About the Role
We are looking for a highly strategic and commercially driven Freight Category Lead to own and execute the global end-to-end category strategy for Air, Ocean, and Land freight procurement. This role is responsible for transforming logistics spend into a competitive advantage through strategic sourcing, total cost of ownership (TCO) optimization, supplier relationship management, and data-driven decision making.
The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in global freight procurement, multimodal transportation, and carrier management, with robust exposure to Tier-1 shipping lines, freight forwarders, 3PL providers, and enterprise transportation management systems. This individual will work closely with global stakeholders to build resilient, cost-effective, and digitally enabled logistics networks.

Key Responsibilities
Category Strategy & Procurement
• Develop and execute long-term global category strategies for Ocean, Air, and Land freight procurement aligned with organisational objectives.
• Drive strategic sourcing initiatives across multimodal transportation,



including Ocean Freight, Air Freight, FTL, LTL, and 3PL services.
• Optimise Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through innovative sourcing strategies, contract optimisation, and supplier consolidation.
• Build procurement roadmaps that balance cost, service, capacity, and supply chain resilience.

Strategic Sourcing & Commercial Negotiations
• Lead complex RFx processes, supplier evaluations, and commercial negotiations with global logistics service providers.
• Negotiate long-term agreements with Tier-1 and Tier-2 shipping lines including Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and other leading logistics partners.
• Develop freight indexing and pricing models using market benchmarks such as Drewry, FBX, and regional transport indices.
• Drive continuous cost optimisation while ensuring service excellence and capacity commitments.

Spend Analytics & Demand Planning
• Perform comprehensive s

📌 Freight Category Lead (Chennai)
🏢 Mindsprint
📍 Chennai