Planning Coordinator Internship (Spring)

Build Your Career with Ashley Furniture!

Planning Coordinator Internship

Location: Mesquite, TX

Build Your Career with Ashley Furniture

Are you looking to gain real-world experience in logistics and operations? As a Planning Coordinator Intern, you’ll be at the center of our transportation and distribution network. This internship will give you hands-on exposure to freight planning, scheduling, and operational coordination skills that are critical to keeping goods moving efficiently and customers satisfied.

What You’ll Do

• Support Freight and Capacity Planning: Assist with scheduling inbound trucks and outbound freight, helping to balance equipment productivity, driver availability, and customer needs.
• Learn Trailer and Asset Management: Track trailer usage and customer trailer pools while identifying opportunities to reduce inactive assets.
• Monitor Performance Metrics: Help track delivery schedules, on-time performance, and other transportation KPIs.
• Collaborate with Teams: Partner with Customer Service, Sales, and Area Managers to understand how freight volumes align with network commitments.
• Assist with Documentation: Maintain accurate records in transportation systems, ensuring billing, routing, and compliance data are correct.
• Problem-Solve in Real Time: Learn how to identify and troubleshoot transportation challenges as they arise.
• Process Improvement Exposure: Contribute fresh ideas to improve efficiency in routing, freight management, and coordination.

Why This Internship Matters

This internship gives you a front-row seat to the fast-paced world of logistics and transportation planning. By working alongside experienced professionals, you’ll gain insight into how planning decisions impact efficiency, profitability, and customer service across a national network.

What You’ll Need

• Education: Actively pursuing a degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Operations, or a related field.
• Analytical Skills: Ability to review data and spot trends in performance, cost, and efficiency.
• Communication Skills: Strong verbal and written communication for working with multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Organization: Ability to manage tasks, prioritize deadlines, and maintain attention to detail.
• Tech-Savvy: Familiarity with Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, Word); exposure to ERP or Transportation Management Systems (TMS) is a plus.
• Mindset: Curious, proactive, and eager to learn in a fast-moving environment.

Possible Projects.

Trailer Utilization Study

• Analyze trailer pool usage across customer sites.
• Identify underutilized trailers and propose recommendations to improve asset efficiency.
• Deliverable: A utilization report with suggested actions to reduce inactive trailer assets.

On-Time Performance Analysis

• Track and analyze delivery performance across a set period (e.g., 6–8 weeks).
• Identify root causes for late deliveries (routing, capacity constraints, scheduling issues).
• Deliverable: A presentation with data trends and process improvement recommendations.

Routing Optimization Pilot

• Review current routing strategies and compare them with alternative routing scenarios.
• Use available data (miles, costs, delivery windows) to evaluate potential savings.
• Deliverable: A cost/efficiency comparison with recommendations for route adjustments.

Freight Demand vs. Capacity Alignment

• Compare weekly freight commitments with actual capacity utilization.
• Identify mismatches that cause inefficiencies (e.g., declined freight, underloaded trucks).
• Deliverable: A dashboard or report highlighting improvement opportunities in load planning.

Process Documentation & Training Aid

• Document planning and scheduling workflows.
• Create a reference guide or standard operating procedure (SOP) for future team members.
• Deliverable: A polished SOP and quick reference tool to improve onboarding/training.