Transport Specialist – Carrier Management in Bedford

Location: Bedford, UK

Department: Transportation / Supply Chain

Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent

Language Requirement: Fluent English and Mandarin Chinese

Working Arrangement: On-site; flexibility to support operational shifts and peak periods may be required

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced and hands-on Transport Specialist to oversee carrier management and outbound transportation operations at our Bedford warehouse. The role will coordinate both B2B and B2C outbound shipments, manage day-to-day communication and performance with parcel, pallet, freight and last-mile carriers, and lead a small transportation operations team. The successful candidate will work closely with the warehouse outbound team to ensure an accurate and controlled handover of goods, timely carrier collections and effective resolution of operational exceptions. This position requires strong transportation knowledge, excellent stakeholder-management skills and the ability to communicate fluently in both English and Mandarin Chinese.

Key Responsibilities

• Transport Operations
• Oversee daily B2B and B2C outbound transportation activities from the Bedford warehouse.
• Plan and coordinate parcel, pallet, freight and last-mile collections according to order volume, service requirements and operational cut-off times.
• Allocate shipments to suitable carriers based on service type, capacity, cost, delivery requirements and operational performance.
• Ensure vehicles and carriers arrive as scheduled and that all shipments are dispatched within the required timeframes.
• Monitor shipment progress and proactively manage collection failures, delays, missed scans, delivery exceptions, damages, losses and returns.
• Support peak-period planning, contingency arrangements and urgent or ad-hoc transport requirements.
• Carrier Management
• Act as the main operational contact between the Bedford warehouse and contracted carriers.
• Maintain effective daily communication with carrier account managers, depots, drivers and control teams.
• Conduct regular carrier performance reviews covering on-time collection, on-time delivery, scanning compliance, loss and damage, claims, customer complaints and service failures.
• Escalate recurring issues and drive carriers to provide root-cause analysis and corrective action plans.
• Support carrier onboarding, operational testing, service changes and the implementation of new transport solutions.
• Verify that carriers follow agreed SOPs, service requirements, safety standards and contractual obligations.
• Work with procurement and management teams to support carrier reviews, cost control and continuous improvement.
• Warehouse Handover and Dispatch Control
• Work closely with the warehouse outbound team to align picking, packing, staging, loading and carrier collection schedules.
• Establish and maintain a clear handover process between warehouse and transportation teams.
• Confirm shipment quantities, pallet or parcel counts, labels, manifests and supporting documentation before goods are released.
• Ensure all physical handovers and system handovers are properly recorded and traceable.
• Investigate discrepancies between physical goods, system records and carrier collection data.
• Coordinate the safe and efficient loading of vehicles and ensure goods are handed over to the correct carrier.
• Conduct daily reviews of outstanding, uncollected or unsuccessfully dispatched shipments.
• Team Leadership
• Lead and coordinate a small transport operations team responsible for dispatch planning, carrier communication and shipment monitoring.
• Allocate daily tasks and ensure appropriate operational coverage throughout the working day.
• Provide training, coaching and operational guidance to team members.
• Monitor team performance and ensure issues are escalated and resolved promptly.
• Maintain clear SOPs, shift handovers and escalation procedures.
• Promote strong collaboration between transportation, warehouse operations, customer service, procurement and other internal teams.
• Compliance and Reporting
• Ensure transportation activities comply with company procedures and applicable UK transport, health and safety and security requirements.
• Support compliant handling and transportation of dangerous goods where applicable.
• Maintain accurate transport records, manifests, proof of collection, delivery evidence and exception records.
• Produce daily and weekly reports covering shipment volumes, carrier performance, operational exceptions and outstanding actions.
• Identify operational risks and implement corrective and preventive measures.
• Support internal audits, carrier investigations and customer claims where required.

Key Performance Indicators

The role will be measured against areas including:

• On-time carrier collection
• On-time dispatch and delivery performance
• Successful warehouse-to-carrier handover
• Shipment scanning and tracking compliance
• Loss, damage and claims performance
• Transport exception closure time
• Carrier capacity fulfilment
• Customer complaint levels
• Transport cost and operational efficiency
• Team productivity and SOP compliance

Essential Requirements

• Proven experience in transportation, carrier management, dispatch or logistics operations.
• Practical experience managing B2B and B2C outbound shipments.
• Experience working directly with parcel carriers, pallet networks, freight providers or last-mile delivery companies.
• Previous experience leading, supervising or coordinating a small operational team.
• Strong understanding of warehouse dispatch, shipment handover and carrier collection processes.
• Ability to manage multiple carriers, priorities and operational exceptions in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and escalation-management skills.
• Confident user of transportation, warehouse or carrier-management systems.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and operational reporting.
• Fluent spoken and written English and Mandarin Chinese.
• Eligible to work in the United Kingdom.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience working in an e-commerce, retail, fulfilment or third-party logistics environment.
• Experience managing high-volume parcel and last-mile operations.
• Knowledge of UK parcel, pallet and freight carrier networks.
• Experience handling dangerous goods or working in a dangerous-goods warehouse environment.
• Knowledge of ADR requirements and dangerous-goods transport documentation.
• Experience with transport management systems, warehouse management systems and carrier portals.
• Experience conducting carrier performance reviews and managing corrective action plans.
• Transport Manager CPC or another relevant logistics qualification would be advantageous but is not essential.

Personal Attributes

• Hands-on, organised and comfortable working in a warehouse environment.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Calm and decisive when managing operational pressure and service failures.
• Clear and confident communicator with both internal teams and external carriers.
• Able to challenge poor performance professionally and drive issues through to resolution.
• Detail-oriented, commercially aware and focused on continuous improvement.
• Capable of working effectively across Chinese and UK business cultures.

At JINGDONG Logistics, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and make all employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.