Transportation Analyst

WHSmith North America; Las Vegas (NV); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

WHSmith North America is seeking a Transportation Analyst to leverage data, analysis, and operational insight to improve transportation performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

You will analyze activity, costs, service levels, and performance to identify trends and opportunities for improvement, translating data into actionable recommendations for informed decision-making across internal teams and partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• 2-5 years of experience in transportation analysis.
• Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables, lookups, data analysis, and data modeling.
• Experience with transportation or ERP systems, ideally including a Transportation Management System (TMS).
• Strong understanding of transportation operations and key performance measures.

Responsibilities

• Analyze transportation data to identify trends, inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Monitor and report on KPIs such as on-time delivery, transportation cost, carrier performance, and vehicle utilization.
• Develop dashboards, reports, and performance analyses to provide visibility of transportation performance.
• Provide insights and recommendations to operations and management teams.
• Track spend and analyze actual costs against budgets and forecasts.
• Identify opportunities to improve route efficiency and network productivity.
• Support evaluation and selection of carriers and transportation solutions.
• Measure impact of improvement initiatives and ensure sustained benefits.

Skills

Excel analytics

SQL

Data modeling

Pivot tables

Lookups

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain/Logistics/Business or related

Tools

TMS (Transportation Management System)

ERP systems

Job description

The Transportation Analyst is responsible for using data, analysis, and operational insight to improve the performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of the transportation network.

The role will analyze transportation activity, costs, service levels, and operational performance to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement. Working closely with internal teams, carriers, and transportation partners, the Transportation Analyst will translate data into actionable recommendations that improve service, reduce costs, and support informed business decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

Performance Analysis & Reporting

• Analyze transportation data to identify trends, inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Monitor and report on key performance indicators (KPIs), including on-time delivery, transportation cost, carrier performance, vehicle utilization, and service levels.
• Develop and maintain accurate dashboards, reports, and performance analysis to provide clear visibility of transportation performance.
• Provide regular insight and recommendations to operational and management teams, highlighting key issues, trends, and required actions.
• Track transportation spend and analyze actual costs against budgets, forecasts, and agreed targets.

Transportation Optimization

• Analyze transportation activity to identify opportunities to improve route efficiency, vehicle utilization, delivery performance, and overall network productivity.
• Identify opportunities to reduce transportation costs while maintaining or improving service levels.
• Analyze carrier performance and support the development of improvement plans where performance falls below agreed standards.
• Support the evaluation and selection of carriers and transportation solutions.
• Analyze transportation capacity and demand to support effective resource planning.
• Identify opportunities to improve transportation processes, systems, and ways of working.
• Measure the impact of improvement initiatives and ensure benefits are tracked and sustained.
• Challenge existing processes and develop data-led recommendations for more effective ways of working.
• Build effective working relationships with internal stakeholders across Transport, Distribution, Supply Chain, Finance and Operations.
• Work closely with carriers and third-party transportation providers to monitor performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Provide clear, concise, and commercially relevant analysis to support operational and strategic decision-making.
• Communicate performance issues and improvement opportunities clearly to relevant stakeholders.

Cost & Commercial Analysis

• Monitor transportation expenditure and identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Analyze freight rates, carrier costs, and other transportation-related expenditure.
• Investigate and resolve transportation cost variances and billing discrepancies.
• Support the development of transportation budgets and forecasts.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business, Data Analytics, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 2-5 years of experience in transportation analysis
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, data analysis, and data modeling.
• Experience working with transportation or ERP systems, ideally including a Transportation Management System (TMS).
• Good understanding of transportation operations and key transportation performance measures.

Preferred Qualifications & Experience

• Experience in transportation network analysis, route optimization, or network design.
• Experience with using SQL to analyze datasets
• Experience with freight auditing, billing, cost analysis, and rate benchmarking.
• Data-driven decision making - Uses data and evidence to identify issues, evaluate options, and make sound recommendations.
• Analytical thinking - Able to interpret complex information, identify patterns, and determine root causes.
• Commercial awareness - Understands the relationship between transportation cost, service, capacity, and operational performance.
• Organization & prioritization - Effectively manages multiple activities and competing priorities.
• The role involves regular collaboration with Transport, Distribution, Supply Chain, Finance and other operational teams.
• The role will also involve interaction with external carriers and third-party transportation providers.
• Occasional travel may be required to Distribution Centers, operational sites, or supplier locations.