Transportation Planner

Lactalis LAG•Buffalo, NY

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Transportation Planner is responsible for securing carrier commitments and negotiating competitive freight costs to ensure domestic network coverage. This role operates with a high sense of urgency, transforming planned shipments into live carrier tenders within a fast-paced environment. You will work closely with Transportation Planning Managers to align daily execution with broader organizational strategies and goals. Daily collaboration with fellow Transportation Planners & Carrier Management is essential to navigate capacity constraints and maintain a consistent flow of freight. The primary objective is to deliver superior customer service while consistently achieving the lowest possible transportation cost. Success requires a firm grasp of current market conditions and the ability to leverage technology to resolve real-time operational exceptions.

Requirements

At least 2 years’ experience with Refrigerated Logistics / Transportation (appointments, high volume customer interaction, frozen/perishable) or related distribution experience
Carrier Sales/Logistics Coordinator, Transportation Procurement, Transportation Rates Coordinators, and any other logistics activity where buying/negotiating trucking for freight transportation is preferred.
Intermediate knowledge of United States geography.
Intermediate knowledge of domestic transportation marketplace.
Basic knowledge of inbound and outbound warehouse/dock operations.
Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Word & Excel.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.
A minimum of a High School Diploma

Nice To Haves

A post-secondary education is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Coordinates directly with Transportation Planning within Lactalis USA Logistics to maintain a balance of cost and service.
Is visible to external stakeholders in Supply Planning, Customer Service, Sales, and Leadership.
Prioritizes action to mitigate overall cost while maximizing probability for on-time service.
Works directly with Transportation Planning Management to identify continuous improvement opportunities.
Keeps key internal and external stakeholders informed of execution status and immediately communicates exceptions that deviate from the established plan.
Become SME with Lactalis-approved carriers by understanding their core capabilities, service areas, capacity needs, lead-time requirements, and other pertinent information necessary to provide successful execution to the overall distribution plan.
Use available tech, market-data, and practical experience to identify opportunities to convert ad-hoc capacity into long-term commitments.
Maintain clear communication and data integrity related to all active and prior carrier negotiation.
Respects routing to avoid making service concessions to end-users.
May be required to oversee execution and manage exceptions while freight is in-transit or at the time of delivery including but not limited to OSDR, service failures, quality issues, etc.