Transportation Planner

Transportation Planner

Are you a transportation professional with a passion for freight planning and network optimization? As a Transportation Planner, you'll be a key player in our logistics operations, responsible for managing freight flows, trailer assets, and carrier capacity across a defined region. Your decisions will directly impact service levels, cost control, and operational efficiency.

Responsibilities:

• Plan Freight Movements: Coordinate inbound and outbound freight within a 2472 hour window, ensuring optimal trailer utilization and on-time delivery across our transportation network.
• Manage Trailer Pools: Monitor and adjust trailer pool allocations to reduce idle assets and improve turn times at customer locations.
• Optimize Capacity & Routing: Analyze lane-level data to match freight demand with available carrier capacity, making strategic decisions to accept, decline, or reroute freight based on cost, service, and network impact.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Partner with Customer Service, Sales, and Area Managers to align freight volumes with network commitments and develop proactive solutions for capacity constraints.
• Support Real-Time Freight Decisions: Respond to dynamic freight needs by securing additional capacity, adjusting schedules, and leveraging transportation management systems (TMS) to maintain service and profitability.
• Ensure Data Accuracy: Maintain precise records in TMS, validate billing details, and ensure all freight planning data is entered correctly for operational transparency.

Qualifications required:

• Transportation
  
  Experience:
  
  Background in freight planning, carrier coordination, or transportation operations. Experience with trailer pool management or TMS platforms is a plus.
• Analytical Thinking: Ability to interpret freight data, lane performance, and cost metrics to make fast, informed decisions.
• Communication
  
  Skills:
  
  Strong verbal and written skills to collaborate with internal teams and external partners.
• Problem-Solving: Resourceful and proactive in resolving freight challenges and capacity issues.
• Tech Proficiency: Familiarity with transportation management systems (TMS), load planning tools, and Microsoft Office Suite.

Work Environment:

If MFG/DC:

• This position is located in an active industrial manufacturing and distribution center with moderate to high noise levels, temperature variations, and material handling equipment in operation. The role may require extended periods of standing or walking on concrete floors and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety glasses and steel-toed boots. The fast-paced environment involves time-sensitive and safety sensitive operations and may include various shift schedules to support production and distribution needs.

Salary: $65k-$70K

Schedule:

Monday-Friday Day Shift

Benefits We

Offer:

• Health, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Time Off; increases with years of service
• Generous Employee Discount on home furnishings
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Tuition Assistance
• Ashley Wellness Centers (location specific)
• 401(k) and Profit Sharing
• Life Insurance

Our Core Values:

• Honesty & Integrity: Acts with transparency, discretion, and ethical judgment. Trusted to handle sensitive information and provide accurate, unbiased insights.
• Dirty Fingernail: Takes full accountability for outcomes, not just tasks. Inspects details, ensures data accuracy, and follows through to completion.
• Continuous Improvement: Actively seeks better ways to improve templates, tools, and processes. Learns from prior initiatives and embeds lessons into standard work.
• Growth & Results Focus: Understands how transformation initiatives drive growth, cost reduction, and profitability. Keeps work aligned to enterprise priorities.
• Culture of Leadership: Leads through influence, reliability, and example. Builds trust across functions and supports leaders at every level.
• Customer-Centric & Boundaryless: Works across silos for the greater good of the organization. Ensures outputs meet the needs of executives, initiative owners, and teams.
• Operational Excellence: Demonstrates strong organizational discipline, attention to detail, and the ability to translate ambiguity into clear, executable tools.