WHAT DOES A LOGISTICS MANAGER DO?
Published: Jun 25, 2025 - The Logistics Manager directs all aspects of domestic and international logistics operations, including transportation, shipping, receiving, and warehouse management, while ensuring safety and high-quality standards. This role involves managing inventory assets, overseeing day-to-day warehouse activities, and coordinating closely with program managers and customers to ensure timely delivery and compliance with contractual obligations. The manager also develops performance metrics, evaluates indirect costs, and builds relationships with transportation vendors to optimize costs and improve efficiency.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Logistics Manager
1. Logistics Manager Roles and Responsibilities
- Team Leadership: Leading and developing an international team of logistics specialists to ensure the successful execution of daily operations
- Process Optimization: Optimizing the daily flow of goods and guaranteeing exception management to the satisfaction of customers
- Customer Communication: Communicating regularly with customers regarding the status of operations
- Performance Monitoring: Monitoring logistics performance and costs
- Data Analysis: Analyzing network metrics to determine and drive continuous improvement measures
2. Logistics Manager Duties and Roles
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Works cross-functionally with Operations, Sales, IT, Facilities, Finance, and also with external vendors to manage strategic projects (i.e., new branch openings, relocations, etc.)
- Project Delivery: Delivers strategic projects on time and on budget
- Vendor Management: Manages general contractors and property managers, ensuring goods and services are delivered and performed on schedule and following contract agreements
- Facility Planning: Works with Operations and Planning and Design teams to ensure facilities are designed to optimize efficiency and comply with all applicable codes
- Project Documentation: Prepares formal documents to develop project plans and budgets (defines project’s scope of work, risks, benefits, etc.)
3. Logistics Manager Responsibilities and Key Tasks
- Capacity Planning: Develop together with 3PL and review the warehouse capacities based on the objective of improving productivity and control of the accuracy of the overall operation
- Operations Analysis: Analyze and review warehouse operations of the best practices in terms of storage and handling hardware and processes
- Layout Optimization: Maintain flexibility and scalability in the layout design, optimize racking and storage space, and maximize use of available space
- Contingency Planning: Consider possible expansion options to minimize disruptions when they occur
- Growth Planning: Plan for both peak and average conditions and provide plans for future growth and possible business changes
- Lean Implementation: Implement and enforce Best Practice Lean Logistics Tools and Techniques to optimize warehouse efficiency, taking care of training and coaching warehouse associates
- Cost Management: Minimize the warehouse operational costs and budget control
- Project Leadership: Lead the projects for keeping both process and cost optimizations
4. Logistics Manager Roles and Details
- Team Leadership: Providing leadership and direction for the Logistics team through day-to-day management
- Performance Management: Developing and embedding key performance indicators across the Logistics function to ensure efficient and effective team performance
- Process Improvement: Developing and coordinating process improvement projects within the Logistics function
- Compliance Coordination: Coordinating and tracking compliance activities across the Logistics function
- Root Cause Analysis: Assisting the team with investigations to define the root cause of adverse events and the delivery of CAPA actions
- ERP Optimization: Developing and improving business capability and usage of the M-ERP (SAP) system, supporting ongoing M-ERP improvements across the site
- Material Handling Support: Supporting warehousing and scheduling functions to ensure materials are properly handled throughout the process
- Purchasing Management: Managing the materials purchasing team and function, including developing performance metrics and improving supplier relationships
- Supply Management: Managing materials and component purchasing processes, ensuring supply is maintained at required levels and timeframes, with appropriate cost and customer service
- Production Scheduling: Managing the production scheduling team, pulling together the operational teams on site to agree on a weekly production plan that meets the market requirements
- Stakeholder Engagement: Developing an excellent relationship with the Supply hub to ensure the site has visibility of all relevant plans within the market up to and including the 24-month time horizon to enable financial and business planning
- Capability Development: Managing M-ERP capability development across the site (all functions), but also specifically focused on the capability development of the logistics team
5. Logistics Manager Key Accountabilities
- Team Leadership: Running a large warehouse team based at one of the regional distribution centres
- Operations Management: Coordinating and managing all aspects of the section, including recruitment, training, profit and loss responsibilities, and ensuring legislative compliance
- Team Coaching: Coaching and developing a team to ensure employees reach their full potential
- Resource Management: Managing resources effectively
- Safety Compliance: Advocating and ensuring safety compliance in all aspects of transport operations
6. Logistics Manager General Responsibilities
- Logistics Coordination: Work closely with the logistics team and 3rd party logistics providers to ensure delivery details are properly maintained and communicated.
- Transit Monitoring: Track and report on order transit days and investigate exceptions to planned delivery schedules.
- Customer Feedback Resolution: Solve all aspects of the customer feedback reported by the customer service team in China.
- Inventory Management: Manage month-end close and inventory tracing and reconciliation to ensure accurate posting and timely processing of company records.
- Process Improvement: Identify issues, resolve problems and recommend and implement process improvements to ensure consistent, high-quality service to customers is maintained and opportunities for efficiencies are pursued.
- Policy Compliance: Ensure adherence to policies and procedures related to the company's terms and conditions of sale and delivery.
7. Logistics Manager Role Purpose
- Logistics Integration: Integrate internal and external warehousing resources effectively in local and national logistics operation management to reduce logistics costs.
- Process Optimization: Develop and continuously improve standardized warehousing management processes, and optimize them through practical implementation.
- Performance Monitoring: Establish a performance evaluation system, prepare work plans for the warehousing team, and monitor logistics operation performance.
- Performance Evaluation: Evaluate performance based on service indicators, overall warehousing efficiency, logistics costs, personnel costs, and logistics safety, and continuously enhance performance.
- Team Leadership: Lead the team to achieve warehousing service targets and cost performance indicators.
8. Logistics Manager Essential Functions
- Logistics Strategy: Providing input into and the implementation of the project logistics strategy.
- Stakeholder Liaison: Liaising daily with the construction management to establish strategies, programme and critical logistics affecting the project.
- Logistics Coordination: Acting as the logistics coordination lead for the project duration.
- Meeting Facilitation: Involved in chairing a weekly and daily coordination meeting between the subcontractors and project stakeholders.
- Waste Management: Ensuring that trade contractors clear rubbish and meet the criteria for waste management.
- Delivery Scheduling: Interfacing with trade contractors to implement the delivery regime, including production and circulation of schedules.
- Rubbish Removal Oversight: Instigating, managing and reviewing with the construction management team an effective removal regime of rubbish and waste to comply with the site waste management system.
- Site Monitoring: Observing, monitoring and recording material handling and disposal of rubbish and providing photographic evidence to the construction manager of all possible contra charges due to trade contractor transgressions.
- Stakeholder Communication: Liaising with other key site stakeholders, in particular, the construction manager and security manager.
- Emergency Management: Managing site emergency arrangements.
9. Logistics Manager Additional Details
- Logistics Operations: Direct inbound and outbound domestic and international logistics operations, such as transportation, receiving, shipping, and warehouse activities, safety performance, and logistics quality management
- Warehouse Management: Manage day-to-day warehouse operations to include receiving, shipping, processing and inventory control
- Inventory Control: Manage inventory assets and improve inventory turns, and ensure timely and accurate reporting of inventories
- Cost Evaluation: Evaluate indirect costs associated with customer requirements
- Staff Development: Ensure appropriate staffing, training, and evaluation of departmental personnel, ensuring skill levels to meet the needs of the business in the most efficient manner
- Client Coordination: Coordinate closely with Alene Program Managers and customers to ensure delivery of product in compliance with contractual obligations and ensure collection of contractually required documents as may be needed for the collection of payments
- Performance Metrics: Develop metrics for establishing baseline Logistics Department performance and trends in cost and efficiency
- Vendor Management: Develop relationships with transportation vendors to reduce cost and reaction time, improving transport times and costs
10. Logistics Manager Tasks
- Logistics Coordination: Own, manage, and coordinate the logistical support required to oversee the planning of needs, procurement of needs, from products coming in, the stocking, movement of workflow and removal of waste.
- Supplier Supervision: Supervise assigned suppliers, materials and commodities to ensure on-time delivery, high-quality items and services, at optimized costs.
- Materials Management: Manage the site materials team to support the complete supply chain, including forecasting demand, inventory management and releasing both internal and external orders.
- Reporting: Maintain and use of logistical spreadsheet to give clear feedback and update briefings to senior management
- Shipping Monitoring: Log and monitor daily shipping sites release until successful delivery to the destination labs.
- Inventory Tracking: Develop and standardize an inventory tracking sheet for sites to utilize
- Shipping Visibility: Provide shipping visibility to labs
- Customs Coordination: Facilitate consistent and timely customs clearance and delivery of the above orders via track, trace, and problem resolution, as well as obtain and distribute Carrier Proof of Delivery information.
- Order Visibility: Provide shipping status and order visibility information to both internal and external clients, monitoring ship information, closing of shipped orders, etc.
- Lab Support: Ensure lab needs are met to ensure daily throughput
- Communication Support: Assist with clear communication to shipping locations
- Status Liaison: Liaise with planners as well as PerkinElmer and OEM shipping locations for status updates
- Inbound Communication: Communicate inbound goods to the receiving site to facilitate their planning needs
- Cross-functional Planning: Work cross-functionally to create a daily action plan
- Escalation Management: Act as the control tower/primary escalation for questions related to inbound shipments, including research and resolution of delays, site escalation, and carrier and customs broker escalation, and escalating urgent requests and challenges across the organization to overcome roadblocks.
- Partner Coordination: Interface with internal and external partners to process shipments, partners routinely include Super Territory Distribution Centers, Manufacturing Sites, Freight Forwarders, Global Order Fulfillment, Sales and Service managers, International Trade Compliance, and Accounting.
- Stakeholder Interaction: Closely interact with the Building Service Director/Manager
- Performance Reporting: Create, monitor, review, and reconcile key performance reports for each Lab location, including collecting and analyzing data related to carrier and warehouse performance.
- Operational Support: Perform other tasks and activities to support PerkinElmer Operated Labs, suppliers, PerkinElmer shipping sites, the Planning Team, and Internal and External Partners.
- Site Maintenance: Ensure the site remains fit for purpose, clear of waste and non-productive products
- Internal Controls: Responsible for ensuring that the site has the proper internal controls and that they are documented in an import management system, especially customs broker management.