What is a Logistics Coordinator?
A logistics coordinator is somebody who is responsible for the management/supervision of a logistics process for either an individual/team assignment or an entire company’s operation. With logistics coordinators being on the operations side of the business, they are often working alongside the sales staff or “acquisition team” to process customers orders and coordinate with vendors to ensure the proper and timely delivery of those orders. The work of a logistics coordinator requires strong organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to multitask, and effective communication.
What does a Logistics Coordinator do?
The typical job functions of a Logistics Coordinator are to:
Communicate with customers, vendors, and other members of operations to execute daily workflow.
Ensure product/service quality to performed to the utmost efficiency and accuracy.
Communicate with customers to determine appropriate pricing and transportation solutions for their shipments.
Constantly monitor the customer’s shipment and update them on its whereabouts periodically.
Ensure shipping compliance with federal, state, and international regulations.
Establish rapport with both customers and vendors to uphold the company’s reputation and maintain opportunities for future business.
How much does a Logistics Coordinator make?
Logistics coordinators are usually compensated on either a salary or hourly wage. Depending on whether the employee is salaried or hourly will determine how much they he or she makes. If the employee is hourly, PayScale indicates the average wage to be $17.33. If the employee is salaried, they will earn an average of $44,189. Keep in mind, these figures can vary depending on the amount of experience of the worker and his/her time with the company. As coordinators gather more experience, they have opportunities to move up within their company to titles that come with nice pay increases as well!
Here’s a look at the logistics hierarchy:
Logistics Coordinator $17.33/hr $44,189/yr
Logistics Specialist $17.56/hr $49,569/yr
Logistics Analyst $20.04/hr $56,005/yr
Logistics Manager $21.50/hr $64,101/yr
Operations Manager $29.48/hr $102,000/yr
What are the prerequisites needed to be a Logistics Coordinator?
While it is not always required, most companies would like to see their applicants have at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Logistics & Supply Chain, Business Administration, or Sales/Marketing. There are a lot of directly applicable and transferable skills learned when getting an education in these subjects which shows promise in applicants to prospective employers. Having a college degree is a great first step towards becoming a Logistics Coordinator. If you want to increase your chances even further, try to get some work experience in enterprise in a position that requires some of the same skill sets: phone skills, customer service, software, problem-solving, and critical thinking.