Director, Transportation Strategy & Carrier Performance

Role Overview

The Director, Transportation Strategy & Carrier Performance is responsible for building, optimizing, and managing Worldpac’s carrier and logistics partnerships. This role helps support the carrier strategy and contract negotiations while managing performance metrics across a complex national network of Inbound, Middle-Mile, Final-Mile and Parcel freight.

This leader partners closely with Operations, Inventory, Finance, IT, Sales, and Continuous Improvement to align transportation strategy with enterprise priorities and drive measurable financial and service improvements across all modes.

Key Responsibilities

Carrier Strategy & Partnership Management

• Help define and execute Worldpac’s carrier strategy across inbound, middle-mile, final-mile and parcel providers
• Develop scalable carrier partnerships that balance service reliability, network coverage, and cost efficiency across the network
• Establish and strengthen carrier partnerships across all transportation modes by leading recurring business reviews, networking sessions, and executive top-to-top meetings to ensure alignment, performance accountability, and strategic growth
• Develop, plan and execute an annual Carrier Summit event bringing leaders from our carrier network into our operation to celebrate partnership, share knowledge and strategic initiatives while recognizing performance based on metrics and KPIs
• Evaluate carrier capabilities and align partnerships to evolving network and customer requirements that align to our strategic initiatives

Contracting & Commercial Optimization

• Lead transportation and logistics contract negotiations, including rate structures, service-level agreements, accessorials and Master Service agreements that align with Worldpac’s acceptable Terms & Conditions
• Ensure contracts are compliant, commercially sound, and aligned with Worldpac’s financial, operational and performance objectives
• Drive disciplined spend management through contract governance and structured renewal cycles

Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary partnership point of contact for carriers and brokers
• Establish clear performance expectations and governance rhythms, including QBRs, carrier performance dashboards and issue escalation/resolution tracking
• Resolve service, cost, and compliance issues through collaborative, data-driven engagement with internal and external stakeholders

Network & Continuous Improvement

• Partner with Transportation Operations, CI, and IT to identify and implement network optimization and cost-savings initiatives
• Support transportation technology enablement (TMS, audit & pay, BI/data analytics) to improve visibility, execution, and scalability
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives that reduce cost-to-serve while protecting/improving the customer experience

Performance Management & KPIs

• Define and monitor carrier KPIs, including service performance, cost metrics, claims, compliance, and financial outcomes
• Review carrier financial performance and ensure adherence to contractual commitments
• Drive corrective action plans and continuous improvement based on performance insights

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Finance on spend visibility, budgeting, and savings validation
• Partner with IT on transportation systems, data integration, and reporting
• Align with Operations, Inventory, and Sales to ensure transportation decisions support service commitments and growth objectives
• Own the transportation audit and source-to-pay processes to drive invoice accuracy, enforce financial controls, and partner with Finance to deliver reliable monthly reporting, accrual precision, and cost transparency

Required Qualifications & Skills

Experience

• 7 years of progressive experience in transportation procurement, carrier management, logistics, or supply chain leadership
• Proven experience managing complex carrier networks and large transportation spend portfolios
• Strong background in contract negotiation, supplier management, and rate analysis
• Demonstrated ability to structure agreements that balance flexibility, service, and cost
• Data-driven mindset with strong analytical skills to assess performance, identify risk, and optimize cost-to-serve
• Ability to translate data into clear recommendations and executive-level decisions

Education & Systems

• Experience with transportation technology platforms, including TMS, ERP, and carrier performance tools