Senior Manager, Freight Logistics

Overview

Barnes & Noble is the leading book retailer in the United States, with roots dating back to 1873 and a history of growth through innovation and expansion. The company operates approximately 700 bookstores nationwide, serves over 700 communities across all 50 states, and maintains a robust digital presence through , NOOK® eBooks and audio books, and educational resources such as Spark Notes.

The company also includes complementary retail brands such as Paper Source, Books Inc., Tattered Cover, and

B. Dalton, underscoring renewed confidence in physical retail and local bookselling.

The Senior Manager, Freight Logistics, is responsible for leading, optimizing, and scaling the company's regional and national freight transportation network. This role owns transportation strategy, carrier partnerships, network performance, and cost optimization across Truckload (TL), Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) and pooling operations and related transportation services while overseeing an 80-million-dollar freight transportation budget.

The ideal candidate is a strategic and analytical logistics leader with deep expertise in transportation procurement, carrier management, network optimization, freight technology, and supply chain strategy. This position plays a critical role in ensuring transportation capacity, improving service performance, managing freight spending, and enabling scalable growth through a high-performing transportation network.

• Lead transportation strategies that optimize regional and national freight networks, improve service performance, and support business growth through efficient and scalable transportation solutions.
• Oversee daily international logistics and trade compliance operations to ensure efficient product flow and regulatory compliance and supply chain continuity.
• Lead annual transportation RFPs and contract negotiations with asset-based carriers, brokers, and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to secure capacity and competitive pricing.
• Build strategic partnerships with carriers and logistics providers to support network scalability and evolving business requirements.
• Develop and maintain routing guides that maximize contract compliance, improve carrier utilization, and minimize spot-market exposure.
• Establish carrier performance scorecards and conduct regular business reviews to drive accountability for service, cost, and operational performance.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for significant transportation disruptions, service failures, and capacity challenges.
• Monitor transportation market conditions and recommend procurement strategies that balance service requirements with cost efficiency.
• Manage and optimize a multi-million-dollar annual freight transportation budget by analyzing transportation spending, cost trends, and variance reporting.
• Identify and implement cost-saving initiatives through network optimization, lane balancing, shipment consolidation, cross-docking, and mode selection strategies.
• Analyze freight flows and transportation performance to improve service levels while reducing total landed cost.
• Oversee freight audit and payment processes to ensure billing accuracy, compliance, and recovery of overcharges and accessorial discrepancies.
• Lead the utilization, optimization, and continuous improvement of Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to support planning, execution, visibility, and reporting.
• Partner with IT and business stakeholders on transportation technology enhancements, system integrations, and process automation initiatives.
• Develop executive-level dashboards and reporting tools that measure key performance indicators (KPIs), including accessorial spend.
• Leverage market intelligence and predictive analytics to anticipate capacity constraints, evaluate carrier performance, and support strategic decision-making.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of logistics analysts and coordinators, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Partner closely with Warehouse Operations, Procurement, Finance, Customer Service, Sales Operations, and Supply Chain teams to align transportation capabilities with business…