We currently has a position for Freight Audit and Payment Supervisor at our Corporate office in, Illinois. The Freight Audit and Payment Supervisor oversees the day-to-day data entry, review and approval process of all third-party carrier freight bills and communicates with carriers to respond to payment inquiries, maintain accurate and current account aging’s, and resolve disputed rates and accessorial charges. This position works in close collaboration with the Carrier Management, IT, and Transportation Operations teams in the development, maintenance and continuous enhancement of the underlying processes and systems that support the day-to-day activities to maximize the efficiencies of this critical front end process within the Transportation Finance group.
Responsibilities include:
- Oversee carrier freight bill processing to ensure that payments are disbursed in a timely and accurate manner.
- Ensure that carrier payments are in compliance with current contractual agreements, including the identification and resolution of any freight bill rate and accessorial charge variances
- Identify root causes for recurring discrepancies and develop/implement timely and practical solutions.
- Develop and maintain a continuous improvement mindset with respect to the quality, efficiency and overall effectiveness of the freight audit and payment functions and related internal controls, resulting in increased accuracy and a decreased risk of fraud and errors. Review and revise policies and procedures as necessary to accomplish such ends.
- Maintain regular and ongoing communications with carriers in order to ensure the timely receipt of all freight bills and supporting documentation, reconciliation and resolution of all past due amounts.
- Monitor workloads of data entry and audit staff to establish and maintain consistency with respect to processing activities for each carrier.
- Develop and maintain comprehensive process documentation, as well as the development and ongoing monitoring of metrics that track key performance indicators within the freight audit and payment functions.
- Function as a systems subject matter expert within the carrier invoicing portion of the TMS.
- Provide input for system development of the Mercury Gate transportation management system and, until deactivated, system maintenance of the SMS transportation management system. This includes system interfaces with JD Edwards and the EDI processes, as well as the ongoing development of system portals that provide additional opportunities for the automation of carrier invoice submission and carrier payment inquiries.
- Work closely with the IT/EDI teams in the electronic freight billing process with the TMS, and identify and pursue opportunities to shift additional carriers from paper to electronic billing.
- Coordinate the set up and maintenance of third-party carrier profiles within the TMS and JD Edwards Accounts Payable application (JDE); and the transfer of approved freight payments from the TMS to JDE.
- Support the carrier aspects of all start-up and transitional transportation services operations.
- Supervise all Transportation Manager System (TMS) processing needed to close out intra-company charges for fleet moves.
- Lead settlement review meetings that are generally held once a week.
Candidates selected to interview must meet the following minimum requirements for consideration for this position:
- Bachelor’s degree required; prefer accounting, finance or information systems field of study.
- 5-7 years of experience in finance and accounting roles, including at least 2 years as a supervisor within a high-volume processing environment.
- Experience in a logistics or transportation environment, with a focus on transportation rates and accessorial charges, is a plus.
- Experience with TMS’ will be required to understand all the impacts of any carrier resolutions in the system.
- Ability to meet regular weekly and monthly deadlines in a high-volume processing environment
- Well-developed problem solving and reconciliation skills, and the ability to work independently to resolve issues.
- Detail oriented with excellent analytical and organizational skills.
- Advanced skills in Excel, with ability to summarize and present large volumes of data in a concise manner.
- Proven ability to function as a Subject Matter Expert with respect to specialized systems applications.
- Excellent customer service skills with proven ability to build good relationships with peer groups across the organization.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Demonstrated experience managing multiple priorities and strict deadlines.
- Professional demeanor.