Senior Manager, Transportation

Whirlpool Corporation; Benton Harbor (MI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Always On Flexibility

Two-Week Work from Anywhere

Sabbatical

Job summary

Whirlpool Corporation seeks a Senior Manager of Transportation to optimize inbound and outbound logistics across the network, balancing service and cost. You will lead Whirlpool teams and partners, manage a large transportation budget, and drive cross-functional initiatives regionally within North America.

The role requires strategic thinking, strong leadership, and the ability to drive cost savings while sustaining service levels in a complex manufacturing and distribution environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, logistics, or business.
• MBA preferred for leadership roles.
• Proven track record in cross-functional delivery and partner management.

Responsibilities

• Optimize transportation cost and service across inbound/outbound networks.
• Lead and develop internal teams and external partners (LSPs).
• Oversee budget (~$750M) and carrier network performance.
• Collaborate with plant materials, planning, and trade teams.
• Drive strategic projects and cross-functional initiatives across network.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Communication skills

Negotiation

Problem solving

Team building

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or Business

MBA preferred

Tools

SAP

MS Office

Job description

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is a leading home appliance company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home. As the only major U.S.-based manufacturer of kitchen and laundry appliances, the company is driving meaningful innovation to meet the evolving needs of consumers through its iconic brand portfolio, including Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, and InSinkErator. In 2025, the company reported approximately $16 billion in annual net sales - close to 90% of which were in the Americas - 41,000 employees, and 35 manufacturing and technology research centers. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com.

The team you will be a part of

The Senior Manager of Transportation will work as part of the Transportation and Trade Compliance team, collaborating with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. This position is responsible to meet the transportation needs across the organization with a focus on balancing service and cost. This includes working closely with Whirlpool's internal customers, 3rd party logistics providers, and transportation partners to manage the company's inbound and outbound logistics network. Internally, the role requires cross-functional collaboration with plant materials teams, planning teams, trade partner teams and other internal process partners. The Senior Manager will also oversee and guide both internal team members and external partners responsible for carrier management and load planning.

This Role In Summary

The Senior Manager - Transportation has a wide range of responsibilities that include collaborating with Whirlpool Internal Customers, 3rd Party Logistics Providers and Transportation Partners to manage Whirlpool's Inbound & Outbound Logistics Network to ensure the operations deliver the performance our internal process partners and customers need, at an optimal cost. In addition this role will be responsible for leading and driving strategic projects across the network within NAR.

The right person for this role is motivated by the opportunity to materialize financial and performance improvements, thrives in a large scale and complex environment, enjoys motivating employees and partners to achieve new levels of performance, is rooted in the customer experience, and is comfortable pushing the boundaries of the “art of the possible” by looking externally to find new ways of working.

Your Responsibilities Will Include

• Overall accountability to optimize the transportation space by minimizing cost, improving service, and maximizing efficiencies through leading a Whirlpool team & Lead Logistics Provider. The role will also include responsibility to lead and/or support initiatives both within their group but also participate in other cross-functional initiatives
• Operational accountability for ~$750M transportation budget and managing a carrier network including Truckload, Intermodal, Rail, Parcel, Less Than Truckload and dedicated fleet from and to across our inbound & outbound network to include multiple Manufacturing plants, Factory Distribution Centers, Regional Distribution Centers, Local Distribution Centers and vendor managed warehouses (VMI)
• Manage the Lead Logistics Provider on the operational performance of the network, necessary improvements, and strategic initiatives
• Support cross border operations with Mexico and Canada
• Collaborate with 3rd Party Logistics Providers, Transportation Partners and Whirlpool Internal Customers to manage Whirlpool's inbound & outbound Logistics Network
• Communicate directly with plant materials teams and internal Whirlpool process partners to provide cross functional leadership in order to deliver exceptional transportation results within the materials / manufacturing space
• Oversight of the materials expedite process, monthly and quarterly business reviews, freight claims process and other strategic initiatives supporting inbound freight by leading the team to drive results
• Manage relationship, spend, and performance of all transportation modes
• Provide leadership and guidance to internal and external team members responsible for carrier management and load planning
• Support transportation system integration internally and externally with various WMS and network engineering and Tableau data reporting
• Assist in transportation freight bids with lead accountability for defining operational requirements and approving final carrier awards
• Hold team accountable to conduct and execute projects optimizing our current transportation lanes, finding opportunities to reduce costs and improve performance within the Whirlpool network and to our trade customers
• Collaborate cross functionally both within and outside of Whirlpool to build relationships, understand roles and responsibilities and the value stream and continuously improve on the value stream as well as the One Whirlpool culture.
• Travel as needed to support operations, relationships and achieve strategic project goals

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or Business (MBA preferred)
• 7+ years experience in supply chain and logistics or an equivalent experience demonstrating ability in managing external partner relationships, customer experience, or other operations management with a manufacturer, retailer or 3rd party logistics company
• Proven ability to build teams and coalitions to accomplish cross-functional goals
• Strong leadership with core values matching Whirlpool’s values
• Strong communications skills. Must be able to communicate to all levels of the organization
• Demonstrated track record of identifying and implementing best in class logistics solutions
• Proven financial skills. Ability to conduct trade off analysis and make decisions concerning multiple courses of action. Experience with financial outlook and spend analysis
• Must be excellent with problem resolution to deliver what’s best for the entire business
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts with service providers, customers, and internal partners/stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success in driving cross-functional alignment and the ability to handle multiple competing priorities
• Demonstrated ability to unleash talent by attracting, developing, coaching and inspiring people to deliver extraordinary results

Preferred Skills And Experiences

• Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish (verbal and written) strongly preferred
• Previous transportation or carrier management
• Previous Supply Chain and/or Logistics experience
• Ability to lead teams, both direct and indirect
• Able to work effectively in a fast paced environment
• Decisive, and able to make sound decisions in a sometimes ambiguous environment
• Demonstrate the ability to understand capacities and capabilities of the supply chain and maintain a system that stays ahead of customer demand
• Knowledge of MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Access) and Google collaboration tools
• Working knowledge of SAP

What We Offer

Whirlpool’s Ways of Working

Benefits

• Always On Flexibility - You will have the autonomy to manage personal, family, and outside-of-work commitments as needed.
• Two-Week Work from Anywhere - Minimum of one-week increments for a total of two weeks per year.
• Sabbatical - Four weeks paid leave after every five years of service.

Connect with us and learn more about Whirlpool Corporation

See what it's like to work at Whirlpool by visiting Whirlpool Careers. Additional information about the company can be found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Whirlpool Corporation is committed to equal employment opportunity and prohibits any discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other category protected by applicable law.