Strategic Transportation Leader | Freight & Network Optimization

ST Paper, LLC; Town of Oconto Falls (WI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

ST Paper & Tissue in Oconto Falls, WI seeks a Transportation Manager to oversee inbound fiber and outbound finished goods nationwide, developing strategies that balance cost, service, and network performance.

You will lead carrier negotiations, RFPs, and TMS implementation, partnering with procurement, sales, and operations to meet customer commitments and drive continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in logistics, supply chain, industrial engineering, business administration, or related field required. MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 5-7 years of progressive experience in transportation, logistics, or supply chain, with at least 1-3 years in a leadership role required. 10+ years of progressive experience and 5 years in a leadership role preferred.
• Deep, demonstrated expertise in freight cost structures, carrier economics, and rate negotiation across truckload, LTL, and intermodal.
• Proven track record of leading RFPs and delivering measurable freight cost savings.
• Hands-on experience implementing or optimizing TMS platforms and load-scheduling systems.
• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in Excel and experience working with large datasets; familiarity with SQL, Power BI, Tableau, or network optimization tools strongly preferred.
• Experience managing both inbound raw material flows and outbound finished goods distribution.
• Experience in paper, tissue, pulp, packaging, or other commodity manufacturing with high freight intensity preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and continuously optimize the company's inbound and outbound transportation network, balancing cost, capacity, service, transit time, and reliability while supporting plant capacity, customer geography, and supplier footprint.
• Conduct network and lane-level analysis to identify cost reduction and service improvement opportunities, including backhauls, consolidation, mode optimization (truckload, LTL, intermodal, rail), carrier mix strategies, and customer routing alternatives.
• Lead transportation sourcing initiatives, including annual and ad hoc freight RFPs, carrier selection, contract negotiations, rate management, and service agreements across all transportation modes.
• Monitor freight market conditions, carrier economics, and industry trends to develop effective transportation, pricing, and sourcing strategies that improve network performance and control costs.
• Oversee inbound transportation of recovered fiber from suppliers, brokers, MRFs, and direct generators, optimizing freight arrangements, scheduling, and transportation strategies to reduce total delivered material costs.
• Direct the nationwide outbound distribution network serving retail, away-from-home, and private-label customers, ensuring service reliability, on-time performance, claims management, and compliance with customer routing requirements.
• Partner with Sales and Customer Service to align transportation operations with customer commitments, quote-to-ship processes, pricing strategies, and margin objectives.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with carriers, brokers, and transportation providers to improve service performance, strengthen capacity availability, and reduce transportation costs.
• Lead the design, implementation, optimization, and ongoing management of transportation management systems, load scheduling capabilities, visibility platforms, and other transportation technologies that enhance planning, execution, and operational efficiency.
• Establish and maintain the reporting infrastructure, analytics capabilities, dashboards, and KPIs needed to provide visibility into freight spend, carrier performance, service levels, and overall network health.
• Utilize data analysis and modeling tools to evaluate transportation costs, carrier performance, network changes, contract scenarios, and operational improvement opportunities before implementation.
• Build, lead, and develop the transportation and logistics planning function by establishing performance expectations, strengthening analytical and negotiation capabilities, and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate closely with Procurement, Sales, Customer Service, Plant Operations, and Finance to align transportation strategy with sourcing, production, customer commitments, freight budgeting, accruals, and rate variance analysis.

Skills

Freight cost optimization

RFP management

Carrier negotiations

TMS implementation

Data analysis

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in logistics, supply chain, industrial engineering, or related field

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Tools

SQL

Power BI

Excel

Tableau

ERP/Logistics software

Job description

ST Paper & Tissue in Oconto Falls, WI seeks a Transportation Manager to oversee inbound fiber and outbound finished goods nationwide, developing strategies that balance cost, service, and network performance.

You will lead carrier negotiations, RFPs, and TMS implementation, partnering with procurement, sales, and operations to meet customer commitments and drive continuous improvement.