Director, Inbound Transportation

Job Summary

The Director of Inbound Transportation leads A&F’s global inbound transportation network, ensuring inventory moves predictably, efficiently, and reliably through a balanced focus on execution, provider partnerships, visibility, forecasting, cost, and business integration.

Reports To: VP/GVP Transportation

Location: New Albany, OH

What Will You Be Doing?

Network Strategy, Freight Movement & Provider Leadership

• Develop and execute global air and ocean transportation strategies that balance service, speed, cost, capacity, predictability, and resiliency.
• Lead end-to-end freight movement from origin handoff through DC receipt across key international and domestic inbound modes.
• Build resilient transportation solutions that support inventory flow, business growth, launch needs, and operational continuity.
• Navigate market disruption, geopolitical risk, capacity constraints, port congestion, and changing provider dynamics with clear mitigation plans.
• Maintain strategic carrier and forwarder partnerships, positioning A&F as a customer of choice while ensuring provider accountability.
• Partner with Procurement on sourcing strategies, negotiations, network design, and provider performance expectations.

Transit Commitments, Inventory Flow, Visibility & Forecasting

• Establish and maintain transportation transit commitments that reflect network realities, provider performance, and business expectations.
• Communicate impacts to inventory flow, planning assumptions, sourcing decisions, distribution operations, and customer-facing priorities.
• Drive transportation visibility, prediction accuracy, forecast reliability, and confidence in inbound reporting.
• Translate transportation data, forecast changes, performance risks, and operational constraints into clear business insights.
• Build trust in reporting through disciplined KPI development, root-cause analysis, data validation, and consistent metric definitions.
• Partner with Data Solutions, Product Management, visibility providers, Planning, Sourcing, and Operations to improve reporting quality, automation, and decision support.

Financial Stewardship, Freight Audit & Payment Governance

• Own inbound transportation budget development, forecasting, annual operating plan inputs, and long-range financial planning assumptions.
• Manage transportation spend performance, including cost-per-unit, cost-per-container, cost-per-kilo, and total cost-to-serve metrics.
• Explain variances, identify improvement opportunities, and connect cost performance to service, inventory flow, and network resiliency.
• Partner with Supply Chain Finance and Transportation Expense Management on forecasting, reporting, variance analysis, investment decisions, and financial controls.
• Ensure rate accuracy, invoice accuracy, dispute resolution, payment transparency, and carrier accountability.
• Improve freight audit and payment processes to strengthen governance, reduce leakage, and create scalable accountability.

Business Integration, Systems Thinking & Scalable Process

• Serve as a strategic business partner to Planning, Sourcing, Finance, Distribution Operations, Product Management, Data Solutions, Procurement, and third-party logistics providers.
• Connect transportation decisions to enterprise outcomes across inventory availability, receipt flow, product launches, sourcing commitments, customer service, cost, and operational readiness.
• Create clarity from ambiguity by structuring complex problems, aligning stakeholders, and driving disciplined follow-through.
• Build scalable processes, systems, reporting, and governance routines that reduce reliance on individual heroics.
• Represent Inbound Transportation in senior leadership forums with clear communication on performance, risks, financial impacts, and recommended actions.
• Drive continuous improvement through SOPs, carrier scorecards, operational reviews, reporting enhancements, automation opportunities, and governance routines.

Leadership Effectiveness & Organizational Impact

• Lead and develop a high-performing inbound transportation organization grounded in ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Independently own major operational, visibility, planning, provider, and financial challenges while escalating clearly when executive alignment is needed.
• Build credibility with internal partners so Inbound Transportation is viewed as a trusted business partner.
• Maintain provider relationships defined by both strong collaboration and clear accountability.
• Develop future transportation leaders through coaching, stretch assignments, succession planning, and cross-functional exposure.

What Success Looks Like

• Business credibility: Planning, Sourcing, Operations, Finance, and regional teams trust Inbound Transportation and operate from common metrics and assumptions.
• Operational excellence: Network performance is achieved or proactively managed, carrier performance improves, and disruptions are communicated early with clear plans.
• Strategic provider leadership: A&F remains a customer of choice with strategic carriers and forwarders while maintaining accountability and strong executive partnerships.
• Visibility and data confidence: Forecasts, metrics, and reporting are trusted, explainable, and used to support inventory and supply chain decisions.
• Leadership effectiveness: The Director independently owns major challenges and can represent the function confidently in executive updates.
• Organizational impact: Business questions are answered through scalable processes, systems, and reporting.

What Do You Need To Bring?

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Business, Engineering, or related field preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive supply chain, retail operations, planning, inventory management, logistics, transportation, or network strategy experience.
• 5+ years leading teams, cross-functional initiatives, and/or strategic service provider relationships.
• Retail, apparel, omnichannel, consumer products, or high-volume distribution experience preferred, including exposure to retail planning, inventory management, and related systems and processes.
• Working knowledge of global air and ocean transportation, including carrier and forwarder management, market dynamics, disruption management, and resiliency planning; direct transportation expertise can be developed in role.
• Proven ability to build strategic provider partnerships while balancing collaboration, commercial discipline, and accountability.
• Strong commercial and sourcing acumen, including provider performance management, network design, transportation sourcing, and negotiation support.
• Strong partnership orientation with Planning, Sourcing, Operations, Finance, Product Management, Data Solutions, Procurement, and third-party logistics partners.
• Ability to translate transportation challenges into business impacts across inventory flow, forecast confidence, receipt timing, cost, service, and operational readiness.
• Strong data fluency, including forecast interpretation, KPI development, root-cause analysis, visibility platforms, and reporting confidence.
• Systems thinking with the ability to connect transportation execution to enterprise outcomes.
• Financial acumen across budgeting, forecasting, variance explanation, transportation cost metrics, freight audit, payment governance, and controls.
• Executive communication skills with the ability to simplify complexity, create clarity from ambiguity, and influence through clear recommendations.
• Strong execution leadership, including ownership, structured problem solving, prioritization, accountability management, change leadership, and disciplined follow-through.
• Experience with transportation systems, visibility platforms, TMS solutions, reporting tools, analytics capabilities, and process automation preferred.
• Willingness to travel and build strategic provider relationships.