Logistics & Imports Lead at Crescent Distribution Services Limited (CDSL)

Key Duties/ Responsibilities:

• Ensure accurate order entry, efficient shipment tracking and follow-up, and timely delivery of products to customers.
• Analyzing dispatch schedules and planning for import documentations accordingly and ensuring that appropriate marine/insurance covers have been obtained
• Resolve conflicting priorities among orders, customer importance, available inventory, and delivery schedules aiming for best customer experience.
• Keeping track of all international purchase orders tracking the ordering schedule process and ensuring compliance in line with the import documentation process by ensuring all documentation meets regulatory requirements before processing any shipments and deliveries.
• Tracking containers, loose cargos and following up container status and documentation with clearing agents, and other authority agencies Order tracking and follow up until delivery – Maintain back order and open order files, weekly shipment outlook and lead periodic meetings with all stakeholders to update and review order status, priorities, and challenges.
• Obtain market information from the sales team on a weekly basis to determine selling price.
• Ensure all product line price lists are prepared and compared biweekly against market and competitor pricing and ensure adherence to the price list by all respective sales team.
• Responsible for approving all price requests in the respective sales groups for all respective branches.
• Manage vendor support files for all branches and work with the sales team to determine the support to extend to the market.
• Requesting for price support from respective vendors while working closely with sales and finance team when submitting quotes with varying Incoterms. At the same time maintaining the price support file to determine the support extended to the market.
• Act as main link between the company and the customers ensuring an effective communication and mutual understanding; focus on understanding the customer’s needs to meet customer expectations.
• Manage customer escalation issues effectively and timely ensuring an effective response/resolution to customer requests, problems, and special needs. Track customer claims and ensure a daily follow-up of outstanding items. Investigate claims and set action plans to prevent re-occurrence.
• Once purchase orders are done by finance to maintain and maintain weekly stock movement analysis for all branches and all product lines and advising management when to place next order by managing the re-order level process in the system.
• Process pre-shipment & post-shipment documentation on all approved PO, undertake shipment booking confirmations, ensure completion of required processes and sourcing of support documentation to ensure the On-Time-In-Full (OTIF) goal and satisfy contract terms.
• Perform outbound calls to customers and the relevant internal teams creating awareness of shipping and customs requirements and proactively communicating and updating customers on product shipments status and other issues related to lead time changes in a timely, accurate and professional manner.
• Closely work with the regulatory and compliance team to ensure all orders fulfil regulatory requirements and documentations before processing and releasing for deliveries.
• Coordinate and ensure adequate execution of logistics plans to ascertain timely, and accurate deliveries of orders to customers.
• Ensure problem solving of supply chain related customer complaints, ensuring timely resolution, active engagement with customers and internal team members to prevent future issues.
• Work closely with finance department to ensure suppliers are paid in time, and a draft costing sheet is shared for every container for approval by finance department. Final costing sheet to be prepared once final documents have been obtained and shared with finance for approval.
• Ensure all released customer supply/order management processes and procedures are adequately followed.
• Create and maintain all relevant order data in manual and/or automation systems.
• Accurately compile all necessary reports, paperwork, records, and documents including the outstanding order report and ensure timely submission to appropriate stakeholders as required.
• Ensure reconciliation is done against physical stock versus documentation received as the first check and that correct data has been captured on tally.
• Ensure all posting has been captured on tally as and when information is received.
• Preparing quotations for sales staff with a turn around time of 2 hours
• Liaising with freight companies to request for freight quotations, vessel bookings, booking containers and ensuring all documentation is correct before goods are dispatched etcs and Tracking shipments, liaising with the clearing agents for the processes on verification and DO release, ETA for shipments, documentations, and any other issues that arise during the transit/arrival of shipment.
• Maintaining and filing all paperwork related to respective shipments

Key Results Areas:

• High-quality customer service operation.
• Order management process efficiency.
• Cost management (control and reduction): guarantee strict order management accuracy, reduced order cycle times and improve fill rates while controlling the cost of serving customers.
• Effective cross-functional partnership and collaboration
• Reporting excellence: efficient reports to facilitate informed decision making and analysis.

Qualifications, Knowledge, and Experience:

• A master’s degree in business administration/supply chain, bachelor’s degree in business administration, Supply Chain or equivalent with Three (3yrs) Years’ Experience.
• 7+ years of working experience in Customer Service/Order Processing department, 3 of which should be at a managerial level.
• Demonstrate working experience/knowledge of ERP systems.
• Advanced proficiency with MS suite packages with the ability to analyze and interpret data.

Key Competencies:

• Strong leadership skills: ability to lead, motivate and develop a team and individual employees.
• Decision-making and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrate strong commercial awareness with strong planning, organization, and budgeting skills.
• Extremely detail-oriented, efficient, and able to multi-task, prioritize, manage, and follow projects through to completion.
• Strong team player with a “roll up your sleeves and get the job done” attitude.
• Demonstrates commitment to results delivery while exceeding customer expectations, a sense of ownership and pride in performance and its impact on the company’s success.
• Focus on continuous improvement.
• Excellent communication across levels and functions
• Ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with peers and colleagues across the organization, as well as internal and external clients.
• Must have high standards of integrity, ethics, and confidentiality.