Outbound Freight Manager

About the Role

This high-visibility role reports directly to the Director of Operations and is ideal for a highly analytical transportation professional with experience in bulk freight and manufacturing environments. As the internal subject matter expert, you will train, coach, and challenge plant transportation teams to improve freight execution, reduce costs, and close performance gaps across the network using reporting, analytics, and operational oversight.

Responsibilities

• Own outbound freight performance analysis and reporting across multiple manufacturing locations nationwide.
• Develop and maintain freight reporting tools, dashboards, and analytics using Excel and SQL-based systems.
• Create reporting that measures target freight rates versus actual freight rates and identifies cost gaps and improvement opportunities across locations.
• Monitor and evaluate transportation KPIs including cost per ton, cost per mile, cost per load, carrier utilization, and plant performance trends.
• Train Dispatchers, Transportation Managers, and plant office personnel on freight negotiation strategies, transportation best practices, carrier sourcing tools, and market optimization techniques.
• Share proven methods, market insights, and transportation strategies to help plants secure more favorable freight rates.
• Use reporting and operational analysis to challenge locations on performance gaps and drive accountability for continuous improvement.
• Follow up directly with plant transportation teams when freight performance metrics are not improving.
• Escalate unresolved operational or cost concerns to leadership when necessary.
• Partner with plant leadership to standardize transportation processes and improve outbound freight profitability.
• Analyze freight markets, carrier trends, and transportation data to support network optimization initiatives.
• Investigate freight billing discrepancies and resolve transportation cost variances.
• Evaluate opportunities related to backhauls, carrier utilization, and freight network efficiency.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in bulk freight, transportation, logistics, or outbound transportation operations.
• Experience negotiating bulk freight rates and working within bulk commodity transportation markets.
• Strong understanding of freight market dynamics, carrier sourcing strategies, and transportation cost drivers.
• Experience working with hopper bottoms, walking floors, belt trailers, end dumps, and other bulk freight equipment.
• Strong analytical and reporting capabilities with advanced Excel skills and experience working with transportation or SQL-based systems.
• Proven ability to use reporting, metrics, and operational analysis to drive accountability and performance improvement.
• Comfortable challenging underperformance, asking difficult operational questions, and escalating concerns when necessary.
• Experience influencing dispatchers, plant managers, transportation managers, or cross-functional operations teams.
• Backgrounds focused primarily on small parcel or LTL transportation environments are less applicable to this role.
• Finance, accounting, operational analytics, or manufacturing experience is a plus.

Benefits

• High-impact role with visibility across a nationwide manufacturing operation.
• Opportunity to influence transportation performance and operational strategy across multiple locations.
• Strong leadership support and clear escalation structure to drive change and accountability.
• Stable, growing organization with a strong industry reputation.
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits.

About You

• Analytical, detail-oriented, and operationally driven.
• Comfortable using reporting and metrics to challenge performance gaps and drive improvement.
• Confident holding teams accountable while maintaining strong working relationships.
• Assertive, professional, and solutions-oriented.
• A strong communicator who can influence without direct authority.
• Motivated by operational efficiency, measurable results, and continuous improvement.
• Comfortable being firm when necessary and escalating concerns appropriately when results are not improving.