Senior Specialist Inbound & Customs - EM South at adidas Group

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

• Responsible and accountable for the end-to-end management of inbound logistics from factory handover through to receipt at the in-house Distribution Centre (DC) or the customer’s DC for Direct-to-Customer (DRS) shipments.
• This encompasses all aspects of the process, including inbound planning, customs clearance, delivery scheduling, and all activities in between to ensure seamless execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Verify and validate shipping instructions and shipment pre-advises to ensure all cargo is delivered accurately and in line with customer and business requirements.
• Manage inland transportation for all local sourcing directly with the factory representatives, ensuring timely and cost-effective movement of goods.
• Collaborate closely with 3PL Service providers to ensure all shipments are received On Time In Full (OTIF).
• Oversee and coordinate customs clearance processes, including documentation, broker liaison, compliance with import standards, and invoice management.
• Review and approve freight billing for all inbound shipments.
• Maintain and update the DRS Inbound Tracker, providing regular ETA and delivery readiness updates to relevant stakeholders.
• Prepare and distribute weekly inbound performance reports with key metrics and exception highlights.
• Support the compilation of end-to-end rolling forecasts, contributing to monthly targets and quarterly budget planning and financial inputs.
• Monitor and manage exceptions on logistics costs, identifying root causes and implementing corrective measures.
• Conduct Total Lead Time (TLT) analysis and adjustments to enhance operational efficiency.
• Perform ASN verification and Inbound Delivery (IBD) maintenance, including manual IBD creation to ensure the physical product movement matches the systematic information.
• Log and track all claims related to carriers and forwarders to ensure timely resolution.
• Prepare and log all insurance related claims for Good-In-Transit (GIT) where applicable.
• Support preparation of data for the annual global customs report.
• Execute Virtual Goods Receipt (GR) for all DRS shipments, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Follow up to ensure all deliveries are goods receipted (GRV’d) into the DC to within agreed Service Level (SLAs), to allow the business to call-off all delivered products.
• Respond proactively to team queries, resolve operational issues affecting performance, and escalate challenges where necessary.
• Monitor and communicate KPI performance, taking corrective actions to influence cost, productivity, and service metrics.
• Collaborate across cross-functional teams to deliver a seamless and efficient end-to-end inbound operation.

Key Relationships

• Global Operations (Supply Chain, Planning, Customs)
• Purchasing Team
• Order Fulfilment Team
• DC Operations team
• Customer Service
• Sales and Key Accounts Management teams
• Product Marketing / Sports Marketing
• Finance team

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven experience in managing import and inbound logistics operations (Global and Cross-boarder)
• Strong knowledge of customs clearance procedures and regulatory compliance.
• High proficiency in SAP and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Strong operational and financial acumen.
• Able to deliver high-quality results while managing competing priorities and tight timelines.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and administrative capabilities.
• Adopts a results-oriented and analytical approach, anticipating issues and driving effective solutions
• Demonstrated leadership and management ability, with a customer-centric mindset.
• Capable of building trust-based, collaborative relationships across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Project management skills with a continuous Improvement mindset.

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply chain management, Logistics.  (preferred)
• 5–7 years’ experience in Supply Chain, Logistics, or Transport Operations.
• Competent in Microsoft Office applications, SAP or similar ERP systems.