Category Manager - Rail

Morton Salt is an iconic, 175-year-old company with a strong heritage and a bright future. We help unlock the flavors in food, make roads and sidewalks safer, improve the water in baths, pools, and homes, and keep businesses and industries running. We are a dedicated team who constantly strives to do better together, and we are passionate about building a sustainable future for our company, the communities in which we operate, and the world around us. By joining our team, you will contribute to producing and delivering every form of salt that enhances everyday life.

Job Summary

The jobholder will be responsible for the development and management of the company’s overall Rail program and strategy by managing the carrier and supplier relationships and ensuring that all KPIs, SLAs, and contractual obligations are met. The jobholder will be responsible for the procurement, negotiation and contracting of rail rates with providers as well as negotiate railcar lease agreements.  The jobholder will handle the quoting of rail freight expenses to sales and marketing for new or potential business while also providing market intelligence for selection of the best strategy. 

The jobholder will also be responsible for analyzing and entering rail rates into the company’s TMS system, will manage the company’s daily processes of transportation services for both outbound finished goods and inbound raw material movement via rail and will work with cross-functional teams, Supply Chain, Operations, Sales & Marketing, Finance to resolve service issues, identify opportunities to improve cost, efficiency and service to Morton Salt’s Customers. 

Success in this position is primarily measured by cost reduction/avoidance, successful management of suppliers, the ability to work with other departments on rail-related projects, thus providing a high level of service to the company. They will be a strategic leader with direct oversight of all rail operations, heavily involved in creating the long-term supply chain roadmap for the company.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for the development and management of the company’s overall rail program and strategy.
• Responsible for all supplier management, capacity planning, systems, contractual rate negotiations, managing compliance, invoicing, service levels, damage performance reporting.
• Responsible for the day-to-day rail shipment execution activities, including order management and railcar track and trace functions, bad order car processing, etc.
• Manage the company’s fleet of box and hopper cars as it pertains to utilization and repairs, to include oversight of maintenance and billing of cars in/out of shop.
• Provide car tracking to ensure efficiency of car turns and demurrage tracking.
• Work closely with sales and marketing team to timely respond to forecast changes, sales spikes, volumes, and trends on a real time basis and continually review fleet optimization and car requirements.
• Investigate and resolve product quality and service issues.
• Review rail freight bills that do not match with freight expense shown as the expected cost. Make corrections as required. Approve for payment and perform root cause analysis.
• Review and audit maintenance invoices as well as railcar vendor lease invoices and approve for payment.
• Review and monitor & report on supplier performance, car efficiency and cost performance by use of operational and cost metrics.
• Review actual costs vs budget by performing analysis and forecasting as required.
• Develop best practice tools, templates and processes.
• Prepare RFIs, RFPs, and RFQ and lead negotiations with rail providers to achieve competitive rates and mitigate price increases.
• Work with Legal and internal stakeholders, as needed, to complete required contracts.
• Prepare and enter rates and rail routing guides into the company’s TMS system accurately and on-time.
• Serve as point of contact for rail providers and internal stakeholders in assigned area of responsibility, related to rail execution and procurement related activities.
• Assist in providing contractual information for freight invoice discrepancies.
• Interface independently with internal and external customers at all levels, including senior leadership.
• Participate in or lead special projects as assigned along with communicating project findings/results to logistics team, manufacturing facilities and others as required.
• Identify, document and report on areas of cost savings opportunities related to logistics on an ongoing basis.
• Any other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, with preference towards Business, Logistics, Supply Chain or Operations Management or 5 years of experience in Supply Chain, Operations, Transportation and/or Project Management or 3 years working with rail shipment execution.
• Minimum of three years working with the Class I Railroads.
• Advance degree a plus
• Experience with internet-based load management (track and trace) software.
• Familiar with hopper car and box car rail transportation equipment along with rail transportation regulatory requirements preferred.
• Experience with SAP, Warehouse Management or Transportation Management systems, Business Warehouse or similar reporting packages, databases and analytical tools highly preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Exhibits confidence and ability to interact with various levels both internally & externally.
• Able to work independently as well as across functional or matrix team structures.
• Ability to influence and build consensus around proposed opportunities within and outside of Supply Chain (Transportation, Customer Supply Chain, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Operations, etc.).
• Strong analytical skills with high level of organization, follow through & accuracy. Ability to collect, organize, analyze and disseminate information with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Well-developed relationship-building, problem-solving, decision-making, negotiation, data extraction and analysis.
• Able to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously. Strong track record for execution and follow through when managing critical deadlines.

At Morton Salt, we work best when we work as a team, when we treat one another with dignity and respect, and value the unique contributions of others. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, national origin, sex, religion, color, disability, marital status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.