Purpose of Job: The purpose of a Shipment Services Generalist is to gather and communicate cargo information accurately and efficiently, post and distribute all invoices.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
General Responsibilities:
- Communicate important customer transactional information to other departments and employees.
- Work cross-functionally to build relationships, enhance communication, resolve issues, and identify opportunities for improving existing processes/services.
- Be a role model within the organization, act in accordance with TOTE values, and continually strive to exceed customer expectations in daily activities.
- Manage department email boxes as assigned.
- Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the industry and the TOTE-specific terminology and procedures of freight movement, documentation, and regulatory agencies.
- Check for accuracy of information provided by Master Bill of Lading versus Booking information and update the back-office system with shipment information.
- Develop an understanding of customer business models/processes for assigned accounts.
- Evaluate customer needs and recommend solutions to ensure the timely receipt of required information.
- Take ownership of assigned accounts and maintain work instructions and procedures as needed.
- Manage customer transactions including Vessel Match Release, Documentation, Rating, Invoicing, and problem resolution.
Vessel Match Release (VMR):
- Understand and assist with the vessel reconciliation process.
- Educate customers on documentation and regulatory requirements.
- Process customer paperwork to ensure information is accurate, complete, and timely to comply with Manifest requirements.
- Manage Documentation and VMR email box, attach paperwork to eDocs, and request missing paperwork from customers to reduce proformas.
- Manage pending match 304 reports for EDI shipments.
- Manage SJUDOCUMENTATION email box for northbound documents and attach paperwork to eDocs.
- Troubleshoot and resolve discrepancies within internal departments by communicating with external customers.
Invoicing (INV):
- Identify obligor/payer information and ensure the correct code is applied for proper invoicing purposes.
- Process postal invoices daily, complying with customer requirements.
- Ensure split billing invoices are closed and sent, in addition to running reports for invoices generated but not printed.
- Upload supplemental and freight invoices to the customer's web portal.
- Prepare and post individual invoices for applicable customers.
- Run reports for each vessel to ensure accurate posting and invoicing.
Accessorial Charges (ACS):
- Send pre-notification and final notification to customers of potential charges.
- Communicate with carriers and other departments to finalize accessorial notifications.
- Validate all appointment information received from carriers and ensure it matches CargoWise.
- Reconcile any discrepancies and disputes with carriers and customers appropriately.
- Notify customers of potential accessorial charges incurred due to unexpected actions or events.
- Ensure all PODs are received from the facility timely and accurately.
- Attach all accessorial notifications and correspondence to eDocs.
- Bill and post all accessorial charges timely.
- Update the Daily Accessorial Spreadsheet with appropriate dates, notes, events, accessorial type, and charges.
- Develop an understanding of company tariffs and customer contracts to provide accurate information and billing.
Secondary Duties and Responsibilities:
- Assists the Company in any necessary duties to achieve Company goals.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
- Adherence to the Integrated Management System that covers Quality, Environmental, and Safety (International Organization for Standardization) certifications.
Authority/Judgment/Disclosure/Financial Responsibility
Authority: Close supervision; work is regulated or supervised thoroughly, but not continuously; follows established methods and procedures and refers exceptions to supervisory personnel.
Judgment Decisions: Mistakes and errors in judgment are serious in nature, causing considerable loss of money, production time, or adversely affecting customer relations.
Disclosure of Information: This position involves regular work with some information which, if disclosed, might have adverse internal effect or objectionable outside results.
Financial Responsibility: No authority to commit funds for the organization.
Skills:
- Experience in a deadline-driven production environment.
- Must demonstrate attention to detail.
- Computer/data entry skills required.
- Bilingual English/Spanish is preferred but not required.
Education: Applicant must possess a high school diploma, with a minimum of one year of college or related equivalent experience. Ocean Transportation/Logistics experience preferred.
Language Skills: Applicant must have superior English language communication skills.
Mathematical Skills: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measurement using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Reasoning Ability: Ability to solve practical problems where only limited standardization exists.
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations: Must possess a valid driver's license.
Physical Requirements of the Position: Sedentary Work - Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
Visual Requirements of the Position: Visual requirement equal to that for clerical administrative work dealing largely with preparing and analyzing data and figures, accounting, transcription, computer terminal use, extensive reading, and similar activities.