Intercontinental Logistics Operations Manager

Volvo Car Corporation

About The Position

The purpose of this role is to oversee the planning, coordination, management, and execution of inbound material freight across multiple transportation modes (including, but not limited to, standard ocean freight, drayage, standard air freight, and ad hoc/premium shipments) ensuring timely delivery to the VCCH plant to support continuous production at or below the budgeted cost This function plays a critical role in managing exceptions and addressing ad hoc transportation needs (Premium Freight) to protect production stability. The role is also responsible for effective and timely cross‑functional collaboration and communication with VCCH plant teams, centralized Volvo functions, regional peers, material suppliers, and carriers to deliver results, meet key performance indicators, manage deviations, and implement corrective actions as needed to safeguard production.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Supply Chain or Logistics.
Proven experience in managing, developing, and coaching people and teams.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in freight forwarding, logistics, or operational supply chain within the automotive industry.
Strong background in international and domestic freight, including the management of expedited shipments.
Demonstrated customer focus and service mindset, with the ability to build and maintain effective internal and external relationships.
Solid understanding of carrier operations.
In‑depth knowledge of freight forwarding rules and regulations, including Incoterms.
Strong understanding of compliance requirements for multimodal transportation documentation, including both standard and dangerous goods.
Willingness and availability to occasionally work outside regular business hours to support the team when needed.

Responsibilities

Serve as a member of the VCCH Inbound Logistics and Packaging Management Team.
Lead all HR related responsibilities, including performance management, policy adherence, and the ongoing development of individual team members and the team as a whole.
Manage team work schedules to ensure adequate coverage during holidays, weekends, and nights when required.
Ensure the team has the necessary competencies to deliver expected results and make strategic decisions that support effective prioritization.
Lead the team to meet or exceed KPI targets and ensure timely implementation of corrective actions when needed.
Lead and execute process development and documentation across all areas of responsibility.
Oversee operational planning, execution, monitoring, and management of shipments (including ad‑hoc transports, deviation handling, general cargo, test or pre‑production material, and expedited freight)
Ensure all expedited, ad‑hoc, and general cargo flows are executed in a timely, cost‑effective, and professional manner.
Establish mechanisms to provide clear transportation network health visibility to senior leadership.
Ensure exception‑handling processes with carriers, suppliers, and the plant are fully deployed, understood, and executed consistently by all stakeholders.
Develop, manage, and execute crisis‑management protocols for force majeure events (including weather disruptions, supply chain interruptions, and supplier capacity limitations) in coordination with relevant Volvo teams.
Build and maintain strong relationships with Volvo stakeholders, regional/global peers, and carriers/forwarders.
Ensure timely creation and distribution of operational reports for key stakeholders and decision makers.
Maintain expertise on contracted carriers’ scope of work; drive accountability and compliance, implement performance‑measurement mechanisms, and trigger countermeasures when deviations occur.
Serve as the escalation point for resolving logistics operations issues.
Act as a liaison with IT Digital, Business Intelligence, Data Analytics, and Finance.
Drive strategies that strengthen supplier performance and overall network reliability.
Implement VCMS within the team and develop the associated functional plan to support continuous improvement.
Lead initiatives to improve and sustain optimal cubic utilization of transportation assets used for Volvo freight, working closely with Operations Optimization, Logistics Engineering, Supply Chain Operations, and Packaging Engineering.
Lead the analysis of transit‑time performance and market conditions; recommend solutions that balance on‑time delivery with inventory cost; develop and present end‑to-end business cases; and drive decision‑making and timely implementation.
Support RFQ documentation and cross‑functional specification development; participate in defining Scopes of Work for new suppliers to ensure business needs and expectations are fully captured, and propose improvements that enhance Volvo’s network control, visibility, and cost efficiency
Effectively manage transportation mode changes, ensuring implementation within budgeted costs and without disruption to production.
Lead and support the implementation of new carriers or transportation modes resulting from RFQ processes or supplier footprint changes.
Responsible for managing the transportation forecast process to ensure operational support, adjusting forecasts as needed based on production schedule changes.