James Dean
Transportation Coordinator
Saraland,AL
Summary
I joined the Army when I was still in high school and went into the logistics branch. I have been working in logistics since I was 16. I have worked on terminals, performed administrative work, dealt with U.S. Customs and international customs. I have supervised rail operations, truck operations and vessel operations as well as handled hazardous shipments. I have been lucky to experience various different aspects of the logistics and transportation fields, not only in the U.S. but in the world.
I am a very analytical and logical person. I notice gaps in processes that others do not see and will suggest changes to improve. I notice patterns easily, and can often use these patterns to make adjustments when necessary. Having been in the Army, I am calm in high pressure situations and able to make good decisions to correct the problem. I do enjoy process improvement, and I am always looking for a way to improve them.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Transportation Coordinator
SSAB Steel
Axis, AL
10.2017 - Current
- Tracked and managed steel import shipments from Borlänge, Raahe, and Oxelösund into Canada and the US
- Shipments included Cold Rolled Coils, Hot Rolled Coils, Steel Plates/Pallets, and tubes/bars
- Worked directly with ports to resolve issues with shipping material from their location to our customer
- Coordinated containerized imports to improve the process and decrease the risk of demurrage.
- Built relationships with CFS (Container Freight Stations) locations so that we could quickly move containers to and from the ports
- Trained the team on container shipment processes and gave them insight into the inner workings of container shipments
- Worked directly with the team from Intellitrans and CarrierPoint to implement necessary changes to the system and processes so that it would work with our business
- Intellitrans was used to help manage rates, bring in rate bidding, and measure carrier performance
- Worked with our IT department to implement a new in-house system to improve data and information sharing between our sales department and the traffic team
- Worked closely with my team members to improve our processes and to identify any process gaps
- Informed sales and customers when items were loaded
- Worked closely with truck carriers and brokers to move material from the ports to customers and processing facilities
- Monitored poor performing truck carriers and removed them from the carrier list
- Onboarded new truck carriers
- Managed RFQs and negotiated rates with carriers
- Worked with NVOCCs to book shipments and track shipments
- Determined most effective mode and routing of materials to customer locations and company facilities.
Cargo Flow Supervisor
APL
Scottsdale, AZ
05.2017 - 10.2017
- Tracked and managed import and export containers for the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
- Ensured hazardous shipments had correct documentation and permits were submitted on time
- Sent export projections to vessel planners and terminals based off historical knowledge and current container activity
- Worked with customers to get documents submitted to help prevent their shipments from missing the vessel and accruing demurrage
- Worked with terminal and vessel operators to ensure all containers were loaded to the vessel
- Managed KPI's
- Processed demurrage charges from the terminals
- Assisted our customer service representatives in solving customers problems and issues
- Assisted team members with with problems and implemented process improvements to prevent the problems from reoccurring
- Identified problems with EDI between APL and terminals and worked with our EDI team to correct the problems so that APL system would show accurate information
- Met deadlines while maintaining high-quality deliverables
- Assisted with new hire orientation and employee training
- Defined problems, collected data, established facts and validated conclusions
- Responded quickly to meet customer needs and resolve problems
- Train coworkers on new processes
- Evaluated Cargo Coordinators performance and identified areas of improvements and presented to
Cargo Flow Coordinator
APL
Scottsdale, AZ
09.2015 - 05.2017
- Tracked and managed import cargo coming into the U.S along the East Coast ports.
- Managed import rail dwell to ensure containers were moving from the terminals on the rail within 3 days
- Worked with U.S Customs to clear any customs issues with import containers and assisted to inform customer of any problems or delays
- Managed customs processes for the East Coast while managing ETN Customs email traffic and processes
- Worked closely with the terminals to ensure that the import rail containers were cleared to load the rail prior to vessel discharge to prevent unnecessary dwell times
- Worked with vessel planners for different liners to process any diversion requests for the east coast
- Managed the inland rail dwell to ensure containers were moving smoothly on the rail
- Identify process gaps and initiate improvements
Cargo Specialist
U.S. Army Reserve
Meridian, MS
04.2004 - 04.2016
- Served 12 years in the Logistics Branch
- Worked at several state-side ports and as well as ports overseas
- Served two deployments and managed military cargo being shipped all over the world
- Used several computer systems to track cargo and traveled to different locations to inspect cargo before shipping
- Dealt with U.S Customs and international customs to ensure cargo was cleared for shipping
- Ensuring all cargo is properly loaded using proper blocking and bracing practices and loaded the vessel according to stow plan
- Ensuring all cargo information is properly logged to assist in the accurate tracking of the cargo with IBS-CMM
- Assisted in training my peers how to use IBS-CMM
- Supervised the loading and unloading of military equipment and worked with the terminals to get the equipment moving as quickly as possible
- Performed checks on documents sent by other units to make sure all information was correct and accurate
- Negotiated and arranged transport of goods
- Kept records of all goods shipped, received and stored
- Estimated freight rates and recorded shipment costs and weights
- Retrieved stored items and trace lost shipments as necessary
- Tracked delivery progress of shipments
- Determined method of shipment and prepared bills of lading, invoices and other shipping documents
- Opened cargo containers and unwrap contents, used steel cutters, crowbars and other hand tools
- Checked import and export documentation to determine cargo contents and used tariff coding system to classify goods according to fee and tariff group
- Packed goods for shipping
- Coordinated and supervised activities of workers engaged in packing and shipping equipment
- Directed or participated in cargo loading to complete load and even distribution of weight
- Inspected and counted items received and checked against invoices and other documents, recording shortages and rejecting damaged goods
- Directed delivery trucks to shipping doors or designated marshaling areas and helped load and unload goods safely
- Installed straps, braces and padding to loads to prevent shifting and damage during shipment
- Attached address labels, identification codes and shipping instructions to containers
- Maintained supply of packing materials.
Vessel Coordinator
West Coast, APL
Nashville, TN
04.2014 - 09.2015
- Tracked export rail cargo for the West Coast
- Worked closely with terminals to ensure cutoffs were met and terminal and APL system matches and all to comes are clean at the time of cutoff
- Accurately projected container volumes to vessel planners and cargo management
- Managed multiple services at different ports along the West Coast and pacific northwest
- Problem solve issues sent by customer service regarding containers and bookings
- Worked with our customer service team and customers to help customers submit their documents on time
- Assisted team members with any issues they were struggling with.
Cargo Specialist
U.S. Army Reserve
2nd Deployment, Kuwait
12.2009 - 01.2011
- Worked the Port of Shuaiba and Port of Shuwaikh
- Worked as data quality control
- Ensured data being sent was accurate
- Tracked shipments
- Assisted the booking team to book cargo with various commercial carriers
- Checking ETRRs(Export Traffic Release Request) to ensure all information on the form is correct before the booking team filled
- Inspected cargo documentation for any errors prior to the booking being created and before equipment loaded the vessel
- Responsible for creating and maintaining a KPI that measured the performance of several teams to send to Higher Command
- Used IBS-CMM to track cargo and dwell times and calculate retention costs of all government containers shipped through Kuwait
- Tracked empty containers that did not belong to the U.S Government and assisted to get the containers returned to the port and shipped back to the states to avoid any fees from the container owner
- Inspected containers for any holes, wear, or any damages to determine if containers was sea-worthy and reported all damages to my supervisor to obtain the proper repairs
- Worked with Kuwaiti customs to ensure all cargo has been approved to ship by Kuwaiti and U.S Customs.
Cargo Specialist
U.S. Army Reserve
1st Deployment, Kuwait
01.2009 - 12.2009
- Worked the Port of Shuaiba and Kuwaiti Naval Base for high priority and high value ammo shipments
- Responsible for ensuring all cargo was loaded properly on the vessel
- Ensured hazardous materials were properly stowed and separated from other conflicting hazardous cargo
- Inspecting HAZDECs to ensure information was correct and matched what was shipped
- Supervised the loading of 3 ammo vessels and 10 general cargo vessels
- Worked with U.S Contractors to higher labor, create stow plans, ensure security was in place and overseeing the vessel loading operations
- Inspected cargo for proper documentations prior to loading
- Created reports for each vessel reporting amount of cargo loaded
- Staged cargo in staging yards separated by first Port of Discharge and HAZMAT/Sensitive items
- Tracked all cargo with various military web-based trackers; IBSCMM, Air Force DODAAC tracker
- Created reports of dwell time and briefing the commander on growing dwell times and actions taken to solve the issues along with ETA for shipments
- Contacted the battalion or company shipping the dwelled cargo to speed documentation process to advance shipment date of the containers to avoid any retention fees and keep the staging yards clear for new shipments.
Education
High School Diploma -
Meridian High School
Meridian05.2005
Skills
- Customer service skills
- Troubleshooting
- Good at following instructions
- Group environments
- Utilizing scanner systems
- Freight Examination
- Process Reviews
- Logistics Process Improvement
- Transportation and Logistics Coordination
- International Logistics
- Critical Thinking
- Supply Chain Operations
- Analytical Thinking
Accomplishments
- Used Microsoft Excel to develop inventory tracking spreadsheets.
- Improved SSAB's import container process to help reduce the probability of demurrage. On average, they were paying $1,000 in demurrage each container. After process improvement, containers were moved before demurrage and on rare occasions demurrage cost was reduced to $250.
- Built relationships with reliable, cost-effective truck carriers/brokers.
- Introduced new process at SSAB to manage their import data, removing repetitive manual input. This saved each Transportation Coordinator 4 hours a week to allow them to focus on more important tasks.
- Created Excel VBA macros to automate reports
Certification
- Certificate of completing U.S. Army Logistic's School
- Certificate of completing U.S. Army Leadership Training Course
- Certified in TC-AIMS Certified in IBS-CMM
Additional Information
- Willing to relocate: Anywhere
- Authorized to work in the US for any employer
Timeline
Transportation Coordinator
SSAB Steel
10.2017 - Current
Cargo Flow Supervisor
APL
05.2017 - 10.2017
Cargo Flow Coordinator
APL
09.2015 - 05.2017
Vessel Coordinator
West Coast, APL
04.2014 - 09.2015
Cargo Specialist
U.S. Army Reserve
12.2009 - 01.2011
Cargo Specialist
U.S. Army Reserve
01.2009 - 12.2009
Cargo Specialist
U.S. Army Reserve
04.2004 - 04.2016
High School Diploma -
Meridian High School
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