Sr Buyer/Purchasing - Freight & Warehousing - AMERICAS

Continental Group Sector ContiTech•Fairlawn, OH

10d

About The Position

The Senior buyer – Transportation & Warehousing is responsible for defining and executing regional sourcing strategies for transportation and warehousing services, ensuring cost competitiveness, supply continuity, operational excellence, sustainability, and long-term value creation through strategic supplier partnerships. The role partners closely with Operations, Logistics, Supply Chain, and Business leaders to optimize logistics networks, mitigate risks, and drive continuous improvement across the region.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Supply Chain, Logistics, or a related field.
5+ years of experience in Strategic Procurement of Logistics Services, preferably within a multinational organization.
Fluency in English: both written and verbal
Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.
Experience in manufacturing, automotive, industrial, or chemical environments
Proven experience managing logistics categories, including road, air, and ocean freight, courier services, warehousing, distribution centers, and 3PL/4PL providers.
Proven experience leading cross-functional sourcing, transformation, and implementation projects in an international environment.
Strong knowledge of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), logistics cost modeling, procurement market intelligence, supplier performance management, logistics risk management, strategic sourcing methodologies, transportation procurement and tender management.
Demonstrated success in leading complex commercial negotiations and managing strategic supplier relationships.
Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to influence business decisions.
Strategic mindset with excellent analytical, problem-solving, and executive communication skills, with experience working in regional and global matrix organizations.
Ability to influence and align senior stakeholders across Operations, Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, and Procurement functions.
Multi-country responsibility across North and Latin America
Advanced Power BI digital skills and Knowledge of MS Office tools as well as SAP S/4HANA TM.
Creativity, reliability, integrity, teamwork, and ability to operate with a global perspective.
Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas now or in the future for this job posting.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual in Spanish and/or Portuguese

Responsibilities

Develop and execute regional category strategies for Freight, Warehousing, and 3PL/4PL services, aligned with global procurement objectives.
Lead strategic sourcing initiatives (RFI, RFQ, and RFP), including market analysis, supplier evaluation, competitive bidding, commercial negotiations, and contract management.
Manage the performance and relationship of transportation carriers, warehouse providers, and logistics service providers through KPIs, SLAs, supplier development plans, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Negotiate logistics contracts to optimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) while balancing service levels, capacity, quality, innovation, and risk.
Identify cost-saving and value creation opportunities through freight optimization, network redesign, mode selection, volume consolidation, and logistics productivity improvements.
Monitor freight market trends, carrier capacity, logistics benchmarks, and supply chain risks, developing sourcing strategies that ensure cost competitiveness and business continuity.
Ensure compliance with procurement policies, contractual requirements, ESG standards, and sustainability initiatives across the logistics supply base.
Lead regional procurement projects across North and South America and collaborate with the global Procurement Team, Supply Chain, and Operations teams on strategic logistics initiatives.
Act as a strategic business partner for Supply Chain, Logistics, Operations, and other key stakeholders, translating business requirements into effective sourcing strategies and procurement solutions.
Drive the adoption of procurement digital tools and analytics solutions to increase efficiency, transparency, and data-driven decision-making.
Lead strategic supplier relationship management activities, including supplier performance reviews, business reviews, development plans, and continuous improvement initiatives.