Transportation and Logistics Senior Manager

Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., is a global pharmaceutical company based in Japan with operations in the U.S. (Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.), focused on addressing patient needs in oncology, urology, women's health, rare diseases, cell & gene therapies and CNS. With several marketed products and a diverse pipeline of early- to late-stage investigational assets, we aim to accelerate discovery, research, and development to bring novel therapies to patients sooner. For more information on SMPA, visit our website https://www.us.sumitomo-pharma.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

SMPA is seeking a dynamic, highly motivated, and experienced individual for the position of Transportation and Logistics Senior Manager.

The Transportation and Logistics Senior Manager is responsible for ensuring efficient, compliant, and risk-mitigated transportation and delivery of SMPA’s pharmaceutical products across the global supply chain in a fully outsourced environment.

This role works closely with internal teams and external partners to manage daily priorities, resolve issues, document processes, and drive continuous improvement. Responsibilities include managing service provider relationships and freight activities and leading processes and projects that improve operational efficiency, reduce risk, control costs, and promote best practices that drive high customer satisfaction.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Oversee and improve the performance and efficiency of SMPA’s global transportation network to ensure timely, error-free delivery of pharmaceutical products, including shipments requiring cold-chain and/or security controls. Establish, communicate, and enhance KPIs, and analyze positive and negative trends for further review.
• Ensure delivery accuracy through reconciliation and resolution of transaction discrepancies. Resolve issues and escalations, identify root causes, and drive corrective actions. Serve as the primary team contact for transportation.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives across delivery processes to increase customer satisfaction and reduce operating costs. Identify efficiency opportunities, implement changes, and manage projects and cross-functional teams to deliver results.
• Manage and optimize domestic and international transportation networks and operations. Define mode-selection criteria, improve efficiency, mitigate risk, and establish, communicate, and enforce SMPA routing guides. Support spot and long-term service and pricing engagements and maintain related documentation.
• Participate in new product launch planning and implementation teams to address transportation requirements. Support and contribute to transportation validation studies.
• Collaborate with Order-to-Cash, Trade, IT, Tax, Finance, Commercial Manufacturing, Supply Chain Operations, Quality, Legal, Sourcing, Regulatory, Insurance, and Trade Compliance to support transportation activities, ensure on-time delivery, and exceed customer expectations.
• Resolve complex day-to-day operational issues independently and escalate major issues when appropriate.
• Ensure processes and systems are documented and compliant with Quality Management System requirements, Good Manufacturing and Distribution Practices, and FDA regulations.
• Serve as the commercial lead for transportation partners and manage transportation tenders and RFPs from initiation through completion. Ensure shipment visibility, lead technical solution discussions, negotiate freight agreement terms, and oversee AVL setup, purchase order and budget administration, invoice auditing, and payment processes. Act as the subject matter expert for global transportation.
• Maintain sufficient knowledge to provide backup support for U.S. Distribution and Trade Compliance during short-term absences.

Key Core Competencies

• Collaborative, team-oriented partner who communicates ideas with conviction while remaining open to other perspectives
• Analytical thinker with strong problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to changing priorities and deadlines
• Excellent planning, organizational, and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritize and support multiple projects
• Ability to influence and collaborate with diverse internal and external stakeholders in a fast-paced environment
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Ability to exercise sound judgment within established guidelines
• Proven self-starter who can work independently in