Manager, Transportation Procurement

Cardinal Health•Dublin, OH

17h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Transportation team at Cardinal Health Operations is responsible for materials handling and product distribution in a distribution or manufacturing environment, encompassing warehousing, fulfillment, transportation, inventory management, and demand, supply, and manufacturing planning. This team focuses on moving materials and products between suppliers, manufacturing, warehousing, and customers, managing transportation assets and systems to enhance service, cost efficiency, and process optimization. The Cardinal Health Transportation team aims to deliver differentiated customer experiences by improving speed, reliability, and cost through supply chain optimization. The Transportation Procurement team is crucial to this mission, developing and deploying network-wide procurement strategies for first, middle, and final-mile transportation services, ensuring strong financial performance, service reliability, and compliance. This Manager, Pharmaceutical Transportation Procurement role is a highly visible leadership opportunity, leading a high-performing team responsible for sourcing and managing pharma transportation services for over 45 million annual shipments. The position involves strategic sourcing, contracting, and supplier management for truckload, courier, yard management, and temperature-controlled activities, partnering with Operations, Finance, and IT. This leader will own transportation procurement budgeting, lead large-scale savings initiatives, and present strategic recommendations and results to senior and executive leadership, driving long-term value through contract development, carrier partnerships, and data-driven decision-making.

Requirements

Ability to travel up to 20%
Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office products

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in related field, or equivalent work experience
Advance Degree a plus
8-12 years of experience
Supply Chain Certification (i.e. APICS)
Proficiency with analytics and planning tools (e.g., SQL, Alteryx, Tableau)
Experience with ERP/TMS platforms (e.g., SAP, Manhattan, Pando/Freehand)
Multi-modal domestic transportation background
Working knowledge of logistics management technologies

Responsibilities

Mentor, guide, and empower a team of procurement professionals, set clear performance expectations and support professional development aligned with organizational goals.
Design and execute a long-term transportation procurement strategy that aligns with enterprise-wide logistics goals, focusing on cost optimization, risk mitigation, and service enhancement.
Lead the end-to-end procurement process, from RFPs to contract negotiations including bid evaluations, negotiations, and final contract execution.
Build business cases and ROI analyses for sourcing initiatives, network changes, and strategic investments.
Collaborate with Legal, Risk, and Compliance partners to ensure contracts meet regulatory, insurance, and governance requirements.
Cultivate strong relationships with key carriers, establish robust business rules, performance metrics, and governance to ensure accountability and world-class service.
Utilize analytics and market intelligence to develop new practices, benchmark performance, and provide executive-level insights that inform logistics strategy.
Serve as a key liaison between the procurement team and cross-functional partners (Operations, Finance, IT) and present strategic recommendations to senior leadership to drive critical business decisions.
Own the transportation procurement budget, including annual planning, multi-year forecasting, and ongoing expense management across all modes.
Develop detailed variance analysis and track realized vs. projected savings, ensuring transparency and accuracy in financial reporting.
Translate complex transportation and market data into clear, actionable insights for senior leadership.
Influence key decisions by balancing financial impact, operational risk, service requirements, and long-term strategy.
Other duties as assigned.
Manages department operations and supervises professional employees, front line supervisors and/or business support staff.
Participates in the development of policies and procedures to achieve specific goals.
Ensures employees operate within guidelines.
Decisions have a short-term impact on work processes, outcomes and customers.
Interacts with subordinates, peers, customers, and suppliers at various management levels; may interact with senior management.
Interactions normally involve resolution of issues related to operations and/or projects.
Gains consensus from various parties involved.