Job Purpose
Manage and coordinate international shipments by air and sea, ensuring timely, cost-effective, and compliant movement of goods across international markets. The role is responsible for freight coordination, shipment documentation, customs clearance support, and the preparation and follow-up of banking documentation related to international and intercompany transactions, ensuring smooth coordination between suppliers, shipping lines, freight forwarders, banks, and internal departments.
Key Responsibilities
A. International Freight Management – Sea & Air
- Coordinate end-to-end international shipments by sea and air, from shipment readiness and booking through dispatch, arrival, and delivery at destination.
- Obtain and evaluate freight quotations, compare service options, and coordinate with freight forwarders, shipping lines, airlines, and overseas suppliers to secure competitive rates and reliable transit times.
- Arrange bookings, shipping instructions, cargo collection, container allocation, and shipment consolidation as required.
- Follow up on shipment readiness, vessel and flight schedules, transshipments, departures, and estimated arrival dates, proactively identifying and escalating delays.
- Monitor freight costs, additional charges, demurrage, detention, storage, and other shipment-related expenses, ensuring proper cost control.
- Coordinate urgent airfreight shipments when required, balancing operational priorities, delivery timelines, and transportation costs.
- Track shipments and maintain accurate records of shipment status, freight rates, transit times, and associated costs.
- Support the optimization of container utilization, shipment consolidation, and freight mode selection to improve logistics efficiency.
B. Shipping Documentation & Customs Coordination
- Ensure the timely preparation, collection, verification, and distribution of shipping documents, including commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, air waybills, certificates of origin, and other required shipping documents.
- Review documentation for consistency across invoices, purchase orders, consignee and shipper details, quantities, values, and shipment information.
- Coordinate with suppliers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, and destination teams to ensure compliance with applicable import/export regulations and country-specific requirements.
- Follow up on document amendments, missing documents, and discrepancies to prevent shipment delays, customs clearance issues, and additional costs.
- Ensure shipping documents are shared with the relevant internal teams and destination entities within the required timelines.
- Maintain an organized and accessible electronic filing system for shipping documents and shipment records.
C. Banking Documentation & Intercompany Transactions
- Prepare, collect, verify, and coordinate banking documentation required for international trade and intercompany transactions.
- Coordinate with Finance, Accounting, Treasury, and relevant banks to ensure documentation is complete and submitted within applicable deadlines.
- Manage the documentation required for applicable banking procedures, including documentary collections, letters of credit, bank transfers, and other trade-related payment arrangements, as applicable.
- Ensure consistency between commercial invoices, proforma invoices, purchase orders, shipping documents, intercompany invoices, and other supporting documents required by banks.
- Coordinate the issuance, amendment, and submission of intercompany commercial documentation between group entities, ensuring that the correct selling entity, buying entity, shipper, consignee, and bill-to/ship-to details are reflected.
- Follow up on bank queries, document discrepancies, approvals, and outstanding requirements to avoid delays in payment processing, shipment release, or customs clearance.
- Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to resolve discrepancies relating to invoice values, currency, payment terms, and supporting documentation.
- Maintain a clear record of submitted documents, bank approvals, outstanding requirements, and transaction status.
D. Internal & External Coordination
- Coordinate with Supply Planning, Procurement, Order Processing, Finance, Accounting, and destination-country teams to align shipment schedules with business requirements.
- Follow up with suppliers and internal stakeholders to obtain accurate cargo readiness dates and ensure timely shipment execution.
- Ensure effective coordination between the actual shipper, invoicing entity, consignee, and receiving entity, particularly for intercompany shipments.
- Communicate shipment updates, expected arrival dates, documentation requirements, and potential risks to the relevant stakeholders.
- Resolve day-to-day logistics and documentation issues independently, escalating significant delays, cost overruns, compliance risks, and operational constraints when necessary.
E. Cost Control, Reporting & Process Improvement
- Maintain shipment trackers and logistics databases covering shipment status, freight costs, transit times, and documentation progress.
- Monitor freight expenditure against agreed rates, budgets, and approved quotations, highlighting significant variances.
- Support periodic reporting on freight costs, shipment performance, airfreight utilization, delays, and additional logistics charges.
- Identify opportunities to reduce freight costs, improve shipment planning, minimize avoidable charges, and enhance container utilization.
- Ensure compliance with internal procedures, approval workflows, document-control requirements, and applicable trade regulations.
- Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of international logistics SOPs and documentation workflows.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Shipment Execution: Percentage of shipments booked and dispatched within agreed timelines.
- Freight Cost Control: Freight cost performance against approved rates and budgets.
- Documentation Accuracy: Percentage of shipping and banking documentation submitted accurately and on time.
- Banking Documentation Compliance: Timely completion and submission of required documentation for intercompany and international transactions.
- Shipment Visibility: Accuracy and timeliness of shipment tracking and estimated arrival updates.
- Additional Cost Control: Reduction of avoidable demurrage, detention, storage, amendment fees, and other logistics charges.
- Issue Resolution: Timely resolution of shipment, documentation, and banking discrepancies.
- Process Compliance: Adherence to established SOPs, approval workflows, and documentation requirements.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, International Business, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Approximately 3–6 years of experience in international logistics, freight forwarding, shipping coordination, or supply chain operations.
- Practical experience managing both sea freight and airfreight shipments.
- Working knowledge of international shipping documentation, customs clearance processes, and import/export requirements.
- Experience handling trade-related banking documentation and coordinating with Finance or banks is strongly preferred.
- Exposure to intercompany transactions and multi-entity shipping arrangements is an advantage.
- Experience using ERP systems, preferably Microsoft Dynamics AX / Axapta, and proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
Required Competencies
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Good understanding of international freight operations and shipping documentation.
- Ability to manage multiple shipments, deadlines, and stakeholders simultaneously.
- Strong follow-up, problem-solving, and coordination skills.
- Commercial awareness and a cost-conscious approach to freight management.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently, prioritize operational requirements, and escalate risks appropriately.
- High level of accuracy, accountability, and document confidentiality.
