Katherine Baldwin

Field intermodal operations advisor for U.S. midwest region. Responsible to assess and coordinate with multiple service center operation teams on geographical lane specific rail equipment use throughout network. Develop and maintain strong relationships with five major rail lines to meet company goals. Monitor daily and weekly key performance indicators and advise management where improvements can be made.

• Conducted inventory audits to ensure proper equipment control for daily fluctuating freight tonnage including holiday road to rail conversions utilizing company owned, rented rail containers/chassis', contracted rail equipment and purchased transportation vans.
• Reduced cost on non-essential rented equipment use by calculating trending needs and by using first-in first-out method. Taking corrective action in case of accidents, container discrepancies and/or unforeseen weather delays.
• Determined ways to increase profitability by utilizing most cost effective modes of movement of units to rail line(s) that honors both, best rate and transit time for continued customer retention.
• Coordinated with service center management and dispatchers to accomplish daily container drop and pick-ups within allotted rail schedules. Diminishing rail line storage fees.
• Kept track of and resolved maintenance/repair and miscellaneous demurrage issues for company owned and rented rail equipment (45ft and 53ft containers, vans and chassis').
• Implement company policy, job duties and safety procedures to meet in house and rail line(s) expectations with ongoing education & training for new and all levels of seasoned staff.
• As point of contact: facilitate internal/external inquiries maintaining professional relationships with key contacts via telephone, text messaging, email and customer service portals. Making sure all concerns are followed up with open-ended questions to better determine needs and to further assist communications until there is final resolution.
• Accompany drivers on drayage runs then communicate their experience to internal and external rail line management teams.
• Survey driver dwell times at rail yards to identify and resolve delay issues. Including but not limited to in/out-gate and chassis flip procedures.
• Address banned drivers from rail yards.
• Randomly review photo's of units to confirm use of decking equipment, blocking/bracing and are loaded properly at full capacity. Directing all issues to lane supervisors within timely manners to prevent future loading errors.
• Conduct pre-shift meetings to keep employees up-to-date on company goals and achievements. As well as to listen to, address and resolve driver issues.
• Engage and maintain relationships with third-party drayage companies for cross-town needs and additional equipment movement.
  

Chicagoland front line supervisor/dispatcher for line-haul, drayage and purchased transportation carriers.

• Communicate between dock operations and central line-haul offices to coordinate daily LTL routes within network.
• Confirmed load documentation was complete and accurate, including but not limited to hazardous material placard requirements.
• Dispatched drivers to ensure no less than 98% on time out-gate cut times were met. Offered route changes and cancellation options according to driver seniority.
• Daily audits of service center personnel Kronos Records and Electronic Logging Device (ELD), issuing verbal and written corrective action when necessary.
• Performed daily pre-shift meetings and posted weekly safety tips.
• New hire education, continued training and analytical reporting.
• Motivated and trained employees to maximize team productivity. Introduced team contests and goals to enhance productivity and improve employee morale.
• Identified individual employee's unique work styles and adapted management methods. Monitored daily and weekly key performance indicators. Defined operational metrics, tracking systems and reporting to executive team.
• Applied strong leadership talents and problem-solving skills to maintain team efficiency and organize workflows.
• Supportive link between external customer concerns and internal operations. Handled customer complaints, resolved issues and adjusted policies to meet changing needs.

• Created course of action and found resolution for over, short, damaged and distressed freight, including investigating and reporting service center freight claims.
• Support for corporate security during on-going theft investigations.
• Hazmat, customs and general bill of lading billing with 99% accuracy.
• Recognizing and resolving documentation errors.
• Processed chemical incident/hazardous material spills.
• Support for city P&D, outbound and reship operations & dispatching.
• Appointment setting and applying/removing accessories charges.
• Answering and responding to high volume customer emails and phone calls with minimal wait times.
• Established responsive and accurate customer service support while multi-tasking in fast paced environment with consistent follow-up regardless of outcome.
• Offered advice and assistance to customers, paying attention to special needs or wants.