Capacity Planning Specialist

. Crane Worldwide Logistics . • Houston, TX

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Capacity Planning Specialist, Ground is accountable for putting a qualified carrier under every assigned ground shipment and for the appointment and dispatch structure that surrounds it. Working primarily in Descartes Aljex, with Open Dock for appointments and MacroPoint for tracking, the Capacity Planning Specialist sources and confirms coverage, completes dispatch, books pickup and delivery appointments, and ensures tracking is live before the truck moves. Through transit the role monitors ETAs against committed appointment windows and posts the milestones that drive downstream status. After delivery, the Capacity Planning Specialist closes the cost side of the file — auditing and confirming final carrier charges in Aljex and posting the final carrier charge note that releases the file for revenue reconciliation and billing. The role is measured on coverage speed, appointment integrity, carrier performance, and cost accuracy.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent
• 2–4 years of experience in carrier procurement, dispatch, truckload brokerage, or capacity planning.
• Demonstrated ability to source and confirm capacity under time pressure and to negotiate rates within defined guidelines.
• Hands-on experience with a brokerage or transportation management system; direct experience with Descartes Aljex strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of US domestic ground freight modes (FTL, LTL, intermodal), equipment types, transit times, and hours-of-service constraints.
• Familiarity with carrier qualification and compliance fundamentals, including authority, insurance, and safety rating review.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for negotiating with carriers and coordinating with internal teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook) and Microsoft Teams.

Nice To Haves

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in logistics, supply chain, or a related field preferred.
• Experience with dock scheduling platforms (Open Dock) and real-time visibility tools (MacroPoint, Tive).
• Experience managing a dedicated or vetted carrier pool for a high-value or security-sensitive program.
• Understanding of accessorial, detention, and layover structures and how they affect file margin.
• Familiarity with cross-border and specialized handling requirements.
• Commercial judgment on when to pay up for coverage versus escalate for a service decision.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and multitasking ability across a high-volume board.

Responsibilities

• Monitor the Open Shipments board in Aljex for shipments assigned to the capacity planning queue and work them in order of pickup urgency.
• Execute the carrier confirmation process — source capacity from the approved carrier pool, confirm rate, equipment type, and driver availability against the shipment requirements.
• Confirm coverage in Aljex, recording carrier, rate, equipment, and driver detail so the file reflects committed capacity rather than a verbal hold.
• Complete the dispatch process and update Aljex with the Dispatch milestone.
• Confirm the shipment is synced with MacroPoint so tracking is live before the carrier arrives for pickup.
• Verify carrier compliance requirements are satisfied before dispatch, including any program-specific vetting, equipment, or driver-team conditions.
• Create Open Dock appointments for both pickup and delivery within the required service windows.
• Update Aljex with appointment times and reference numbers so all downstream teams work from a single source of truth.
• Add the delivery appointment note, including the final carrier charge (FCC) reference, so it is visible on the home page board.
• When a customer or site moves a pickup or delivery date, update Aljex and notify the Outbound Specialist so the corresponding TMF fields are corrected.
• Route appointment confirmations that require customer agreement through the Operational Account Manager rather than negotiating directly with the customer.
• Rebook and re-sequence appointments when coverage, transit, or warehouse capacity changes, and communicate the revised plan to the affected specialist.
• Monitor ETA lookups in MacroPoint against the committed pickup and delivery appointment windows.
• Update the Aljex milestone “Arrived PU” on arrival at the pickup location, which triggers Loading status.
• Identify at-risk appointments early and alert the Outbound or Inbound Specialist and the Operations Supervisor before the window is missed.
• Hold carriers accountable to tracking compliance; pursue and document check calls when automated tracking is unavailable.
• Complete the final file audit and confirm final carrier charges in Aljex within 24 hours, initiated once the shipment reaches Delivered status.
• Validate accessorials, detention, layover, and any rate exceptions against carrier documentation before confirming final charges.
• Post the FCC note so the Inbound Specialist can reconcile revenue and cost and release the file to billing without delay.
• Resolve carrier rate and charge disputes before the file is billed, escalating unresolved commercial issues to the Capacity Manager.
• Escalate capacity shortfalls, no-coverage situations, and lanes without an available qualified carrier to the Capacity Manager as soon as they are identified.
• Escalate carrier service failures — late or missed pickups, no-shows, equipment problems, tracking non-compliance — and drive corrective action with the carrier.
• Escalate consolidation opportunities identified on the open shipments board to the Operational Account Manager, Operations Supervisor, and Capacity Manager via Teams before duplicate coverage is committed.
• Escalate security concerns involving carrier, driver, equipment, or chain of custody to the GSOC Security Team and management immediately.
• Escalate systemic and tooling gaps (rate reference limitations, appointment tool defects, milestone or reason-code mismatches between systems) to the Program Manager.
• Maintain consistent milestones and reason codes across Aljex and TMF, and complete the shift handover checklist so uncovered loads and pending appointments transfer cleanly between shifts.

Benefits

• Quarterly Incentive Plan
• 136 hours of Paid Time Off which equals 17 days for the year, that can be used for Sick Time or for Personal Use
• Excellent Medical, Dental and Vision benefits
• Tuition Reimbursement for education related to your job
• Employee Referral Bonuses
• Employee Recognition and Rewards Program
• Paid Volunteer Time to support a cause that is close to your heart and contributes to our communities
• Employee Discounts
• Wellness Incentives that can go up to $100 per year for completing challenges, in addition to a discount on contribution rates

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED