Description
Plan, direct, and coordinate outbound shipping operations to ensure timely, cost-effective delivery of products in compliance with company policies and transportation, trade, and safety regulations. Manage carrier relationships, shipping teams, documentation, and systems to meet service, cost, and quality goals.
- • Supervise workers engaged in picking, packing, staging, and shipping products.
- • Plan, develop, and implement shipping area safety and security programs.
- • Inspect docks, packaging lines, and shipping equipment and order maintenance or repairs.
- • Organize and manage shipping staff to meet daily order cutoffs and service levels.
- • Collaborate with sales, customer service, order management, accounting, and warehouse teams to align shipping with business processes.
- • Analyze outbound logistics to determine the most cost-effective modes, routes, and carriers.
- • Resolve shipment issues, delivery delays, damage or loss claims, and customer escalations.
- • Develop and document SOPs for packing, labeling, manifesting, and tendering freight.
- • Monitor operations to ensure compliance with company policies, DOT/OSHA rules, hazmat, export controls, and other regulations.
- • Analyze the financial impact of changes in carriers, service levels, packaging, or consolidation strategies.
- • Monitor and control inventory of shipping supplies and packaging materials.
- • Establish and track shipping and carrier performance metrics such as on-time ship, on-time delivery, cost per shipment, and claims rate.
- • Prepare and manage the shipping department budget.
- • Oversee export and import documentation and processes to ensure compliance with customs, tariffs, and trade laws.
- • Prepare recommendations for rate changes, carrier awards, pickup schedules, and cutoff times.
- • Interview, select, train, and coach shipping leads and associates.
- • Provide freight quotes and advise sales and billing on transportation charges and accessorials.
- • Analyze freight and packaging expenditures to develop cost-reduction plans and service improvements.
- • Coordinate with production, fulfillment, purchasing, and inventory control to meet shipping schedules.
- • Implement customer-specific requirements such as EDI/ASN, labeling, and routing guides.
- • Maintain shipping metrics, carrier scorecards, manifests, bills of lading, and training and safety records.
- • Audit freight bills and shipping documents for accuracy and tariff compliance, and dispute variances.
- • Optimize loads and pickup schedules to improve utilization, reduce miles, and minimize emissions.
- • Evaluate and select carriers, 3PLs, and parcel services based on cost, service, and safety performance.
- • Negotiate carrier contracts, service levels, and rates.
- • Recommend capital expenditures for scales, dimensioners, printers, conveyors, and TMS to improve throughput and accuracy.
- • Direct daily outbound dock operations, including carrier tendering, appointment scheduling, and compliance checks.
- • Plan and implement process and system improvements in TMS/WMS, labeling, and manifesting.
- • Manage freight claims, returns (RMAs), and reverse logistics processes.
- • Review order backlogs, carrier capacity, and demand forecasts to staff and allocate work.
Related specializations
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Supply Chain & Transportation
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
