Position Summary:
The Logistics Manager is responsible for the end-to-end management of all finished goods logistics for Highland Pellets (HLP) and Highland Fiber Resources (HFR). This role provides operational leadership, vendor management, and coordination across all modes of transport - Truck, Barge, Rail , and Port Operations - ensuring seamless movement of finished product from facility to point of export or customer delivery.
The Logistics Manager serves as the primary point of contact for all external transportation partners, including Union Pacific, trucking vendors, port operators, and barge service providers. Internally, this role works closely with Procurement, Production, Operations, and Finance teams to align logistics execution with business needs, optimize costs, and drive operational reliability.
Key Responsibilities
Transportation & Execution:
- Lead, coordinate, and manage all finished goods transportation activities across truck, barge, and rail.
- Negotiate and manage trucking contracts for HFR and HLP finished goods movement to the port.
- Schedule and coordinate all truck movements from HFR/HLP to port facilities.
- Act as primary liaison with port operators to manage product staging, storage, and vessel loading activities.
- Plan, schedule, and coordinate all barge movements through to point of departure, optimizing loads and managing demurrage risk.
- Serve as primary point of contact for all finished good movements, coordinating all rail shipments, resolving service issues, and aligning rail service with production and customer requirements.
- Coordinate all intermediate logistics needs between sites or for special projects (screenings, samples, etc.).
- Own all external logistics partner relationships (trucking carriers, port operators, barge companies, rail providers).
- Negotiate rates, terms, and service level expectations.
- Monitor vendor performance and drive continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with HLP production planning to align logistics with production output.
- Work closely with HFR procurement to plan and execute fiber-related moves.
- Ensure inventory and staging capacity at ports is optimized to support production and sales.
- Drive proactive communication with internal stakeholders on shipment status, risks, and exceptions.
- Monitor and manage freight spend across all modes of transport.
- Validate freight invoices and ensure alignment with contractual terms.
- Report on logistics performance metrics, including OTIF, cost per ton, demurrage, detention, and service reliability.
- Identify and implement opportunities for logistics cost savings and operational efficiency.
- Ensure compliance with transportation regulations and internal policies.
- Lead incident response and issue resolution for logistics-related disruptions.
- Maintain appropriate records and documentation for all transportation activities.
Qualifications:
- 7+ years experience in supply chain, logistics, or transportation management in an industrial, manufacturing, or distribution environment.
- Proven experience managing multimodal logistics: truck, barge, rail, port.
- Strong contract negotiation and vendor management skills.
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex supply chains and deliver reliable service performance.
- Excellent planning, organizational, and communication skills.
- Data-driven and financially disciplined - able to manage budgets and track KPIs.
- Proficient with logistics software tools and Microsoft Office suite (experience with TMS, ERP, or BI tools is a plus).
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-accountability operational environment.