Contract Freight Coordinator - Mon-Fri (7am-3pm)

PDI•Ankeny, IA

About The Position

The Contract Freight Coordinator schedules pickups and deliveries for contract freight and backhaul shipments to support customer satisfaction and profitability. The role coordinates freight bookings, rate negotiations, dispatch, special deliveries, and follow-up with drivers, and tracks shipments from pickup through delivery. It serves as a day-to-day contact for drivers and communicates with warehouse staff, customers, vendors, consignees, dispatchers, loaders, and accounting personnel to address operational issues and freight discrepancies. The position also supports general office and customer-service functions, solicits new contract freight customers, and handles claims for lost or damaged product, overages, shorts, and billing discrepancies. The role is accountable to the Director of Brokerage Services and has no direct reports. It is performed in a climate-controlled office in a busy atmosphere. The work is sedentary to light, with frequent to constant handling, grasping, pinching, reaching, listening, talking, and hearing.

Requirements

High school education or equivalent.
Good understanding of transportation, delivery, and distribution.
Sales and negotiation skills.
Reasoning and problem-solving skills.
General math and basic accounting skills.
Good general computer and spreadsheet ability.
Good organizational and multitasking skills.
Ability to handle a busy, hectic work environment.
Good verbal and written communication, phone, and interpersonal skills.

Nice To Haves

Transportation logistics education or equivalent experience.
Logistics or dispatch experience.

Responsibilities

Report to work as scheduled and on time and adhere to company policies and departmental guidelines.
Coordinate accurate and efficient pickup and delivery scheduling for backhauls and contract shipments, including booking loads, negotiating freight rates, dispatching loads, arranging special deliveries, and following up with drivers.
Track shipment movement and monitor contract freight from pickup through delivery, addressing problems to ensure good customer service.
Use Prospero and other systems to coordinate and track freight activities.
Serve as a day-to-day driver contact regarding ETAs, pallet changes, lost paperwork, overweight issues, route changes, pickup and delivery problems, and equipment breakdowns.
Communicate with the warehouse about pallet miss-ships, longs, damaged product, and special freight instructions.
Assist with office functions, including answering calls, providing customer service, resolving and following up on problems, making copies, monitoring faxes, compiling and distributing paperwork, and entering data.
Solicit new contract freight customers and represent PDI positively.
Handle overages, shorts, and damaged contract freight claims; notify vendors and consignees of discrepancies and process claims for lost or damaged product.
Work with the quality control supervisor on salvaged or donated products.
Coordinate with dispatchers and loaders when returning smaller quantities of pallets to vendors and buy pallets as needed.
Work with the Accounts Receivable Associate to resolve billing discrepancies and issue credit vouchers and chargebacks.
Assist the Transportation Accountant by contacting customers about outstanding receivables.
Perform other duties as assigned by management.