Transport Associate

As a Transport Associate, you will be responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of loads through effective coordination of transporters and internal teams. You will manage key transporter relationships and act as a central point of accountability for service delivery, quality, and cost efficiency in Kenya. This role is central to driving on-time delivery, transporter satisfaction, and high service levels, all of which are crucial to Lori's success in building a world-class logistics platform in East Africa.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Transporter Relationship & Partner Management

• Build and manage strong, long-term relationships with transport partners to ensure reliability, transparency, and alignment on service expectations.
• Support the identification, onboarding, and training of high-potential transport partners based on capacity, geographic reach, and service quality.
• Resolve partner-level issues professionally and promptly, maintaining positive working relationships while holding transporters accountable for performance.

Service Delivery & Execution

• Take full ownership of the end-to-end movement of loads for key customers, ensuring on-time pickup, in-transit visibility, and timely delivery.
• Monitor and coordinate daily shipment activities, proactively managing potential disruptions such as breakdowns, delays, or route challenges.
• Manage transporter assignments based on load requirements, capacity planning, and transporter performance history to maximize service levels and reduce cost.

Operational Data & Performance Management

• Analyze transporter and route-level data to identify trends, root causes of underperformance, and opportunities for cost and time optimization.
• Maintain accurate records of transporter performance, feedback, and capacity to enable strategic partner planning and escalation where needed.
• Work closely with finance and commercial teams to track fulfillment data for billing, collections, and operational reporting.

Process Improvement & Compliance

• Continuously identify gaps in transport execution workflows and contribute to the development and refinement of SOPs that drive operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with tech and product teams to improve platform usage, reporting, and issue resolution tools used by transporters and operations.
• Lead initiatives that promote continuous improvement in cost, speed, and service delivery—especially in high-volume or strategic transport lanes.

Cross-functional Coordination

• Act as the operational bridge between transporters, commercial, and internal teams to ensure seamless fulfillment of customer expectations.
• Liaise with the finance team on transporter payments, invoice verification, and deduction queries to maintain trust and financial clarity.
• Communicate effectively across teams, keeping stakeholders informed of major issues, updates, and process changes impacting transporter operations.

WHAT IT TAKES

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Logistics, or a related field.
• 2–3 years of experience in logistics, operations, or account management, ideally within a transport-heavy or supply chain environment.
• Excellent coordination and execution skills – able to manage multiple moving parts under pressure.
• Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills, with a focus on transporter relationships and service excellence.
• Analytical mindset – confident working with Excel/Sheets and logistics data to make decisions and track KPIs.
• Operational resilience and problem-solving – able to troubleshoot in real time and prevent future bottlenecks.
• Deep understanding of transport operations in Kenya and the ability to manage transporter performance