Strategic Director National First/Middle Mile Transportation

Cardinal Health; Cheyenne (WY); Remote; USD 107,000 - 191,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision coverage

Paid time off plan

Health savings account (HSA)

401k savings plan

Wages access before pay day

Job summary

Cardinal Health is seeking a Director of Transportation—First/Middle Mile to provide centralized leadership for all U.S. first and middle mile transportation activities.

You will oversee a substantial budget and drive strategic initiatives to improve efficiency, service, and cost performance across seven Medical Replenishment Centers and multiple sites. You will lead a team of ~20 professionals, manage vendor relationships, partner with cross-functional teams, and deploy TMS and routing

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, logistics, business administration, or related field.
• 12+ years in transportation and logistics with leadership in multi-site ops.
• Proven budget management of large transport programs (e.g., $100M+).
• Experience with carrier management, contracts, and relationships.
• Strong analytical skills to evaluate metrics and drive improvements.
• Experience with route optimization tech and TMS.
• Excellent leadership and communication across internal teams and external partners.
• Willingness to travel ~15% domestically.
• Ability to operate remotely with a dedicated home office.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for all U.S. first and middle mile transportation operations across manufacturing sites, cross docks, and replenishment centers.
• Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of approximately 20 transportation professionals.
• Own and manage a transportation budget of approximately $200M, driving cost efficiency, service excellence, and on-time performance.
• Drive transportation network optimization initiatives focused on routing efficiency, capacity planning, service improvements, and cost-to-serve reduction.
• Ensure transportation excellence and consistency across the national distribution and manufacturing network.
• Lead transportation procurement activities, including carrier sourcing, RFPs, contract negotiations, and vendor management.
• Manage relationships with 100+ commercial carrier partners, ensuring strong performance, compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Distribution, Inventory, Commercial, Marketing, Systems, and Network Design teams to optimize network flow and transportation strategy.
• Establish and enforce transportation policies, governance standards, and operational best practices.
• Oversee customer onboarding, network transitions, and carrier integration initiatives.
• Leverage transportation management systems (TMS), routing technologies, and analytics to improve network performance and decision-making.

Skills

Leadership

Budget management

Carrier management

Analytical skills

TMS experience

Route optimization

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory compliance

Strategic thinking

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in supply chain, logistics, business administration, or related field

Tools

Transportation Management System (TMS)

Job description

Cardinal Health is seeking a Director of Transportation—First/Middle Mile to provide centralized leadership for all U.S. first and middle mile transportation activities.

You will oversee a substantial budget and drive strategic initiatives to improve efficiency, service, and cost performance across seven Medical Replenishment Centers and multiple sites. You will lead a team of ~20 professionals, manage vendor relationships, partner with cross-functional teams, and deploy TMS and routing