Description About Hawkins Hawkins, Inc. is a formulator, manufacturer, blender, distributer, and sales agent for thousands of industrial chemicals and reagent grade laboratory chemicals sold to municipalities and businesses throughout the Central United States. Thousands across a variety of industries have depended on Hawkins for the chemical products they need since 1938. Learn more about us at ABOUT THE JOB This position is responsible for creating schedules and dispatching trucks to provide timely and efficient delivery of products to customers. This role is very service-focused and works to meet and exceed customer requirements. As the Dispatch and Fleet specialist you will coordinate local fleet maintenance to ensure safety and availability to meet delivery schedules, track driver compliance with all DOT, state, local, and company regulations, and record driver assignments/delivery time/other transportation data in a computer database to track metrics. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Shipment Coordination Dispatch trucks to provide timely and efficient delivery of product. Maintains contact with drivers to communicate updates, delays, or special instructions and relay delivery status to customers. Creates and coordinates delivery schedules for drivers and vehicles to ensure delivery of freight to destinations in a timely and efficient manner. Ensure proper fleet size and characteristics to service our customers most effectively with minimal miles driven, fuel usage, weight tolerances and customer constraints. Plan and schedule distribution services including shipping and delivery to ensure customer requirements are met in an efficient manner. Manages fleet maintenance to ensure safety and cost effectiveness. Customer Service Ensure customer requirements regarding pick-up time, delivery dates are achieved or offer suitable alternatives. Maintain courteous and productive relationships with internal and external customers. Process Improvement Resolve freight related problems both internal to Hawkins and with the carrier base (root cause and corrective action) to increase customer satisfaction and improve efficiency. Evaluate transfer loads and other delivery methods. Assist internal partners in load building to improve the overall use of Hawkins systems and other tools. Assist in the coordination of repairs to equipment used by Hawkins drivers. Account Reconciliation and Reporting Work closely with IT to ensure that all freight accruals are accurate, work with accounting to ensure any variances are managed in a timely manner. Manage the vendor holds, and the accruals that require resolution, to reduce the overall number of invoice match issues. File claims with the carrier base to ensure accuracy and correct payments. Handling of the daily exception reports for timeliness and accuracy. Software Maintenance Maintain routes, rates, and primary carrier invoice upload. Work with ELD reporting and accuracy. Pull repair and maintenance data as-needed Carrier Relationships Management Source carriers' capacity by working with current and potential providers. Build and maintain relationships with freight carriers to ensure customer satisfaction. Perform other miscellaneous related duties, as needed. ABOUT YOU Highschool diploma or equivalent Minimum 1 year of experience in transportation required. Must be able to demonstrate an understanding of government regulations (e.g., DOT, OSHA, HazMat, etc.) Experience with LTL, Bulk and Van transportation MS Office applications skills required; Proven ability to organize and prioritize tasks, work collaboratively in a cross-functional environment, and ensure timely completion necessary. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills required. Effective communication skills required