What Are Some Jobs in Transportation and Logistics Management?

Transportation and logistics management jobs involve planning and tracking the travel of goods from one location to another. Keep reading to learn about some of the entry-level jobs in transportation and logistics management.

Transportation and Logistics Management Field Overview

Transportation and logistics management involves planning, implementing and assessing modes of distribution for materials and products. To work in this field, you benefit from number-crunching and data-analysis abilities, as well as communication and customer service skills. A bachelor's degree in supply-chain management or transportation and logistics is often beneficial. These programs typically include courses in marketing, management principles, transportation analysis and international logistics management.

Hands-on experience is crucial in this field, so your program may encourage or require internships. Many internship opportunities are paying summer jobs. These experiences may lead to your first position in transportation and logistics management in industry or government, a third-party logistics provider, a transportation system business or a consulting firm.

Important Facts About Jobs in Transportation and Logistics Management

	Transportation Coordinator	Account Manager	Shipping Clerk
Median Salary (June 2019)	$43,806	$53,276	$35,156
Required Education	High school diploma, or equivalent	Bachelor's degree	High school diploma, or equivalent
Work Environment	Warehouses; shipping centers	Predominately in-office with travel intermixed	Shipping centers; warehouses
Similar Occupations	Buyer; customer service manager; office manager; production supervisor	Account executive; client service manager; operations manager; sales associate	Material handler; office manager; warehouse manager; administrative assistant

Source: PayScale.com

Transportation Coordinator

Transportation coordinators understand the pros and cons of a variety of transportation carriers. As a transportation coordinator, you may be directly involved in problem solving when customer issues arise. Your job involves heavy interaction with multiple parties as you negotiate domestic or international transportation. Duties may include coordinating shipments and schedules, verifying carrier rates, tracking shipments and maintaining professional relationships.

Account Manager

Transportation and logistics account managers and customer-service managers are also involved in solving client problems by acting as liaisons. In this profession, you benefit from your knowledge of marketing and sales combined with an understanding of supply-chain management principles. Duties may involve arranging, tracking and following up on client shipments. Your job may also involve developing new prospects.

Shipping Clerk

As a shipping clerk, you would be responsible for preparing shipments for companies in nearly any type of industry. Not only would you package shipments, prepare labels and create bills of lading and invoices, but you could also contact various transport companies for shipping quotes, decide on shipment methods and oversee shipping schedules. Other job duties could include inventory management, shipment tracking and ordering shipping supplies.

Logistics Analyst

If you wish to focus more on the statistical aspect of the field, a logistics analyst position may be a good fit. Logistics analysts apply their calculation and analysis skills to transportation logistics problems. In this job role, you determine problem priority, improve procedures and assess solutions to provide more satisfactory, cost-effective service. In an entry-level analyst position, you work under direct supervision.