posted 03/10/10

Manager, Inbound Transportation

San Francisco CA

Make a difference. Make History. Our products have captured the attention, imagination and loyalty of generations of diverse individuals since our founding over 150 years ago. We created the world’s first blue jean in 1873, but we didn’t stop there. We’ve had an impact on every decade since, from activewear for women in the early 20th century, to leading the casual businesswear revolution of the 1990s with our Dockers® brand, to providing everyday values with our Signature by Levi Strauss™ brand. Throughout our long history we've driven change in the marketplace and in the world, offering products that are right for every generation. Today, we are offering an opportunity that may be right for you.

The purpose of this position is to be responsible for the timely and cost-effective execution of import operations, management of the corresponding information flow and data quality, and pursuit / execution of continuous improvement for a region (e.g. Latin America, Asia, etc.). The position has responsibility for setting the logistics strategy, policies, and procedures for the region; leading a team to move goods from origin to final US destination; collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to resolve discrepancies; managing the ETA/OTM tool for the region; and identifying / pursuing continuous improvement opportunities. The role works closely with internal stakeholders and logistics providers to identify, analyze, and pursue strategic opportunities.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the team to perform business and root cause analyses; use these findings and collaborate with stakeholders to set / revise logistics policies, procedures, and direction as needed
• Manage import operation, irrespective of terms of sale, to ensure time and cost performance against set KPIs for the lane, mode, or service specified
• Manage a team of logistics analyst and operations professionals to resolve operational discrepancies, pursue continuous improvement opportunities, and take proactive measures to prevent delays to lead times
• Have overall accountability for management and execution of total shipment lifecycle processes for the region, including mapping the process, quantifying opportunities, and revising, documenting, and training stakeholders as needed
• Establish and manage processes to proactively notify stakeholders and logistics providers of what is "in the pipeline" and how it will affect them (e.g. regulatory or market dynamics to stakeholders; forecasts and/or changes in company business processes for logistics providers)
• Have primary responsibility for maintaining an acceptable level of data quality in the ETA/OTM application, identifying data discrepancies (e.g. timeliness, completeness, and accuracy) and collaborating directly with logistics providers to resolve them
• Provide first point of contact for stakeholders with questions on imports and ETA for that region
• Develop presentations to communicate project status, market update, performance tracking, etc. for audiences that span functional and management levels
• Team with other regional inbound team(s), stakeholders, and logistics providers to solve "one-off" problems and/or strategic initiatives (e.g. RFPs, contingency plans, etc.)
• Lead projects from conception to completion; may be an active team member on larger, cross-regional, cross-functional initiatives

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• Minimum 10 years of direct operational management experience in an international logistics function, either on the shipper side or with a service provider
• Experience with shipper verticals in apparel, other consumer goods, retail, or other vertical with similar supply chain processes
• Proficiency with Excel

Additional Qualifications

• Thorough knowledge of logistics at the process level
• Working knowledge of Customs requirements
• Strategic thinking capabilities coupled with the ability to "zoom down" to the process level
• Proven experience as a project lead on information-centric projects
• Strong analytical skills
• Skill at leading a team to take a problem, hold it to the light, and structure a model or process to solve it
• Solid management skills, sense of urgency, organization capabilities, and strategic business acumen
• Demonstrated success in building strong relationships across various business functions and with external parties
• Problem solving success to include coming up with hypotheses, structuring and performing analyses, and translating results into business conclusions
• Track record of identifying, analyzing, and leading teams to achieve cost savings and process improvements
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Must be able to travel up to 10%
• MS Access skills desirable
• MBA preferred

To apply:

For consideration for this opportunity, please apply on-line and search for Job Number 1000139. http://www.levistrauss.com/careers