SUMMARY:
Our client in the FMCG industry is looking for a National & Cross-Border Road Freight Manager to join their logistics department in Port Elizabeth
POSITION INFO:
Minimum Qualifications and Experience:
- Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Diploma in Logistics, Supply Chain Management, or Transport Economics (Highly Preferred). Matriculation certificate is a baseline minimum.
- Minimum 5–7 years of experience in road freight management, specifically within high-volume FMCG, cold chain logistics, or ambient/frozen food commodity trading.
- Export-Specific Experience: Minimum 3 years of direct experience specializing in road freight exports, moving commercial cargo across South African borders into neighboring territories.
- Proven experience dealing directly with Customs authorities (SARS) and the State Veterinarian (DALRRD) for the inspection, documentation, clearance, and release of animal and plant products.
- Proven track record in managing an internal commercial fleet of trucks (own assets) as well as the direct leadership and performance management of an internal Fleet Manager.
- Proven proficiency in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (Syspro experience highly advantageous), Transport Management Systems (TMS), vehicle telematics/satellite tracking platforms, and Advanced Microsoft Excel.
Soft Skills:- Ability to rapidly resolve operational bottlenecks, vehicle breakdowns, port congestion, Customs interventions, and border delays under high-pressure conditions.
- High commercial acumen to interpret transport data, track cost per ton/pallet, optimize fleet running costs, and identify cost-saving leakages.
- Clear, decisive leadership style to manage decentralized controller teams and hold both internal fleet staff and third-party logistics (3PL) providers accountable.
Main Duties/Key Results Areas:1. Export Compliance, Customs & State Vet Management
- State Vet Coordination: Oversee the scheduling, preparation, and presentation of frozen and dry food commodities for mandatory State Veterinarian inspections. Ensure all health certificates, import/export permits, and veterinary clearances are accurate and valid.
- Customs & Border Clearance: Manage road export clearance processes through SARS Customs and destination country authorities. Ensure correct tariff classifications, valuation declarations, and manifest submissions to eliminate border delays.
- Regulatory Liaison: Act as a key point of contact for clearing agents, border officials, and health inspectors to resolve administrative queries, detentions, or border stop-and-search procedures.
- Sealing & Detention Protocols: Ensure strict compliance with vehicle sealing procedures post-inspection by State Vet or Customs officials to maintain regulatory and cold chain integrity.
2. Internal Fleet Governance & Leadership
- Direct Fleet Manager Oversight: Manage, mentor, and hold the internal Fleet Manager accountable for daily vehicle availability, fuel efficiency, driver performance, and asset protection.
- Maintenance & Roadworthiness: Oversee the Fleet Manager’s execution of preventative maintenance schedules, COF (Certificate of Fitness) renewals, licensing, and immediate resolution of mechanical breakdowns.
- Driver & Fuel Management: Review fleet metrics compiled by the Fleet Manager, including driver behavior logs, speeding alerts, idling times, and fuel consumption/siphoning audits.
- Asset Utilization: Balance cargo allocation between the internal fleet and 3PL providers, ensuring the company fleet is continuously fully utilized to maximize return on asset investment.
3. Strategic Departmental Leadership & Team Management
- Direct Line Management: Provide daily leadership, strategic direction, and performance tracking for Local Logistics (LLT) Controllers, Intermodal Controllers, Cross-Border Controllers, and Admin Assistants.
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Develop, implement, audit, and continuously update all departmental SOPs across both internal fleet movements and outsourced freight to ensure operational continuity.
- Capacity Planning: Forecast and secure sufficient national and cross-border transport capacity to meet fluctuating seasonal import and export volumes.
4. Financial Governance, Rate Negotiation & Risk Management
- Rate Management: Maintain, update, and distribute accurate transporter rate sheets to the administrative team; eliminate unauthorized rate variances.
- Commercial Negotiation: Continually source new transport providers and negotiate competitive freight rates with existing and new operators to reduce overall logistics spend.
- Financial Reconciliation: Oversign, verify, and resolve queries relating to transport recons, internal fleet running costs, diesel rebates, and demurrage claims before final financial sign-off.
- Goods in Transit (GIT) & Asset Insurance: Ensure the central GIT spreadsheet is updated in real-time for 3PLs, and verify that the internal fleet insurance policies are fully compliant and active to eliminate corporate liability.
5. Cold Chain Integrity & Claims Management
- Cold Chain Safeguarding: Enforce strict temperature control protocols across all transit legs, ensuring reefer units maintain specified temperatures for poultry, beef, pork, fish, and vegetables.
- Cold Store Synergy: Oversee seamless communication with internal and commercial cold storage facilities to guarantee loading/offloading bookings are secured timeously, preventing vehicle standing time.
- Incident & Claims Resolution: Manage the end-to-end resolution of transport claims resulting from product damages, shortages, temperature deviations, theft, or road accidents.
- Root Cause Analysis: Investigate all transit failures, implement corrective actions, and enforce financial recoveries from transport suppliers or internal disciplinary protocols where fault is established.
6. Specialized Functional Execution
A. Local Logistics (LLT)
- Route Monitoring: Monitor daily load-outs, dispatch schedules, and vehicle routes across all regional delivery zones.
- Asset Maximization: Maximize commercial vehicle utilization and reduce empty running through intelligent route planning and scheduling.
- On-Site Resolution: Resolve on-site commercial loading, offloading, and scheduling issues at client facilities instantaneously.
B. Intermodal (Port & Depot)
- Traffic Tracking: Track daily container delivery reports and container moves to maintain continuous visibility over port traffic.
- Demurrage Mitigation: Guarantee the rapid removal of containers from major ports to avoid expensive port storage and carrier demurrage penalties.
- Pre-Arrival Booking: Secure commercial cold store intake slots and bookings well prior to vessel arrival dates to minimize staging delays.
C. Cross-Border (Export Region)
- Status Monitoring: Monitor regional cross-border status reports daily to track transit milestones and truck coordinates.
- Delay Mitigation: Proactively mitigate border crossing delays via direct liaison with clearing agents, Customs officials, and State Vet offices.
- Regulatory Enforcement: Ensure strict customs documentation compliance and absolute adherence to all SADC transport regulations.
- All and any other related duties as expected by the Employer from time to time.
