The Country Product Manager – Ocean Freight is responsible for the overall performance, development, and strategic direction of the ocean freight product within the country organization. This role drives pricing, tariff management, procurement, carrier management, and the commercial development of the ocean freight product in alignment with the global and regional ocean freight strategy and framework.
1. Vendor Relationship Development
- Decide which liners & co-loaders can be used within the country beyond core carriers in alignment with the FCL trade lane Product Managers or FCL and LCL Product Heads.
- Implement the Core Carrier Policy locally as defined by the regional FCL and LCL Product Managers. Constantly monitor and ensure core carrier adherence.
- Evaluate the carriers’ performance, set objectives, and develop sustainable and deep relationships with core-carriers locally.
- Negotiate and enforce local and global credit terms with carriers and co-loaders
- Monitor and control core liners and co-loaders; coordinate local performance reviews and consolidate performance feedback for review meetings, following regional product management guidelines.
- Conduct Root Cause Analysis and define Action Plans for Carrier non-performance or operational issues together with them to enforce improved performance.
2. Ocean Freight Strategy
- Define and align on the commercial and product strategy with the commercial head of and the FCL and LCL Regional Product teams.
- Manage local allocations based on the commercial team requirements and the carrier capacity to ensure stability of service, together with the regional product team.
- Forecast requirements for low and peak seasons for FCL and LCL.
- Translate and adapt global ocean freight strategies to fit local market conditions and operational realities with the goal of leading commercial actions and guiding sales teams on focus lanes, target accounts and pricing strategies
- Actively monitor gross margin and profitability per trade, customer, and product with the goal of expanding margins, optimize costs and upselling services.
- Ensure compliance to the Global FCL and LCL Adherence Policies
3. FCL Tariff, Rates and Contract Management
- Negotiate rates, do the filing, and generate/negotiate contracts with vendors for tenders, key accounts, or large volumes.
- Secure competitive rates by negotiating spot business or rates which do not fit into the negotiated standard tariffs, in a timely manner.
- Responsible for creating and maintaining a Tariff Structure geared towards improving profitability by managing buying and suggested selling tariffs for local charges, customs clearance, Pick-Up and Delivery for ocean freight and freight charges or surcharges whenever needed.
- Evaluate and ensure the competitiveness of rates in the LCL Global Tariff: to research, analyse and evaluate the competitiveness of the rates for their country and communicate with the LCL Product Head and ensure that the rate levels are in line with the local market conditions.
- Work with OET to ensure compliance to Data Quality standards, especially those affecting Carrier Usage metrics
4. Business Development
- Be the country’s single point of accountability for the Ocean Product towards the Commercial team.
- Lead the ocean product strategy towards the commercial team and lead regular meetings and product-sales collaboration reviews with sales GM and Country Manager.
- Coordinate with sales management to ensure capturing new customer or lanes.
- Guide the commercial team by providing suggested selling rates for local charges and Pick-Up and Delivery
- Lead ocean tender strategy for including risk assessments and recommendations for local accounts & tenders, with the last decision coming from the P&L owner of the country.
- Support the commercial teams by visiting customers that are strategic for the country, or where the Country Product Manager can add value and increase success chances.
- Provide competitive buying rates to existing and potential businesses
5. Market Intelligence Support & Product Trainings:
- Systematically collect, analyse, and disseminate competitive and market data to the commercial, operational, and product teams and share within and the FCL Trade Managers, the Head of FCL and Head of LCL of the region in a methodical and standardized manner.
- Organize user-oriented product trainings in cooperation with the FCL and LCL Product Management teams, to strengthen sales & operations’ knowledge and expertise of Rhenus ocean freight products and systems. Must be done in alignment with the Regional Product teams (FCL and LCL products).
- Maintain a working rapport with Country management by providing expertise and education in capacity, pricing, and product management.
- Foster a culture of continuous learning and excellence in the ocean freight products and processes.
6. Alignment between Countries and Regions
- Act as the key interface to ensure consistency, knowledge sharing, and execution of cross-country initiatives.
- Facilitate collaboration and alignment on product strategies, pricing, and market positioning.
- Minimum 10 years’ experience in an ocean product role in freight forwarding company or ocean carrier experience
- Service minded and with a high degree of ownership as well as customer focused.
- Proactive and capable of handling responsibility without needing to be micromanaged.
- Strong operation understanding and capability to manage changes and unexpected events.
- Outgoing personality; strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Ability to coordinate procurement initiatives throughout country and lead the product community on operational, tactical, and strategic level.
- Proven track record in driving profitability improvements and managing gross margin performance in a freight forwarder.
- Able to communicate well in English both spoken and written.
- Effective change agent with the ability to adjust change approach based on circumstances.
- Strong analytical and negotiation skills and hands-on attitude.
- Able to multitask in a deadline-driven work environment without losing attention to the details.
- Be results driven and is persistent in meeting day to day challenges and goals.
- Have the ability to multi-task in an intense, fast-paced, high-energy environment.
- Demonstrate confidence as a performer and lead by example.
- Minimum 5 years of experience in people management and leadership, including recruitment, training & development, coaching, conflict, and performance management.
- Willingness to travel.
- Passion for identifying how to constantly improve.
