Capacity Planning Supervisor

. Crane Worldwide Logistics .•Houston, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Capacity Planning Supervisor, Ground leads the Capacity Planning Specialist team and is accountable for ensuring every shipment has a qualified carrier assigned in time to meet the pickup window. The Supervisor is responsible for assigning carriers from a pool of qualified and vetted partners to ensure security, quality of service, appointment adherence, and dispatch standards. The role also manages the cost aspect after delivery, confirming final carrier charges within the required window to prevent billing delays. The Supervisor acts as the first escalation point for the planning team.

Requirements

Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in logistics, supply chain, business, or a related field; equivalent operational experience considered.
5–7 years of experience in carrier procurement, truckload brokerage, dispatch, or capacity management.
At least 1–3 years leading or supervising a team.
Demonstrated ability to secure capacity in a tight market and to negotiate rates without giving away margin.
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.
Solid understanding of carrier qualification and compliance requirements, including authority, insurance, safety rating, and claims handling.
Commercial judgment on cost versus service, and the discipline to escalate rather than quietly absorb a bad decision.
Data literacy sufficient to build a cost and coverage narrative and defend it to program leadership.
Availability to support a 24/7 operation, including escalation coverage outside standard hours.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook) and Microsoft Teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience building and managing a vetted or dedicated carrier pool for a high-value or security-sensitive program.
Experience running carrier scorecards, performance reviews, and structured corrective action.
Familiarity with dock scheduling platforms and real-time visibility tools (Open Dock, MacroPoint, Tive).
Working knowledge of Power BI or comparable tools for building and interpreting capacity and cost dashboards.
Exposure to procurement events, rate benchmarking, or bid support for ground lanes.
Understanding of cross-border capacity requirements and specialized equipment handling.
Professional certification may be required in some areas.

Responsibilities

Own the open shipments board across the shift, ensuring every shipment is assigned to a planner and every load is covered before its pickup window.
Hold the team to the target of carrier confirmation through appointment creation and Aljex update within 30–60 minutes of assignment.
Rebalance work across planners during volume spikes, difficult lane coverage, or absences.
Exercise decision authority on difficult coverage, including when to pay above the target rate, when to re-source, and when to raise the shipment for a service decision.
Ensure no uncovered load is carried past shift handover without explicit escalation and a named owner.
Approve rate exceptions above the defined threshold and maintain buy-rate discipline to protect margin.
Manage carrier performance against on-time pickup, on-time delivery, tracking compliance, and claims history; conduct performance conversations and remove underperforming carriers.
Build capacity ahead of known demand in recurring lanes.
Manage committed or dedicated capacity arrangements, including utilization against commitment.
Maintain strong carrier relationships.
Set and enforce standards for Open Dock appointment creation and for mirroring appointments and reference numbers into Aljex.
Verify MacroPoint sync confirmation on every shipment before pickup and pursue tracking compliance.
Hold dispatch and “Arrived PU” milestone discipline for accurate downstream status updates.
Coordinate with Operations and Account Operations Supervisors on consolidation changes affecting committed capacity or appointments.
Ensure appointment changes are reflected in Aljex and communicated for corresponding TMF corrections.
Ensure final carrier charges are audited and confirmed in Aljex within 24 hours of Delivered status.
Review accessorial, detention, and layover trends and challenge patterns.
Resolve carrier rate and charge disputes, approving settlements within delegated authority.
Own cost-side data quality in Aljex.
Report margin performance by lane and by carrier, and address consistently uneconomic lanes.
Act as the first escalation tier for the planning team, deciding what falls within shift authority and routing escalations appropriately.
Escalate security concerns immediately to the GSOC Security Team and management.
Hold escalations to a clear standard, separating verified fact from inference.
Follow carrier service failures to corrective action.
Supervise, coach, and develop Capacity Planning Specialists, providing regular one-to-one feedback.
Onboard new planners and certify competency on Aljex, Open Dock, HVHR Procedures, and MacroPoint.
Coach negotiation skills, including rate conversations and knowing when to walk away from a quote.
Cross-train planners across lanes and regions.
Own shift scheduling and staffing for continuous coverage.
Manage performance directly and fairly, fostering a team culture of directness and kindness.
Forecast expected demand against available capacity by lane, planning for peaks, seasonality, and known program events.
Report capacity KPIs, including coverage cycle time, cost per load, carrier on-time performance, tracking compliance, and margin, with explanations for variances.
Use Power BI and system reporting to identify structural problems in capacity and cost.
Partner with the Program Manager on tooling and integration improvements.
Convert recurring failures into updated SOPs, carrier scorecards, and coverage playbooks.