Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Cargo Transport Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Cargo Transport Manager is responsible for planning, directing and optimizing the movement of goods across domestic and international supply chains. This role owns day-to-day freight operations, carrier relationships, regulatory compliance (import/export and hazardous materials where applicable), freight cost control, shipment traceability, and team leadership to deliver on-time, damage-free, and cost-effective transportation. The Cargo Transport Manager partners with procurement, warehouse operations, customer service, and finance to align transport strategy with business objectives, leveraging Transportation Management Systems (TMS), route optimization, and performance metrics to continuously improve service and reduce total landed cost.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Transport Coordinator / Freight Coordinator
Logistics or Supply Chain Analyst
Fleet Supervisor / Dispatch Supervisor

Advancement To:

Head of Transport / Transport Director
Director of Logistics / Senior Supply Chain Manager
Global Freight Manager / VP of Supply Chain Operations

Lateral Moves:

Procurement / Carrier Sourcing Manager
Warehouse & Distribution Manager
Customer Fulfillment or Order to Cash Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, implement and continuously refine the end-to-end transportation strategy (road, rail, air, ocean, and intermodal) to meet operational KPIs, reduce freight spend, improve transit times, and support company growth objectives.
Manage daily freight operations including scheduling, routing, dispatching, and execution of domestic and international shipments to ensure on-time delivery and minimal damage or loss.
Own carrier selection, contracting and performance management: issue RFPs, negotiate competitive rates and terms, execute carrier agreements, and monitor KPI performance such as OTIF, transit variance, claims rate and cost per ton/mile.
Administer complex import/export processes and customs compliance requirements, including timely submission of customs documentation, coordination with customs brokers, tariff classification, and mitigation of hold-ups and penalties.
Lead implementation, configuration, and ongoing optimization of Transportation Management Systems (TMS) and integrated freight visibility tools to improve automation, routing, tendering, and carrier scorecards.
Forecast transportation demand and capacity needs; build short- and long-term freight capacity plans and contingency plans for peak seasons, supply disruptions or carrier capacity shortages.
Design and execute continuous improvement programs (Lean/Six Sigma principles) to reduce transit times, lower costs per shipment, increase load consolidation and improve asset utilization.
Coordinate cross-functional planning with procurement, inventory planning and warehouse teams to optimize pickup and delivery schedules, dock operations, and storage-to-ship timelines to avoid demurrage and reduce dwell time.
Create, present and maintain transport P&L, monthly cost analyses, cost-to-serve models, and variance reports to Finance and senior leadership to drive budget adherence and identify cost-savings opportunities.
Oversee claims management and cargo insurance processes: investigate loss/damage incidents, lead vendor recovery actions, maintain records for insurance, and implement root-cause corrective actions.
Supervise, recruit, train and develop a team of dispatchers, schedulers, transport planners and carrier relationship specialists; set performance objectives and conduct regular reviews.
Ensure compliance with national and international transport regulations (FMCSA, ADR, IMDG, IATA, CMR, local maritime and aviation rules) and company safety standards, including driver hours of service, vehicle inspections and certification requirements.
Manage hazardous materials logistics and dangerous goods procedures by ensuring proper documentation, packaging, handling, employee training and carrier acceptance for HAZMAT shipments.
Implement and manage real-time shipment visibility and exception management processes, escalating critical incidents, communicating proactively to customers and internal stakeholders and coordinating resolutions.
Lead negotiation and contracting for third-party logistics providers (3PLs), freight forwarders and carriers, including service level agreements (SLAs), KPIs, penalties, and performance incentives.
Optimize cross-border and multimodal routing options, including carrier switching, transloading, and intermodal hub utilization to maximize speed-to-market and minimize total landed costs.
Maintain and audit transportation records and shipment documentation such as bills of lading, air waybills, packing lists, commercial invoices, certificates of origin and delivery confirmations for audit readiness.
Coordinate fleet management activities when company-owned assets are used, including preventive maintenance schedules, fuel management, safety inspections, vendor repair coordination and telematics utilization.
Lead sustainability initiatives for transportation by evaluating modal shifts, route consolidation, backhauls, load factor improvements and carrier ESG performance to reduce carbon footprint and improve green logistics metrics.
Manage customer and carrier relationships day-to-day: resolve service issues, set expectations, negotiate SLA remedies, and ensure a high level of service and communication for key accounts.
Develop and maintain transport playbooks, SOPs, escalation matrices and disaster recovery plans to ensure clarity and speed of response during operational disruptions.
Drive freight rate management and cost control programs including spot vs contract sourcing strategies, freight audit and payment process improvements, and identification of rebate or volume discount opportunities.
Conduct periodic transport audits, carrier performance reviews and compliance inspections to ensure adherence to internal policies and external regulations; implement corrective action plans where needed.
Monitor market trends, fuel cost volatility, regulatory changes, and carrier capacity shifts; update leadership and adjust transport strategy proactively to mitigate risk.
Collaborate with IT on integrations and data pipelines between ERP, WMS, TMS and carrier EDI/API connections to ensure accurate data flow, automated tendering and invoice reconciliation.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc operational analyses and provide transportation data, reports and insights for business planning, budgeting, and executive decision-making.
Lead cross-functional projects such as TMS upgrades, carrier onboarding, peak season readiness, or customs modernization initiatives that require coordination across finance, IT, procurement and operations.
Mentor junior staff and create internal training materials and workshops on transport best practices, compliance requirements, and carrier negotiation techniques.
Participate in supplier scorecard reviews and supplier development meetings to improve carrier service levels and align incentives to company objectives.
Coordinate with customer service and sales teams to provide shipment status updates, ETA predictions, and issue resolution to maintain high customer satisfaction.
Assist in periodic RFPs and sourcing events for logistics services, compiling requirements, analyzing bids and recommending supplier selections based on total cost and service fit.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Transportation Management Systems (TMS) configuration and operation — demonstrated experience implementing and using enterprise TMS for tendering, route optimization and freight settlement.
Freight rate negotiation and contract management — ability to run RFPs, negotiate tariffs, SLAs and carrier agreement terms for road, air, ocean and rail freight.
Multimodal logistics and intermodal coordination — experience planning and executing domestic and international air, ocean, rail and truck shipments, including transloading and depot management.
Customs, import/export and trade compliance — knowledge of customs clearance processes, documentation (BOL, AWB, CMR, commercial invoice), HS codes, duties and trade compliance best practices.
Freight cost modeling and P&L management — proficiency building cost-to-serve models, freight budgets, and financial reporting for transportation operations.
Route optimization and load planning — applying optimization techniques and tools to consolidate loads, plan backhauls, and reduce empty miles.
Data analysis and KPIs — ability to analyze OTIF, dwell time, transit variance, claims per million, cost per shipment, and present actionable insights using Excel, SQL or BI tools.
Carrier performance management and scorecards — establishing metrics, thresholds and corrective action plans to manage carriers and 3PL partners.
Hazardous goods handling and regulatory certifications — working knowledge of ADR/IMDG/IATA rules for DG handling and documentation.
Freight audit, payment and invoice reconciliation — experience with freight audit processes, identifying billing discrepancies and managing carrier reconciliations.
EDI/API and systems integration — familiarity with integrating carrier EDI/AS2, APIs, and building data flows between ERP/WMS/TMS.
Project management — leading cross-functional transport projects such as TMS implementations, carrier rollouts, or process redesigns.

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and team development skills with a track record of building high-performing transport teams and coaching staff.
Excellent stakeholder communication and customer service orientation; able to communicate complex logistics updates to commercial, technical, and executive audiences.
Analytical problem-solving and decision-making under pressure; skilled at root cause analysis and defining pragmatic corrective actions.
Negotiation and influencing skills to secure favorable rates and service levels with carriers and suppliers.
Time management and prioritization; comfortable juggling multiple high-priority shipments, escalations and projects.
Adaptability and resilience in dynamic supply chain environments, including peak season and disruption scenarios.
Attention to detail and process discipline to maintain compliance and accurate shipping documentation.
Collaborative mindset to work cross-functionally with procurement, warehousing, sales, operations and IT teams.
Continuous improvement orientation — comfortable leading Lean initiatives and data-driven process improvements.
Cultural sensitivity and global mindset for working with international carriers, customs stakeholders and remote teams.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Transportation Management, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Supply Chain Management, MBA or advanced logistics certification (CILT, CSCMP, APICS/CPIM or equivalent).
Professional certifications such as IATA Dangerous Goods, Certified Transportation Professional (CTP), or customs brokerage credentials where applicable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Logistics & Supply Chain Management
Business Administration / Operations Management
Transportation Engineering / Industrial Engineering
International Trade & Customs

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10+ years in transport, freight operations, or logistics roles with progressive responsibility; at least 2–3 years in a supervisory or manager role.

Preferred:

7+ years of hands-on experience managing multimodal freight for medium to large enterprises, including demonstrated experience with TMS implementations, carrier contracting, cross-border customs processes and managing transport budgets or P&L responsibility.
Experience working with 3PLs, freight forwarders, and carrier networks across domestic and international lanes; prior exposure to regulated cargo (HAZMAT, temperature-controlled, or oversized freight) is a plus.