Logistics Manager

Department: Supply Chain & Operations
Reports To: Vice President of Business Management
Salary Range: $105,000–$115,000 annually

Position Summary

The Logistics Manager leads the end-to-end physical movement of materials and finished goods across Rocket EMS operations. This position is responsible for shipping and receiving, dock operations, domestic and international transportation, freight spend, customs compliance, third-party logistics providers, and company fleet activities.

The Logistics Manager ensures that materials move safely, accurately, cost-effectively, and on schedule—from arrival at the receiving dock through final delivery to the customer. This role leads the Shipping and Receiving team, manages carriers and freight partners, and works closely with the Stockroom Manager to coordinate offsite inventory movements, interfacility transfers, and internal driver schedules.

Key Responsibilities

Shipping and Receiving Operations

• Lead daily shipping, receiving, and dock activities, including loading, unloading, shipment verification, purchase order matching, documentation review, and damage inspection.

• Ensure inbound materials and outbound finished goods are processed accurately and in accordance with company procedures, customer requirements, and applicable regulatory standards.

• Maintain organized, safe, and efficient dock and staging areas.

• Optimize dock scheduling, yard management, and carrier turnaround times to prevent congestion and material-flow delays.

• Establish and monitor performance standards for shipment accuracy, on-time processing, dock-to-stock time, freight claims, and carrier wait times.

• Investigate and resolve shipping discrepancies, damaged freight, delivery failures, and documentation errors.

• Develop and maintain standardized work instructions and procedures for shipping, receiving, and transportation activities.

Freight Spend and Carrier Management

• Manage the company’s freight budget and identify opportunities to reduce transportation costs without compromising delivery performance or customer service.

• Negotiate contracts, rates, fuel surcharges, service-level agreements, and accessorial charges with parcel carriers, LTL and FTL providers, freight forwarders, couriers, and specialized transportation vendors.

• Select the appropriate carrier, service level, and transportation method based on cost, delivery requirements, shipment risk, and customer expectations.

• Conduct freight audits and review invoices for billing accuracy, duplicate charges, incorrect classifications, and avoidable accessorial fees.

• Develop and maintain carrier scorecards covering cost, on-time performance, shipment damage, claims, responsiveness, and service quality.

• Lead corrective actions and performance reviews with carriers that do not meet established service requirements.

Transportation Planning and Execution

• Oversee transportation planning, route optimization, shipment consolidation, and daily dispatch for domestic and international shipments.

• Coordinate expedited and time-critical shipments to support production requirements and customer delivery commitments.

• Manage transportation between company facilities, suppliers, customers, offsite warehouses, and third-party service providers.

• Partner with Planning, Purchasing, Program Management, Production, and Customer Service to identify shipment priorities and prevent delivery disruptions.

• Maintain shipment visibility and provide timely communication regarding delays, exceptions, and recovery plans.

• Ensure customer-specific routing guides, labeling requirements, packaging standards, and shipping instructions are followed.

Import, Export, and Customs Compliance

• Manage import and export activities in accordance with applicable customs regulations, international trade laws, and company compliance requirements.

• Ensure the accuracy and completeness of commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, certificates of origin, export filings, and other required shipping documentation.

• Coordinate with customs brokers, freight forwarders, suppliers, and customers to prevent border delays and resolve customs-related issues.

• Support proper use of Harmonized Tariff Schedule classifications, country-of-origin information, Incoterms, and duty or tariff requirements.

• Maintain records required for customs audits and import/export compliance.

• Coordinate with internal compliance resources regarding ITAR, EAR, restricted-party screening, and other export-control requirements, as applicable.

• Ensure hazardous materials and regulated shipments comply with applicable DOT, IATA, and carrier requirements.

Third-Party Logistics and Offsite Warehousing

• Manage relationships with third-party logistics providers and offsite warehouses supporting overflow storage, specialized handling, and distribution activities.

• Establish and monitor service-level expectations for receiving, storage, order fulfillment, material transfers, inventory reporting, and shipment execution.

• Review 3PL performance metrics, invoices, inventory reconciliations, and service compliance.

• Investigate and resolve inventory discrepancies, shipment errors, damage claims, and service failures involving third-party providers.

• Evaluate 3PL capacity, cost, security, and performance to ensure continued alignment with operational requirements.

• Coordinate periodic audits of offsite inventory and logistics processes.

Internal Fleet and Driver Operations

• Manage company drivers and company-owned or leased vehicles used for local pickups, deliveries, and facility-to-facility transfers.

• Develop daily driver schedules and efficient routes based on production priorities, supplier availability, and delivery requirements.

• Maintain fleet safety, inspection, registration, insurance, preventive maintenance, and repair programs.

• Ensure drivers are properly trained and comply with company policies and applicable transportation regulations.

• Monitor vehicle utilization, mileage, fuel costs, maintenance expenses, accidents, and other fleet performance indicators.

• Maintain accurate driver, vehicle, inspection, and maintenance records.

Collaboration with Stockroom Management

• Partner with the Stockroom Manager to align transportation activities with internal warehousing, inventory availability, and production requirements.

• Coordinate material replenishment and transfers between offsite storage locations and internal production stockrooms.

• Establish clear handoff, documentation, and inventory-control processes for materials moving between facilities.

• Provide the drivers, vehicles, transportation schedules, and shipment documentation required to support stockroom transfer requests.

• Work jointly with Stockroom Management to investigate and resolve transfer discrepancies, shortages, damaged materials, and inventory reconciliation issues.

• Support capacity planning for offsite storage and anticipated material movement requirements.

Leadership and Continuous Improvement

• Lead, train, coach, and develop Shipping and Receiving employees and internal drivers.

• Establish staffing plans, work assignments, performance expectations, and training requirements.

• Promote a culture of safety, accuracy, accountability, urgency, and continuous improvement.

• Use operational data to identify bottlenecks, reduce freight costs, improve shipment reliability, and strengthen material flow.

• Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions related to shipping errors, transportation delays, freight damage, and compliance issues.

• Support internal, customer, and regulatory audits involving shipping, receiving, transportation, fleet, or trade-compliance activities.

• Perform other duties and support special projects as assigned.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.

• At least five years of progressively responsible logistics, transportation, or distribution experience within electronics manufacturing services, contract manufacturing, or another industrial production environment.

• Demonstrated experience leading shipping, receiving, transportation, warehouse-support, or fleet personnel.

• Strong knowledge of domestic and international freight, carrier management, freight forwarding, customs documentation, and transportation planning.

• Experience managing parcel, LTL, FTL, expedited, air, ocean, and international freight services.

• Working knowledge of import/export requirements, customs regulations, Incoterms, tariff classifications, and freight auditing.

• Experience managing third-party logistics providers and offsite warehouse relationships.

• Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems, transportation data, Microsoft Excel, and freight reporting tools.

• Demonstrated ability to analyze freight costs, negotiate rates, develop performance metrics, and implement cost-reduction initiatives.

• Strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, and cross-functional coordination skills.

• Ability to manage competing priorities and respond effectively to urgent production and customer-delivery requirements.

• High attention to detail and a strong commitment to shipment accuracy, regulatory compliance, and customer service.

Preferred Qualifications

• Logistics leadership experience within an EMS or printed circuit board assembly environment.

• Experience supporting high-reliability, aerospace, defense, medical, or other regulated manufacturing programs.

• Familiarity with ITAR, EAR, hazardous-material shipping requirements, and restricted-party screening.

• Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other continuous-improvement methodologies.

• Professional certification such as CSCP, CLTD, CPSM, or a related supply-chain credential.