Global Freight Procurement & RFQ Lead

Azenta UK, Ltd. At Azenta, new ideas, new technologies and new ways of thinking are driving our future. Our customer focused culture encourages employees to embrace innovation and challenge the status quo with novel thinking and collaborative work relationships. All we accomplish is grounded in our core values of Customer Focus, Achievement, Accountability, Teamwork, Employee Value and Integrity

Global Freight Procurement & RFQ Lead

6 months

Based in Wotton, Surrey

The Global Freight Procurement & RFQ Lead will be responsible for completing a full diagnostic review of Azenta’s global freight spend, carrier base, freight forwarding arrangements, courier/parcel activity, commercial terms and service performance. This role is expected to challenge current freight purchasing and transportation arrangements, identify cost and service improvement opportunities, and take the business out to market through a robust RFQ/RFP process.

Working closely with Operations, Procurement, Finance, Sales, Customer Service and regional stakeholders, the role will evaluate existing and potential freight providers across relevant transport modes and geographies. The output will be a clear recommendation pack for leadership, outlining provider options, commercial benefits, service-level improvements, implementation considerations, and the recommended global freight strategy.

This contract is focused on freight spend and transportation provider sourcing only. It does not include a review of current contracted 3PL warehousing, fulfilment or site operating arrangements, which will be managed as a separate review due to existing contractual commitments.

• Complete global freight spend baseline, including cost drivers, lanes, shipment volumes, modes, service levels, surcharges and contractual terms.
• Identify quick-win freight cost reduction and service improvement opportunities across current transportation arrangements.
• Build and run a structured RFQ/RFP process covering relevant freight forwarders, parcel/courier providers, carriers and specialist transport providers.
• Create an objective supplier evaluation model covering cost, service, coverage, compliance, technology, risk and implementation capability.
• Present recommended freight provider options and a global transportation solution that supports cost reduction, better service levels and future business growth.

• Map current global freight activity, carriers, freight forwarders, parcel/courier providers, lanes, volumes, shipment profiles, modes, Incoterms dependencies and operating requirements.
• Analyse freight spend across regions, business units and providers to identify savings opportunities, avoidable costs, rate leakage and process inefficiencies.
• Evaluate current freight provider performance against cost, delivery reliability, responsiveness, quality, claims, customer impact, geographic coverage and scalability.
• Benchmark current pricing, rate cards, accessorial charges, fuel mechanisms, surcharges and freight terms against the external market.
• Develop the RFQ/RFP strategy, supplier longlist, data pack, bid requirements, scoring criteria and timeline.
• Engage the market to identify freight providers capable of delivering a stronger global transportation solution across priority lanes and regions.
• Lead supplier Q&A, bid clarification, commercial comparison, operational assessment and final evaluation.
• Build a clear business case showing cost savings, service improvements, risks, assumptions, implementation complexity and expected benefits.
• Recommend preferred freight provider options and a transition roadmap, including contract, implementation, governance and performance management considerations.
• Partner with Procurement, Operations, Finance, Sales, Customer Service, Compliance and regional teams to align recommendations with business needs.
• Define ongoing freight supplier KPIs, reporting cadence and governance process to ensure savings and service improvements are sustained.
• Provide regular progress updates, risks, issues and decision points to the Senior Director, Global C&I Operations.

• Strong experience in freight procurement, logistics sourcing, transportation management, carrier management or supply chain cost reduction projects.
• Proven track record of running freight RFQ/RFP processes from data preparation through supplier evaluation, negotiation support and recommendation.
• Strong…