Customer Relationship Manager

UPS•Summerville, SC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Together, we are Marken, UPS Healthcare Precision Logistics. As the clinical and advanced therapy part of UPS Healthcare, we reach patients faster, with greater scalability and access to new pathways throughout the supply chain. With our One UPS advantage and comprehensive service portfolio, including Polar Speed's in-network pharmacies, we are optimally positioned to keep our clients competitive in an increasingly complex market. The Customer Relationship Manager is responsible for leading a 24/7 transportation control tower supporting time‑critical, high‑value, and mission‑critical logistics operations. This role owns real‑time visibility, proactive exception management, and orchestration across multimodal transportation networks to ensure on‑time, compliant, and customer‑aligned execution. The Manager bridges strategic service design with day‑to‑day operational control, enabling rapid decision‑making, risk mitigation, and continuous performance improvement across internal teams and external partners.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Operations, Business, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
8+ years of progressive experience in transportation operations, control tower management, or time‑critical logistics environments.
Demonstrated experience leading real‑time operations with high service level expectations.
Strong crisis management, decision‑making, and escalation leadership capabilities.
Proven ability to lead cross‑functional teams and influence without direct authority.
Advanced communication skills, including executive and customer‑facing situations.
Must be a U.S. Citizen or National of the U.S., an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an alien authorized to work in the U.S. for this employer.

Nice To Haves

Experience in healthcare, clinical trials, aerospace, service parts, or other mission‑critical logistics sectors.
Familiarity with global transportation regulations (IATA, TSA, customs, temperature‑control compliance).
Experience implementing or optimizing TMS and real‑time visibility platforms.
Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement certifications.

Responsibilities

Control Tower Leadership & Operations: Lead and oversee the end‑to‑end operations of a centralized transportation control tower supporting time‑critical shipments (e.g., same‑day, next‑day, Just‑in‑Time, temperature‑sensitive, or high‑risk movements). Ensure continuous monitoring, rapid intervention, and escalation management for shipments across air, ground, express courier, and specialty transport modes. Establish and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) for real‑time visibility, exception handling, communication protocols, and after‑action reviews. Ensure 24/7 operational readiness, including staffing models, shift coverage, training, and resilience planning.
Exception Management & Risk Mitigation: Own proactive identification, prioritization, and resolution of transportation exceptions (e.g., delays, missed connections, weather disruptions, capacity constraints, regulatory holds). Lead real‑time decision‑making to reroute, recover, expedite, or escalate shipments to protect service commitments and customer impact. Maintain risk frameworks for time‑critical logistics, including contingency playbooks, lane risk scoring, and escalation thresholds. Lead root cause analysis and corrective action planning for service failures and near misses.
Strategy Alignment & Network Orchestration: Translate customer service expectations and business priorities into control tower operating models and execution rules. Partner with network planning, procurement, and operations teams to influence carrier strategies, capacity planning, and lane design based on control tower insights. Act as the operational voice in strategic initiatives (new customer onboarding, network changes, system implementations, and service expansions).
Performance Management & Analytics: Define, track, and report key performance indicators (KPIs) such as on‑time delivery, recovery success rate, dwell time, cost‑to‑recover, and customer satisfaction. Leverage real‑time dashboards, predictive alerts, and historical analytics to drive data‑driven decisions. Establish performance reviews with carriers, vendors, and internal teams, using control tower data to drive accountability and improvement.
Technology & Visibility Enablement: Own operational adoption and optimization of control tower technologies (TMS, real‑time tracking platforms, alerting tools, analytics dashboards). Partner with IT and solution design teams to define requirements, enhance automation, and improve visibility, data quality, and decision support. Ensure system workflows align with SOPs and support rapid execution rather than administrative delay.
Customer & Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as a senior escalation point for customers during critical events or high‑impact disruptions. Provide clear, concise, and confident communication to customers and executives during exceptions and recovery efforts. Participate in customer business reviews, demonstrating value through control tower insights, performance trends, and improvement initiatives.
Leadership & Talent Development: Lead, coach, and develop control tower managers, supervisors, and analysts. Foster a culture of urgency, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Ensure team members are trained in time‑critical logistics, decision‑making under pressure, and customer‑centric service delivery.