and customer-related risks while ensuring business continuity and service reliability.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve standard operating procedures (SOPs) to enhance operational consistency, productivity, and service quality.
• Identify and implement process automation opportunities across shipment booking, documentation, tracking, reporting, and customer visibility.
• Lead, supervise, and develop freight forwarding operations teams, ensuring effective workload distribution, performance management, and employee development.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders and external service providers to resolve operational challenges and support continuous service improvement.
• Prepare and review operational and financial performance reports, including shipment volumes, profitability, service levels, cost efficiency, and operational KPIs.

Job-Related Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Transportation, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in freight forwarding operations, including at least 3 years in a supervisory or management position.
• Advanced knowledge of multimodal freight forwarding operations, including air freight, ocean freight, land transportation, import, export, and cross-trade shipments.
• Strong understanding of international shipping procedures, customs clearance requirements, freight documentation, and trade compliance regulations.
• Proven experience in carrier and agent management, freight rate negotiation, contract coordination, and service-level management.
• Strong commercial awareness with expertise in shipment costing, freight pricing, gross profit management, and margin optimization.
• Demonstrated ability to manage operational budgets, control shipment-related expenses, and minimize revenue leakage.
• Strong understanding of demurrage, detention, cargo claims, shipment exceptions, and associated cost management.
• Advanced operational planning, coordination, and execution skills, with the ability to manage complex shipment requirements and multiple transportation modes.
• Excellent customer service and relationship management skills, with a strong focus on service reliability, customer satisfaction, and issue resolution.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities to address operational challenges and improve business performance.
• Knowledge of freight forwarding management systems, shipment tracking platforms, logistics automation tools, and operational reporting solutions.
• Strong understanding of standard operating procedures (SOPs), operational risk management, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance.
• Proven leadership and team management capabilities, including employee development, workload planning, and performance monitoring.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to coordinate effectively with carriers, customers, agents, and internal stakeholders.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced logistics environment while managing competing priorities and maintaining operational accuracy.
• Professional certifications such as FIATA, IATA, Dangerous Goods, Customs, or Supply Chain Management are preferred.