Freight Manager
When you’re the freight manager at a large supply chain operation, it can almost be like running your own logistics business. As well as overseeing teams that ensure fleets are staffed, well maintained and legally compliant, you might also be negotiating deals with third party carriers and logistics hubs, and you will be keeping a close eye on the department’s incoming revenues and outgoing costs, to better balance the books and keep the business profitable.
Freight manager jobs can also be quite specific when it comes to regions and modes of transportation. The typical rail freight manager and road freight manager will have distinct skill sets, responsibilities and abilities, but both will be very different to someone who deals port to port with shipping companies. What they all have in common is a deep understanding of how time pressure and transport capacities go to make freight management an exact science, with as little room for manoeuvre as a supertanker in the Suez Canal.
The skills required
The budgetary oversight of the department or company you are managing will be in your hands. Therefore, you’ll need to be a person who not only understands how finances work in the freight industry, but also how to do it efficiently and to root out areas that are underperforming and replace them with more cost effective solutions.
As freight manager, you’ll also be overseeing a potentially complex team of drivers, warehouse staff, brokers, legal experts and contract specialists who will need to work like clockwork to keep your freight moving to where it’s meant to be. You’ll need to be confident in your decisions and able to communicate them to the whole team to see your strategic vision to completion.
Freight Manager Jobs in Milton Keynes
Situated in Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes is a new town that was designated in 1967. At the time, it was selected due to its more-or-less equal distance from Birmingham, London, Leicester, Cambridge and Oxford.
Before it was a new town, however, Milton Keynes was a village - and one with an intriguing history. Early settlements in the area date back to the Iron Age, while other inhabitants over the centuries included Romans, Normans and the Anglo-Saxons.
Today, Milton Keynes comprises a number of communities. Bletchley, for instance was an important location during the second world war - it was home to the Government Code and Cypher School, where Alan Turing (often called the father of computer science) helped to crack the Enigma code. Meanwhile, Bradwell Abbey was a Benedictine Priory and was an economic hub prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
For anyone seeking Freight Manager opportunities, there are a number of big names that call the region home. These include The Open University, Abbey National, Buckingham Foods and Argos. Coca-Cola has a large manufacturing site in Milton Keynes, producing Capri-Sun and Monster Energy products, as well as bulk products for distribution to companies like McDonald's.
In addition, organisations that promote sustainable energy - such as the National Energy Foundation and the National Home Energy Rating Scheme are located in Knowlhill, along with the National House Building Council, a number of law firms, graphics design companies and warehousing facilities.
Popular locations
Freight managers needed nationwide
Every supply chain operation needs efficiency, so a good manager is like gold dust to any logistics operation. There’s a thriving market for anyone with the talent, and businesses offer attractive packages to the right candidates.
If you’re a freight manager with good experience, you are in demand right now, so please register your details via the link below. We can then match you up with some of the biggest and best supply chain companies in the world.
Companies that are looking for freight managers need to know they’re getting the cream of the crop when it comes to candidates. At Cast UK we only deal with managerial and executive-level freight managers, so we can whittle down an experienced shortlist for you to choose from. Call us on 0333 121 3345 to talk about specialist recruitment or get in touch here.
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