Assistant Manager

Title: Assistant Manager - Freight Procurement & Pricing

Location: Chennai (In-Office)

Compensation: 10 to 15 LPA

Incentive Plan: Incentive Pay+ Benefits+ Equity

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking an experienced and commercially sharp Procurement & Pricing Lead to own the end-to-end pricing and vendor ecosystem at Silq. This is a high-impact, cross-functional role that sits at the intersection of commercial operations, vendor management, and product development.

You will be responsible for driving rate intelligence, managing vendor relationships, configuring Silq's pricing infrastructure, and partnering with Account Management, Sales, and Product teams to support revenue growth. The ideal candidate is analytically rigorous, commercially astute, and thrives in the fast-paced environment of a digital freight platform.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Procurement Ticketing & Deal Desk Solutioning

• Own the Procurement inbox - manage and resolve inbound pricing and procurement tickets from internal stakeholders (AM, AE, Operations).
• Support the Deal Desk by solutioning competitive freight rates for customized or complex customer requirements.
• Structure multi-modal, multi-lane solutions that align with customer SLAs and Silq's margin targets.
• Collaborate with Account Management and Sales to respond to time-sensitive pricing requests accurately and at pace.

2. Rate Negotiation Bids & One-Off Requests

• Lead rate negotiation with Agents & Carriers for both bid submissions and spot/ad-hoc requests.
• Develop and execute negotiation strategies that secure competitive rates while preserving long-term vendor relationships.
• Manage bid calendars and ensure timely submission of responses to RFQs.
• Maintain a structured rate repository and ensure all agreed rates are accurately reflected in Silq App.

3. Rate Analysis & Market Intelligence

• Publish weekly rate analysis reports covering key trade lanes - Ocean (FCL/LCL) and Air - for AM, AE and Marketing teams.
• Monitor market trends including carrier capacity changes, surcharge fluctuations, and geopolitical disruptions affecting freight rates.
• Translate market data into actionable pricing guidance and talking points that enable the commercial team to have confident client conversations.
• Produce competitive benchmarking analyses to support pricing decisions and customer retention strategies.

4. Charges Configuration & Reconciliation

• Configure freight charges, surcharges, and fee structures accurately within Silq App.
• Ensure all charge types - origin, destination, ocean/air freight, ancillary are correctly defined and mapped to the appropriate customer and vendor profiles.
• Perform regular reconciliation of vendor invoices against agreed tariffs and procurement records; raise and resolve disputes in a timely manner.
• Partner with Finance and Operations to ensure billing accuracy and reduce revenue leakage.

5. Transit Time Configuration

• Own the configuration and maintenance of transit time data across all trade lanes and service providers within Silq App.
• Regularly review and update transit times to reflect operational realities, carrier schedule changes, and seasonal variations.
• Ensure transit time accuracy to improve quoting reliability and customer trust in shipment ETAs.
• Coordinate with Operations and Product teams to automate transit time updates where possible.

6. Vendor Management

• Lead the end-to-end onboarding of new vendors and agents including vetting, documentation, compliance checks and system setup.
• Manage the existing vendor portfolio through structured performance reviews covering rate competitiveness, reliability, and service quality.
• Negotiate contract renewals, volume commitments, and special rate agreements with key vendors.
• Build and maintain a qualified vendor panel that supports Silq's growth across new geographies and trade lanes.

7. Product Collaboration

• Partner closely with the Product and Engineering teams to improve and build features related to pricing, rate management and procurement workflows.
• Participate in UAT for new product features, contributing domain expertise to ensure platform changes meet real-world operational needs.
• Identify manual processes within the procurement and pricing workflow that can be automated, and champion these initiatives through the product roadmap.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Essential

• 59 years of experience in freight forwarding, logistics, or supply chain with at least 3 years in a pricing, procurement, or commercial operations role.
• Hands-on experience negotiating rates with Agents, Ocean carriers and NVOCCs.
• Strong understanding of international freight - Incoterms, FCL/LCL, air freight, and multimodal logistics.
• Proficiency in working with rate management systems, TMS platforms, or freight forwarding ERPs.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret market data and translate it into commercial decisions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English - comfortable presenting to senior stakeholders.
• High attention to detail in rate configuration, reconciliation, and documentation.

Preferred

• Prior experience in a digital freight platform, freight tech startup, or a data-driven logistics company.
• Exposure to product feedback loops - working with product/tech teams to define requirements and test features.
• Familiarity with rate sheet parsing, carrier API integrations, or automated tariff management.
• Experience managing a small team or mentoring junior analysts.
• Working knowledge of tools such as Excel/Google Sheets (advanced), BI tools (Metabase, Tableau), or project management tools (JIRA, Asana).