Logistics Co-ordinator

PURPOSE OF THE JOB:

The candidate will be responsible for organising efficient and timely transportation of our cargo from the various suppliers, to either the warehouse or customer sites. A successful Logistics Coordinator should be able to ensure cost effective supply chain operations, and be able to promptly resolve distribution issues and have strong negotiation skills.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS (DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES):

EXPORT SHIPMENTS MANAGEMENT:

• Coordinate with the warehouse the dispatch of exports, and arrange with freight forwarders to collect cargo
• Source freight estimates from freight forwarders and negotiate rates to save costs
• Manage shipping schedules and costs of exports to meet customer requirements
• Prepare shipping documents and share with the warehouse and freight forwarders
• Coordinate customs clearance with the customers clearing agents to avoid any delivery delays in the destination countries
• Prepare an in transit report and share with the Service Department
• Track and manage status of shipments, and troubleshoot out of service level agreement deliveries
• Ensure PODs are shared with the Finance and Order Management team for customer invoicing

IMPORT SHIPMENTS MANAGEMENT:

• Communicate with suppliers and plan the collection of cargo being delivered to the warehouse (GDZACT)
• Negotiate freight rates with the foreign freight forwarders offices
• Plan the shipping schedules according to the fulfilment of customer orders, and the urgency thereof
• Share shipping documents with the local freight forwarder offices
• Ensure pre-clearance or timely customs clearance of cargo to avoid delivery delays to the warehouse
• Share shipping documents with the warehouse to allow goods receipt on delivery
• Ensure regulatory documents (i.e. NRCS LOA, ITAC permits for repairs, etc) are in place
• Share shipping documents pack and POD with Finance for supplier invoice payment

DOMESTIC SHIPMENTS MANAGEMENT:

• Coordinate with the warehouse the daily dispatch of local deliveries to customers
• Ensure local transporter collects daily dispatches on time for delivery to customers
• Plan and coordinate the delivery and invoicing of project based cargo to various customer sites
• Ensure PODs are with Finance, Order Management, and the Inside Sales Management for customer invoicing

TRANSHIPMENT AND CROSS-TRADE SHIPMENTS MANAGEMENT:

• Coordinate the collection of cargo with the Project Management or Inside Sales Management teams from the suppliers
• Source freight estimates from freight forwarders, and make recommendations to the Project Management and Inside Sales Management teams
• Plan and arrange collection from suppliers and delivery to project sites with the nominated freight forwarders
• Align with Project Management on any delivery requirements
• Coordinate customs clearance with the customers clearing agents to avoid any delivery delays in the destination countries
• Manage any anomalies and inform the Project Management team to manage customer expectations
• Ensure PODs are shared with the Project Management and Inside Sales Management team for customer invoicing

ADMINISTRATION MANAGEMENT:

• Ensure all export, imports, domestic, and transhipment / cross-trade shipments are captured on the tracking sheet (s)
• Update the tracking sheet (s), and provide a status update to the various stakeholders (i.e. Warehouse & Order Management for imports, Project Management for cross-trade, etc)
• Save all shipping documents on the shared drive
• Ensure all estimates are saved on the shared drive
• Source freight forwarder invoices and supporting documents, and save them on the shared drive
• Prepare and manage all required departmental reporting

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT:

• The Logistics Coordinator provides a service to various internal and external customers, and needs to ensure a high level of professionalism at all times.
• They also need to strive to exceed customer expectations, and also manage expectations.
• In order to keep the service levels satisfactory, they will be required to 1. Reply timeously to emails, and provide status updates 2. Process requests according to instructions, and communicate any deviations ahead of time

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• 5 years experience within an Imports and exports environment (with a strong understanding of customs clearance procedures)
• Knowledge and understanding of shipping and customs procedures within the SADC region
• Essential to have experience in dealing with customers at multiple levels
• Must be able to work unsupervised and with a sense of urgency
• Extensive knowledge on SAP (PTP, IM)
• Intermediate to advanced level experience on the Microsoft suite
• Must be fluent in English (Both written and spoken)
• Must have valid passport and drives license

MINIMUM ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION:

• Matric / National qualification (certificate)
• Preferably an Import / Export/ supply chain or Logistics Degree or Diploma

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL & ABILITIES:

• Strong communication and open personality
• Takes initiative and 'think out of the box
• Act with integrity and professionalism.
• Following instructions & procedures.
• Adhering to principles and values (Trustworthy, reliable and responsible).
• Cope with pressure.
• Good administrative skills.
• Be able to work in a team as well as independently.
• Accuracy and attentiveness to detail.
• Ability to excel and exceed customer expectations in a pressurised production driven environment