Strategic Director, US First & Middle Mile Transportation

Cardinal Health; Carson City (NV); Remote; USD 107,000 - 191,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

Paid time off

HSA

401k

MyFlexPay access

FSAs

Disability coverage

Work-Life resources

Paid parental leave

Healthy lifestyle programs

Job summary

Cardinal Health is seeking a Director, Transportation – First/Middle Mile to lead US transportation across manufacturing sites and replenishment centers. You will drive cost efficiency, service excellence, and on-time performance while managing a $200M budget and a ~20-person team.

You will collaborate with cross-functional partners to optimize network design, implement policies, and leverage TMS and routing analytics. Travel ~15% domestically is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in SCM, logistics, or related field.
• 12+ years in transportation and logistics with leadership in multi-site environments.
• Proven ability to manage large budgets (e.g., $100M+) and deliver cost savings.
• Carrier management, contract negotiation, and relationship building.
• Strong analytics to evaluate metrics and drive improvements.
• Experience with route optimization technologies and TMS.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and collaboration across levels and partners.
• Develop and implement transportation policies and regulatory compliance.
• Strategic thinker with long-term transportation strategy execution.
• Customer onboarding/offboarding experience.
• Willingness to travel ~15% domestically.
• Ability to work remotely with a quiet home office and reliable internet.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for US first and middle mile transportation operations across manufacturing sites, cross docks, and replenishment centers.
• Lead, develop, and mentor a team of approximately 20 transportation professionals.
• Own and manage a transportation budget of approximately $200M, driving cost efficiency and service excellence.
• 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 and compliance.
• Partner with Distribution, Inventory, Commercial, Marketing, Systems, and Network Design teams to optimize network flow.
• 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.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Budget management

Carrier management

Contract negotiation

Analytics

TMS experience

Route optimization

Stakeholder collaboration

Travel readiness

Transportation leadership experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, or related field

Tools

TMS experience

Routing software

Job description

Cardinal Health is seeking a Director, Transportation – First/Middle Mile to lead US transportation across manufacturing sites and replenishment centers. You will drive cost efficiency, service excellence, and on-time performance while managing a $200M budget and a ~20-person team.

You will collaborate with cross-functional partners to optimize network design, implement policies, and leverage TMS and routing analytics. Travel ~15% domestically is expected.