Nicholas Bridgeland

Manager of Inbound Freight @Edward Don & Company

North Riverside, IL, US

Manage $12 Million dollar spend of freight for the in-bound transportation network that supports material movement into 6 Distribution Centers. Responsible for leading the transition needed to manage inbound freight costs while educating buyers on how buying decisions and freight need to be weighted in purchase order creation. Manage carrier community with stated expectations, comprehensive freight negotiations and contract development. Establish service requirements for carriers, implement performance monitoring controls and develop exception management reporting. These items are supported by costing tools that provide data on overall cost by carrier, supplier, and method of shipment. Monitor and challenge our current method of in-bound deliveries supported by a reporting tool and analytics that identify improvement areas in the delivery mode or carrier. Partner with the procurement and merchandising teams to leverage our buying power and provide statistics on vendor performance. Assist in the freight bill payment, audit and claims activities while improving the accuracy and timeliness of the freight payment process. Provide strategic direction and support to the organization with respect to innovative transportation/logistic practices in addition to ways to reduce in bound freight cost to lower the freight factors we apply to the cost of materials. Support accounting in freight factor development and updates. Development and implementation of vendor based rules that support freight optimization during the PO creation process. Spot rate negotiation, keeping rate files current and system information maintenance related to transportation.

Northern Illinois University

Bachelor of Science, Operations and Information Management