Head of Sea Logistics Product Development

Job Overview: As the core leader of the sea logistics product team, you will be fully responsible for the overall planning, development, operation and optimization of the forwarder’s sea freight product line. You will focus on market demand and profitability, build competitive sea freight products, drive sales penetration and business growth, and promote the continuous improvement of the company’s sea logistics business competitiveness and market influence.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the overall strategy and product roadmap for the company’s sea logistics product line, including FCL (Full Container Load), LCL (Less than Container Load), special containers (reefer, OOG, flat rack, etc.), multimodal transportation (sea-rail, sea-road), and value-added services (door-to-door delivery, customs clearance, warehousing, trailer, cargo insurance, etc.), to meet the needs of different customer segments (manufacturers, traders, other forwarders) and market development trends.

• Responsible for the service level of ocean product and partners. Cultivate and maintain relationships with carrier and agent partners, active management and quarterly meetings to ensure services align with customer expectations.

• Conduct in-depth market research and analysis, including global maritime trade trends, supply and demand of key trade lanes (e.g., China-EU, China-US, China-Southeast Asia, China-Middle East, Southeast Asia – EU/US etc.), price cycles, competitor product advantages, pricing strategies and service standards, and customer pain points (transit time, cost, stability, service quality), to provide data support for product strategy formulation and optimization.

• Lead the design and standardization of sea freight products, define product specifications (transit time, cut-off time, transit ports, equipment types, liability scope, SLA service commitments), formulate reasonable pricing systems (public sell rates, tiered discount systems for large customers, long-term contract pricing) and profit control strategies, and ensure the profitability of core routes and products.

• Collaborate closely with the carrier procurement team to negotiate and lock in long-term contracts, space quotas and preferential rates with major shipping companies, optimize the cost base of products, and ensure the stability and competitiveness of shipping space, especially in peak seasons.

• Drive sales enablement: develop sales tools (rate sheets, product brochures, quotation templates, proposal frameworks, pitch decks), conduct regular product training for the sales team (product advantages, quoting rules, objection handling, customer demand matching), and provide professional support for key account pitches, tenders and RFQ responses to promote product adoption and sales volume growth.

• Coordinate cross-functional teams (operations, customer service, finance, IT) to ensure the smooth implementation of products: work with operations to standardize product SOPs, optimize booking, customs clearance and exception handling processes; cooperate with customer service to define service standards, complaint escalation mechanisms and customer satisfaction evaluation systems; work with finance to conduct cost accounting, revenue recognition and profitability analysis of products; partner with IT to optimize quoting, booking and cargo tracking systems to improve operational efficiency.

• Monitor the full lifecycle performance of sea freight products, establish product performance dashboards (including volume, revenue, gross margin, on-time delivery rate, complaint rate, market share), conduct weekly/monthly performance reviews, analyze the problems of underperforming products/routes, and put forward optimization plans (adjust pricing, upgrade services, adjust product combinations) to achieve continuous iteration and improvement of products.

• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations: strictly abide by international shipping rules, local customs regulations, trade sanctions and the company’s compliance policies, control risks in pricing, space commitment, liability and service commitments, and avoid legal and operational risks.

• Lead and manage the sea product team (if any), formulate team work plans and performance indicators, guide team members to complete work tasks, and cultivate professional capabilities of the team to build a high-performance product team.

• Participate in industry exhibitions, seminars and business exchanges, maintain sensitivity to industry trends, expand industry resources, and provide insights for product innovation and strategy adjustment.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or above, major in Logistics Management, International Trade, Business Administration or related fields; master’s degree is preferred.

• 8 years of experience in sea freight product development in the forwarder industry, with 2+ years of team management experience is preferred; familiar with the operation mode of international forwarders, and having experience in core trade lanes is an advantage.

• Proficient in sea freight business processes, including FCL/LCL operation, customs clearance, multimodal transportation, carrier resources management and pricing logic; familiar with major global shipping companies (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, etc.) and their cooperation models.

• Strong data analysis and decision-making ability, able to use Excel, data dashboards and other tools to analyze market data and product performance, and formulate scientific product and pricing strategies.

• Excellent cross-functional communication, coordination and project management capabilities, able to effectively promote the implementation of product strategies and solve cross-departmental collaboration problems.

• Fluent in spoken and written English, able to proficiently communicate with international partners, process English documents and participate in international business negotiations; proficiency in other languages is a plus.

• Result-oriented, with strong pressure resistance, sense of responsibility and execution ability, able to complete the set performance goals and promote the continuous development of products.

• Familiar with industry regulations and compliance requirements, with a strong sense of risk control.