Primary Transportation Manager

The primary transportation manager in the supply chain at Dabur leads and manages full truckload (FTL) and logistics operations. This role involves overseeing end-to-end processes such as transporter auctions, rate negotiation, contract lifecycle, vendor development, billing process, audits, and cross-functional stakeholder management. Responsibilities include conducting regular auctions and rate negotiations with FTL transporters to ensure competitive bids and optimized costs. Developing and managing transporter contracts, including SLAs, KPIs, and automated invoicing and freight billing processes. Monitoring transporter performance, implementing corrective actions, and leading continuous improvement and cost rationalization initiatives. The role also entails overseeing the end-to-end contract lifecycle for transporters and logistics partners, including RFP/RFQ preparation, bid evaluation, negotiation, contract drafting, renewal, and compliance. Evaluating vendor capabilities, onboarding new FTL and warehouse providers, and managing performance reviews, tiering, and development programs. Additionally, mitigating risks, managing service-level adherence, and escalating contractual issues in liaison with Legal and Finance teams. Directly managing a small team focused on transporter operations, coordinating cross-functional zonal logistics teams, mentoring, training, and evaluating team performance, fostering a performance-driven environment aligned with organizational goals, and facilitating clear communication and alignment within central and zonal logistics, supply/distribution planners, and manufacturing units are also part of the responsibilities. The transportation manager collaborates with Supply & Dispatch Planners to align outbound scheduling with transport capacity, coordinates with manufacturing units for timely dispatch, optimal fleet utilization, and alignment with production schedules, and engages with Zonal Logistics Teams to implement consistent processes and transport strategies across locations. Additionally, serving as the primary liaison for external stakeholders, such as carriers, transporter associations, and warehouse service providers, is essential. Defining and tracking transportation KPIs, conducting regular freight performance reviews, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions with carriers, preparing and presenting monthly/quarterly reports to senior leadership highlighting cost savings, service levels, business risks, and improvement plans are key responsibilities. Identifying, implementing, and standardizing best practices across the transport lifecycle, driving TMS adoption and integration, and implementing cost optimization strategies are also part of the role. The ideal candidate for this position should have a Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, Logistics, Operations, or a related field. An MBA or advanced degree is a plus. They should have 8-12 years of experience in Supply Chain/Logistics, with at least 4-5 years in a primary/FTL transportation role. Dabur is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in its workforce to cater to its multi-category organization serving a wide range of customers across geographies.,