Procurement Specialist (Global Forwarding- Road)

As a Procurement Specialist, you will play a key role in driving road procurement activities across Europe, ensuring strong alignment with business needs while unlocking commercial opportunities.

In this role, you will collaborate closely with internal stakeholders and external carriers to secure capacity, optimize costs, and deliver strong commercial outcomes. You will actively contribute to improving procurement performance by combining market insights, data-driven decision-making, and strong relationship management.

This is a hands-on role suited for a proactive, solution-oriented professional who takes ownership, works independently, and is driven to deliver results. You will analyze market trends, translate data into actionable insights, and influence both internal teams and external partners. Additionally, you will participate in customer discussions and support broader business growth initiatives.

Alongside this, you will support core procurement activities such as data analysis, reporting, rate management, system updates, and contributing to procurement strategy development.

This role can be based anywhere in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, or Spain, ideally close to a C.H. Robinson office.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The duties and responsibilities of this position consist of, but are not limited to, the following:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal teams, truckers, carriers, and commercial partners

• Act as a key liaison between the business and suppliers to secure competitive rates and capacity

• Influence stakeholders and align on procurement strategies and key decisions

• Partner closely with senior leadership, including the Manager of Procurement, to drive performance and results

• Support commercial teams (Sales, Account Management) with road procurement expertise to enable business growth

• Analyze market trends, carrier performance, and procurement data to identify opportunities and drive improvements

• Develop and maintain dashboards and reports (e.g. Excel, Power BI) to support data-driven decision-making

• Continuously improve tools, processes, and ways of working

• Collaborate with commercial teams across regions to support broader air and/or ocean freight activities

• Secure competitive freight rates and ensure sufficient capacity across key trade lanes

• Build and manage relationships with key carrier partners

• Manage contracts, rate filings, and capacity allocations

• Act as the main point of contact for carriers to resolve operational or service-related issues

• Support RFQs and bids with procurement insights and rate strategies

• Act as a subject matter expert in freight procurement for internal stakeholders

• Contribute to achieving volume targets and performance objectives

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• At least 2-3 years of experience in road transportation within Global Forwarding (e.g. feeder services, container haulage, distribution) with a forwarder company.

• Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel capabilities (Power BI or similar tools are a plus)

• Ability to translate data into clear insights and actionable outcomes

• Strong communication skills with fluent English (additional European languages such as French or German are a plus)

• Proactive, self-driven mindset with the ability to take ownership and operate independently

• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and build relationships

• A “get things done” attitude with a focus on results

Preferred:

• Experience in Procurement and/or Pricing

• Background in operations (e.g. Global Forwarding Agent)

• Strong commercial mindset with the ability to influence decisions and “sell” ideas internally

• Experience working across multiple European markets

• Experience with dashboards or data visualization tools

• Ability to navigate complex, matrix organizations and build strong internal networks

WHAT WE OFFER?

• Real opportunities to grow your talent in a fast-moving, global organization

• A fun, open, and inclusive workplace that encourages innovative thinking

• Possibility to develop your language skills in our multilingual offices

• Opportunities for professional growth with access to training platforms

• Comprehensive benefits: competitive salary and performance-based bonuses, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) after one year of employment

• Flexible work arrangements to support a healthy work-life balance