WHAT DOES AN IMPORT MANAGER DO?
Updated: Oct 21, 2025 - The Import Manager oversees daily to quarterly operations, ensuring effective communication, policy execution, and coordination across import teams and service vendors. This role manages operational plans, monitors service performance, and provides strategic recommendations to optimize import volumes, capacity, and planning. The manager also develops and implements process improvements to enhance efficiency and compliance.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Import Manager
1. Import Manager Duties
- Transaction Management: Responsible for the completion of all import and CHB transactions in an accurate and timely manner
- Compliance Oversight: Responsible for compliance, training, record keeping, and supervision of all CHB and import personnel
- Regulatory Coordination: Responsible for all transactions and interactions with CBP, ISF, CFS and all other government agencies on the local level (local port requirements as well as state requirements) and on the National Level, which includes RLF and out-port entries
- Customer Guidance: Guide customers with general import concerns, including Classification, Valuation, Preferential Trade Programs, and Post Entry work
- Agency Liaison: Act as Liaison for Customers with Regulatory Agencies
- Team Supervision: Ensure the subordinates are organized, productive, and compliant with all government and Company requirement
- Personnel Training: Train, supervise and advise entry writers and import personnel in the entry, importation, storage and transportation of goods
- Regulation Knowledge: Maintain up-to-date knowledge, including any needed continuing education, of the regulations and procedures of the USCS for the classification and entry of the goods, along with other government agencies
- Duty Management: Ensure all duty payments, duty statements, ACH statements and PMS statements are paid timely with all Company outlays following the corporate guidelines for duty advancements
- Filing Supervision: Supervise closely ISF filings to ensure 100% compliance
- Customer Education: Assist and educate the customer in the efforts to make sure they comply with CBP and all other Government Agencies
2. Import Manager Details
- Staff Development: Train, develop, and mentor subordinates
- Role Clarity: Ensure all staff and positions have job descriptions, clear expectations, and are working within a structured environment
- Quality Compliance: Work with Quality Compliance to implement and maintain ISO9001- AS9 120 standards
- Process Management: Ensure standard operating procedures and Key Performance Indicators are defined and met
- Performance Appraisal: Review and participate in semiannual staff appraisals
- Business Development: Actively develop business for the department through active involvement in the sales and retention process
- Sales Activity: Complete at least 5 sales and/or retention calls per week
- Client Review: Ensure customer reviews are completed with regular clients
- Customer Service: Ensure that clients receive the highest level of customer service from the team
- Proposal Response: Respond to requests for proposal, quotation or information, timely and with market competitive pricing, matching the scope of service required by the customer
- Receivables Management: Attend Accounts Receivable meetings and proactively work to maintain accounts payable within 30 days
- Credit Control: Ensure company credit procedures are followed and utilized effectively
- Payables Management: Manage accounts payable to vendors
- Contract Review: Ensure any contracts, vendor, customer or other, are reviewed by the company's contract policies before being signed
3. Import Manager Responsibilities
- Goods Classification: Classify goods under HTSUS
- Rate Quotation: Prepare quotes to clients on air and ocean freight rates
- Agent Coordination: Work with overseas agents
- Rate Negotiation: Engage in rate negotiation with truckers, agents and CFS Stations
- Cargo Consolidation: Build and route consolidation cargo (ocean and air)
- RFQ Preparation: Assist in the preparation of Request for Quote (RFQ) as required by certain customers or new business opportunities
- Performance Review: Conduct annual personnel reviews for import team members
- Strategic Alignment: Work closely with the Branch Manager and the President of the company to ensure strategic objectives are clearly understood and cascaded to the rest of the team
- Meeting Facilitation: Conduct regular meetings with the team as well as agents to ensure any challenges are being addressed and solved promptly
- Subject Expertise: Become a Subject Matter Expert (SME) with internal reporting tools and other technology
- Special Projects: Complete special projects
- Shipment Supervision: General supervision of team members handling of all Import shipments (air and ocean) to ensure all tasks are being completed correctly and on time
- Task Oversight: Oversee team members as they complete the following tasks
- Shipment Coordination: Coordinate with shippers, truckers, steamship and offices for the importation of shipments
- Vendor Negotiation: Negotiate rates with truckers and other vendors
4. Import Manager Job Summary
- Freight Tracking: Track inbound freight via email, phone, and the Internet, to ensure on-time arrival of product
- Data Entry: Enter most of the above data points into the company’s tracing and tracking system, known as GTRAC
- File Maintenance: File maintenance, including new set-ups, PO tracking, input, comments and other such work
- Shipment Processing: Complete process of shipment which includes arranging for pick-up or inland transportation, booking, document preparation (bill of lading, invoicing, certificate of origin, import documentation and/or AES)
- Shipment Follow-up: Follow up with tracking and tracing for the final destination and data quality requirements
- Customer Service: Customer service responsibilities, including maintaining communication with clients, vendors, shippers, and all involved carriers throughout the process and choosing the appropriate routing that meets the client's needs
- Report Management: Generate, maintain and manage reports designed to provide analytical support to specified users or clients
- Quotation Preparation: Prepare quotations for overseas offices
- Payable Audit: Review and audit payables to ensure accuracy as they relate to shipments
- Administrative Support: Provide administrative support to the import and sales team
- Order Follow-up: Timely follow-up of priority orders and delivery appointments
- Customs Processing: Process international shipments with Customs
5. Import Manager Accountabilities
- Team Direction: Provide direction to teams in Import Operations
- Task Management: Manage daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly tasks of the Import teams
- Issue Communication: Communicate to the Senior Director and Management service issues with short and long-term recommendations for resolution
- Plan Execution: Monitor and manage the execution of plans to deliver and support Import Operations solutions
- Team Support: Provide support to all Import Teams
- Forecast Preparation: Prepare and present forward-looking, future projections of import volumes, service, planning, capacity, and space considerations
- Communication Management: Manage communication between Teams
- Budget Contribution: May have limited budgetary responsibility and usually contributes to the budgetary impact
- Policy Execution: Interpret and execute policies for departments/projects and develop
- Policy Improvement: Recommend and implement new policies or modifications to existing policies
- Vendor Management: Manage Import Service Vendors for all modes of transportation
- Process Development: Developing a process to improve and optimize FTZ
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