Sr Mgr Inbound Transportation

Serving the needs of all families with young children, Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's.

HOW YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT:

The Senior Manager of International Transportation plays a key leadership role in managing and optimizing the global movement of finished goods for a leading apparel brand. This role is responsible for overseeing the end-to-end transportation of over 10,000 ocean containers annually across 34 countries into U.S. East and West Coast ports, with accountability for a $50 million transportation budget. The ideal candidate brings strong leadership, strategic insight, and operational expertise to ensure the timely, compliant, and cost-effective delivery of product aligned with seasonal calendars and customer demand.
?    Key Competencies:
?    Strategic Thinking & Long-Term Planning
?    Supplier & Carrier Relationship Management
?    Financial Acumen & Cost Optimization
?    Crisis Management & Problem Solving
?    Collaboration & Cross-Functional Influence
?    Results-Driven with Strong Execution Focus

?    DAILY TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS (50%)
?    Carrier & Logistics Partner Management 
?    Own and manage strategic partnerships with 3 NVOCCs and 7 direct ocean carriers, ensuring performance, service reliability, and favorable pricing aligned to seasonal peaks.
?    Negotiate long-term service contracts, balancing cost, service levels, and capacity for high-volume apparel shipments.
?    Conduct regular performance reviews and drive corrective action plans when service falls below expectations.
?    Operational Oversight
?    Manage the international movement of goods from apparel sourcing hubs (e.g., Asia, Central America, ISC) to U.S. distribution centers.
?    Ensure efficient coordination of bookings, documentation, and carrier communication in alignment with product availability and launch schedules.
?    Optimize container utilization and reduce demurrage/detention through proactive planning and execution.
?    Collaborates closely with team of 8 logistics associates a 1 senior manager in our Hong Kong office to coordinate container booking activities.  Leads weekly bookings calls with Asia-based origin service teams to ensure alignment and coordination.
?     Performance Management & SLAs
?    Maintain and report on SLAs for on-time performance, transit times, documentation accuracy, and cost efficiency.
?    Partner with sourcing, planning, and DC operations to ensure transportation supports service level targets and inventory availability.
?     Risk Mitigation & Disruption Management
?    Develop and lead contingency plans to mitigate supply chain risks such as port congestion, labor actions, natural disasters, and regulatory changes.
?    Monitor global market conditions and act swiftly to adjust transportation flows in support of seasonal or promotional needs.
?    Technology & Compliance 
?    Leverage TMS, freight visibility tools, and analytics to enhance real-time tracking, performance insight, and proactive issue resolution.
?    Ensure strict compliance with trade regulations, customs requirements, and internal audit controls.

?    Strategic Transportation Leadership (20%)
?    Develop and execute a global transportation strategy tailored to the apparel industry’s seasonal, time-sensitive, and customer-centric needs.
?    Anticipate and respond to geopolitical, trade, and environmental events that impact the global movement of goods.
?    Drive continuous improvement in routing, transit time, and port selection to support business growth and margin goals.
?    Cross-Functional Collaboration
?    Collaborate with global sourcing, customs compliance, planning, and inventory teams to ensure aligned execution of global freight movements.
?    Act as a key supply chain leader in corporate seasonal readiness, product launch planning, and post-season review initiatives.

?    Budget & Cost Control (10%)
?    Manage and forecast a $50+ million transportation budget, ensuring accuracy, cost containment, and alignment with corporate financial targets.
?    Identify savings opportunities through volume leverage, consolidation, and modal strategies (e.g., transloading, direct-to-port deliveries).

?    TRANSPORTATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT (15%)
?    Support internal divisions with various seasonal projects.  This includes establishing a process providing visibility to the inbound freight, updating internal contacts and working with external destination delivery locations in the US and/or Canada
?    Identify opportunities, develop business cases and work with Global Transportation Leadership to implement projects into overall strategy
?    Utilize data analytics to develop enhanced logistics capabilities, performance and reduce costs
?    Build a robust succession plan

?    MANAGE INBOUND CARRIER CLAIM PROCESS (5%)

WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU IF:
Must have:
?    Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, International Business, or related field
?    7+ years of experience in international transportation or logistics
?    Experience in the apparel, retail, or consumer products industry, with a focus on seasonal volume and time-sensitive deliveries
?    Strong carrier and NVOCC negotiation and management skills
?    Deep knowledge of global shipping, Incoterms, customs processes, and international trade compliance
?    Proven ability to manage large budgets and complex transportation networks

Preferred skills and experience:
?    Master’s degree or MBA
?    Experience with transportation technology (TMS, visibility platforms)
?    Familiarity with sourcing and production regions relevant to the apparel industry (e.g., Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, SEA, ISC)
?    Understanding of sustainability and ESG considerations in global logistics

OUR TEAM MEMBERS:

?    Lead Courageously: Have a strong sense of personal values that align with our Company values
?    Collaborates Broadly: Build cooperation, trust, and thrive in a consensus driven environment
?    Customer Focus: Proactively seek opportunities to leverage data and fact-based insights to serve customers and/or internal clients
?    Drive Growth: Set aggressive goals and implement plans precisely
?    Cultivates Innovation:  Respectfully challenge the "we’ve always done it this way" mentality and explore new ways to achieve desired outcomes

MAKE A CAREER AT CARTER’S: 
?    Career Development: Success starts from within, and we have several paths from which you can choose to enhance your career evolution. From Carter’s University to Toastmasters to mentorship programs and more, we encourage you to utilize these tools to elevate your professional prowess. 
NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. The duties described may be changed or reassigned at the discretion of management, and the employee may be required to perform duties that are not listed in the job description.
 

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.