Type : Job card

Logistics service providers and forwarding agents have different types of organization.
The main one is by activity or division, as opposed to by geographical perimeter, the latter being in fact multi-activity.
The Activity Manager offers specialized services and solutions in transport, customs, international trade and/or physical or administrative logistics, the latter also referred to as "Supply Chain".
Activities are most often presented under the following headings:

• Courier and Express,
• Batch transport,
• Contract logistics (warehousing and value-added services),
• Industrial logistics,
• Commission and International Transit (air and sea), Coordination/Supply Chain (for purchasing and subcontracting, administrative coordination and management of flows and operations).

The Business Manager is responsible for the development and management of one or more profit centers, on a national or international multi-site basis, using his or her own resources or drawing on the support functions of his or her company or group (such as HR, Accounting/Finance, IT, Real Estate, General Services, etc.). He/she is in close contact with the Group Marketing Department and the Key Accounts Sales Department (insofar as these may require solutions calling on several of the company's activities).
He/she is responsible for his/her budget, financial management and economic and qualitative results.
He/she implements the company's strategy and presides over the development of efficient and profitable products and services.
He/she is responsible for the execution of services, and for their contractual and regulatory compliance with customer contracts and legal obligations. To this end, he/she implements control and quality audit procedures for the organization and processes, and monitors their application in compliance with safety and security policies, and even environmental policies (depending on the size of the service provider). He/she pilots the various certification systems (ISO, QSE, AEO, etc.)
He/she supervises the start-up of operations, and the installation and parameterization of IT systems and business management tools.
He/she manages the various geographical areas where his/her activity is offered, as well as the Directors and Managers of the various sites. He is responsible for the various reference systems for the businesses covered by his activity (design offices, IT tools, subcontracting and temporary staffing). He/she makes decisions in terms of hiring and qualifications.

He/she defines the performance indicators adapted to the existing organization in line with the objectives to be achieved, with a constant concern for continuous improvement.
He/she optimizes the profitability of the sites he/she manages as profit centers.
He/she is in charge of change management in the event of changes to the service offering or repositioning of the activity or scope of intervention.

The role of Supply Chain Director, which was non-existent just a few years ago, is becoming standardized and indispensable within companies.
The executive offices of international groups now even include a Group Supply Chain Vice-President. This responsibility can also be broken down by geographical zone or group of countries. At these levels, their responsibilities cover the development of Group or zone strategy and its implementation in the organization, major projects and their management, company transformation, the choice of policies in terms of the location and construction of logistics networks and flow circulation, the development of industrial and commercial plans (PIC) and master production plans (PDP), the management of the corresponding forecasts and planning, the approval of international service providers, and even the hierarchical management of the teams managing these activities in the countries.
In smaller companies or at subsidiary level, the Supply Chain Director plays a major role in reducing costs and differentiating his company through flexibility and responsiveness.
He is assessed above all on the quality of service provided to the customer, as well as on cost control throughout the supply chain.
In their day-to-day work, they manage the supply chain and act as the interface between the Sales, Production, Finance, Purchasing and Logistics Departments, taking into account the requirements of these different departments and optimizing the overall organization.
They are responsible for all flows, from suppliers to customers. They are in charge of forecasting, planning, procurement, scheduling, internal and external logistics and transportation. In some organizations, he/she may also manage sales administration.
Most often a member of the management committee, he/she manages large teams through the Plant Supply Chain Managers who report to him/her. This reporting line may be functional, but will preferably be hierarchical.
The scope of the Supply Chain Manager's responsibilities covers a number of sites, including the company's own entities as well as those entrusted to the logistics and transport service providers on which he/she relies.
Working closely with the Sales and Production Departments on the company's PIC and PDP, he/she analyzes processes in all departments during the procurement, production and delivery stages, verifies that programs are being carried out, and adapts his/her master plans accordingly.
The Supply Chain Director is in charge oflogistics organization (warehouses, logistics or distribution forms) and supports the development and evolution of Information Systems (ERP, SCM, TMS, WMS, EDI, etc.). He defines the global inventory policy in agreement with General Management, and ensures that coverage and service rate objectives are met throughout the chain. He works closely with the Purchasing department to ensure that logistics constraints are taken into account in their negotiations. He also coordinates all internal flows.

The Supply Chain Director defines the Group's transport policy between production and/or storage sites, suppliers and customers; he supervises relations with carriers and/or logistics subcontractors, and modifies and negotiates subcontracting contracts.
In addition to his operational responsibilities, he is also the guarantor of all performance optimization projects. The most common trend in industrial logistics projects is the deployment of a pull-flow organization, most often based on the implementation of Lean concepts, in particular flow tension, inventory reduction, Milk Run, Kanban, Petits Trains, Supermarkets, etc.
In some organizations, the Supply Chain Director may also be called upon to manage the Purchasing Department.

Coordinating all the players involved in the management of physical flows, he/she acts as a facilitator capable of optimizing the interface between the Logistics/Transport, Sales and Marketing teams and the Logistics/Transport partners to improve the quality/cost/time triptych. He/she may be involved in drawing up transport specifications and studying responses to calls for tender.
Within the Logistics Department, he/she coordinates and optimizes supplies and secures sales forecasts, in coordination with the Sales, Marketing and Flow Departments.
He/she monitors and optimizes stock levels and supply management in order to trigger the necessary actions with the Sales and Marketing Department and thus ensure product availability.
He/she manages logistics partners (storage and transport). Monitors customer service levels and suggests improvements if targets are not met. May be required to negotiate annual contracts and monitor costs on a monthly basis (invoice control and management). He/she responds to customers' logistical requests.
He/she contributes his/her business expertise to study the cost and feasibility of specific requests in close collaboration with the Sales or Marketing teams. Once the study has been validated, he/she implements best practices and procedures to deliver to customers.
He/she analyzes disputes on a monthly basis to assess the impact on the customer service rate, and monitors product returns in order to update stocks and re-invoice suppliers if necessary.
He/she maintains accurate data on stock movements to respond to auditors' requests.
He provides advice and support on transport and materials storage legislation.
He provides regular reporting and progress monitoring to his direct hierarchy and to the head office.
Within large groups, the Logistics Coordinator is more involved in managing logistics and transport service providers and flows(Logistic Manager). He/she is involved in drawing up network strategy, coordinating flow and transport plans, and may take part in negotiations with Purchasing.
As the guarantor of the budget and performance of service providers and/or internal players, he/she implements indicators and optimizations to boost productivity, and chairs supplier steering committees. He/she works with network teams, supervises improvement action plans and measures performance.

The Information Systems/Supply Chain Project Manager plays a highly cross-functional role, bringing together support and operational functions and intervening in all of the company's upstream and downstream processes. He/she identifies the challenges, conducts scoping studies and pilots projects to implement the Supply Chain strategy.
Working with operational contacts (Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, Operations), he/she manages preliminary studies aimed at identifying, qualifying, prioritizing and implementing the Group's Supply Chain projects.
The Information Systems/Supply Chain Project Manager is the bearer of these objectives, which he translates into a project plan with the IT Department teams to consolidate and upgrade tools.
With his IT Project Manager partner, he coordinates projects to optimize the entire supply chain, from supplier to end customer.
He/she takes into account business rules, and prepares and leads change management with his/her operational contacts.
He/she is responsible for the projects entrusted to him/her, from the gathering of requirements to their adoption by operational staff.
In this role ofassistance to the project owner, he/she draws up the requirements expression booklet, estimates the project ROI and monitors its completion, validates the technical specifications and steers the functional acceptance.
As coordinator of the implementation and change management, he/she steers the project schedules, budgets, risks and ROI, and reports to the steering committee.

The role of the Methods and Organization Project Manager consists of working on theoptimization
of performance within the framework of Supply Chain projects in the Group's countries and Business Units.
A true "control tower", he/she coordinates synergies and portfolios of cross-functional Supply Chain projects across the company.
He/she acts as an interface between users and the IT Department on the evolution of ERP and business Information Systems within the company, and coordinates and communicates any arbitrations.
He/she promotes synergies in project management methods and best practices, and leads a team of Business Organizers responsible for cross-functional business areas.
He/she manages projects aimed at identifying, qualifying, prioritizing and implementing key Supply Chain projects.
He coordinates with business teams to develop performance indicators and associated targets for optimizing the entire supply chain (procurement, inventory and customer service).
He implements efficiency measurement methods and empowers the company's Business Departments.

The Project Manager is in charge of engineering/reengineering, deployment,
improvement or homogenization of logistics processes (global logistics plan
, master plan, site design, sizing, flows, transport,
storage, preparation, supply, purchasing...) in order to increase performance
and the quality of service provided, as well as to optimize costs. He/she coordinates
engineers who, after an audit, propose technical design solutions or
optimization solutions.
The Project Manager is involved upstream in responding to calls for tender at the request of the
Sales Department, and in making technical presentations of the solutions selected.
He/she gathers, analyzes and formalizes customer requirements.
He/she draws up and proposes technical solutions (logistics, transport, global) in response
to customer requirements within the framework of a service contract.
Asbudget guarantor, he/she is responsible for pricing, which he/she carries out on the basis of costs and
value analysis.
The Project Manager identifies, coordinates and leads a team to develop a competitive and profitable offer with
added value.
Depending on the organization and his/her level of experience, he/she may implement all or
part of the solution chosen by the customer.
The Project Manager will then set up a team of experts (Sales, Operations, Methods, IT, HR, Legal, Finance, Sustainable Development, Tax, etc.) according to the customer's specifications. He sets missions, objectives and results for project team members.
He sets up project management by defining deliverables and deadlines for
each one.
Throughout the project, he analyzes and validates the proposed solutions, ensuring their
coherence, their relevance to the specifications and the ability of the
service provider to implement them.
He takes part in the implementation of processes, ensures that milestones are met, and reports
on project issues.
He maintains contact with the customer throughout the project.

TheTransport Buyer is responsible forpurchasing transport services (road,
air, sea, river, etc.) for the company. This may include logistics and warehousing services
.
The Transport Buyer manages the entire purchasing process , from sourcing suppliers,
defining specifications with the Supply Chain, andconducting calls for tender
, right through to the contractual deployment of the selected service providers.
He/she manages the supplier panel by proposing and implementing a purchasing strategy for this family,
after validation by the Purchasing Department, in line with the company's
Purchasing and Supply Chain policy.
He/she ensures that the day-to-day performance of suppliers complies with
commitments and objectives (quality, costs, lead-times) through indicators to be set up
.
He/shemonitors contracts, ensures that steps are taken to improve supplier
performance, and implements tools to manage this
purchasing family.
In parallel with the Purchasing mission, he/she is involved with operational staff in
defining transport plans (in collaboration with the Transport Manager),
auditing service providers, and managing anomalies and incidents.
He/she may be involved in studying new transport plans, monitoring
transport costs, and drawing up procedures.