At Dexter, we manufacture and distribute axles, accessories, and towing components primarily serving the commercial trailer, RV, marine, agriculture, and manufactured housing markets. We’re building products and systems that are rooted in a culture of safety, collaboration, and innovation.
Headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, Dexter has manufacturing and distribution locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Employing state-of-the-art robotics, precision welding equipment, and automated machining processes, Dexter has achieved over 65 years of success through a commitment to the principles of superior quality, continuous improvement, and unparalleled customer service.?
For more information about our company, access Dexter's web site at?www.dextergroup.com.
Essential Duties / Responsibilities:
Summary / Statement of Work:
The Senior Manager, Network Strategy & Optimization is responsible for building and leading Dexter's logistics network strategy capability. This role develops the data-driven models, strategic guardrails, cost-to-serve analysis, network scenarios, performance tracking, and optimization recommendations that guide how freight should move across the company's logistics network.
This position partners closely with Logistics leadership, SIOP, Finance, IT/AI, Operations, Manufacturing, TWA, Distribution, Logistics Procurement, and Systems + Execution to align demand, supply, inventory, capacity, cost, and execution requirements. The role identifies network synergies, quantifies savings opportunities, develops logistics roadmaps, evaluates service and cost tradeoffs, and tracks performance against approved initiatives.
The role sets the strategic guardrails for the logistics network while working with Logistics Procurement to enable capacity and carrier strategy and with Systems + Execution to ensure approved strategies can be translated into practical transportation execution.
Role Purpose
Create a new enterprise logistics capability focused on using data, analytics, AI-enabled modeling, cost-to-serve logic, and cross-functional business alignment to determine how Dexter's logistics network should operate. This role helps leadership make better decisions about markets, zones, delivery territories, inbound and outbound flows, branch alignment, transportation capacity, service models, and savings opportunities.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Lead the Network Strategy & Optimization function as an enterprise logistics capability focused on network design, optimization, analytics, cost-to-serve, scenario planning, and performance tracking.
• Develop and maintain strategic logistics network guardrails, including market structure, delivery zones, service standards, network flows, cost-to-serve assumptions, lane strategies, capacity requirements, and optimization priorities.
• Identify, quantify, prioritize, and track logistics savings opportunities across inbound freight, outbound delivery, branch transfers, linehaul, fleet utilization, carrier usage, delivery territories, customer service models, and network flows.
• Lead network optimization analysis to determine how freight should move across branches, distribution centers, manufacturing sites, TWA, carriers, and customer delivery regions.
• Guide the Network Optimization Analyst in building SQL Server-based data models, Tableau dashboards, performance tracking tools, AI-enabled models, scenario analysis, and recurring logistics reporting.
• Partner with SIOP to align logistics network strategy with demand, supply, inventory positioning, production plans, customer requirements, and service expectations.
• Partner with Finance to validate cost savings, ROI, business cases, cost-to-serve models, P&L impact, and financial assumptions tied to logistics initiatives.
• Partner with IT/AI to develop data models, automation opportunities, AI-enabled analysis, predictive tools, dashboards, and scalable reporting capabilities.
• Partner with Operations, Manufacturing, TWA, Distribution, Logistics Procurement, and Systems + Execution to evaluate network scenarios and ensure recommended strategies are operationally feasible.
• Lead development of logistics performance dashboards, scorecards, KPIs, and executive reporting that provide visibility to network performance, savings progress, service impact, cost trends, utilization, and execution gaps.
• Analyze tradeoffs between service, cost, capacity, geography, inventory availability, production constraints, customer requirements, and operational execution.
• Establish governance processes for evaluating network changes, routing guardrails, market assignments, service territory decisions, cost-to-serve logic, and strategic logistics initiatives.
• Translate complex logistics data into clear recommendations, business cases, decision frameworks, and action plans for senior leadership and enterprise partners.
• Monitor performance against approved network strategies and work with Systems + Execution, Logistics Procurement, Finance, and Operations to identify corrective actions when execution or performance does not meet expectations.
• Support long-range logistics planning, including network capacity needs, regional growth, new location impacts, branch alignment, carrier strategy implications, and enterprise integration opportunities.
• Evaluate opportunities to leverage AI, automation, advanced analytics, and scenario modeling to improve logistics decisions, capacity planning, cost control, and network performance.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen logistics network efficiency, reduce waste, improve service, reduce cost, and build scalable logistics capabilities.
Qualifications & Experience:
Education Level and Area of Study (Required or Preferred):
• Required: Bachelor's degree in supply chain, logistics, engineering, operations research, business analytics, data analytics, finance, industrial engineering, or a related field. Equivalent experience will be considered.
• Preferred: Advanced degree in supply chain, analytics, operations research, industrial engineering, logistics, business, or related field.
# Years Experience: 7 or more years of progressive experience in logistics, supply chain, transportation, network optimization, logistics engineering, distribution strategy, supply chain analytics, operations planning, or related fields.
Skills / Knowledge (Required or Preferred):
Required Skills / Knowledge
• Experience developing or leading network optimization, transportation strategy, cost-to-serve analysis, logistics analytics, route strategy, distribution modeling, or supply chain performance improvement initiatives.
• Strong understanding of transportation and logistics networks, including inbound freight, outbound customer delivery, branch transfers, linehaul, fleet utilization, carrier strategy, regional delivery, distribution operations, and service/cost tradeoffs.
• Experience working with data models, dashboards, KPIs, scorecards, business intelligence tools, scenario analysis, and performance reporting.
• Strong financial and analytical acumen with the ability to quantify savings, evaluate ROI, validate assumptions, and communicate business impact.
• Ability to partner across SIOP, Finance, IT/AI, Operations, Manufacturing, TWA, Distribution, Procurement, and Logistics to align strategic recommendations with operational realities.
• Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to translate complex analysis into clear executive recommendations and actionable operating guardrails.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity, build new capabilities, influence cross-functional partners, and drive alignment across enterprise stakeholders.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with SQL Server, Tableau, Power BI, Python, advanced Excel, optimization tools, simulation tools, AI-enabled analytics, or network modeling platforms.
• Experience building or leading a new logistics network strategy, analytics, or optimization capability.
• Experience in a multi-site manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, building products, branch-based logistics, or transportation environment.
• Experience with cost-to-serve modeling, transportation benchmarking, lane analysis, customer delivery strategy, service territory design, distribution network design, or least-cost network modeling.
• Experience working with logistics systems, TMS platforms, ERP systems, WMS platforms, telematics, freight audit systems, or transportation visibility tools as data sources for strategic analytics.
• Advanced degree in supply chain, analytics, operations research, industrial engineering, logistics, business, or related field preferred.
Key Skills and Competencies
• Logistics network strategy.
• Network optimization and scenario planning.
• Cost-to-serve modeling and financial analysis.
• Transportation analytics and performance tracking.
• SQL / Tableau / business intelligence leadership.
• AI-enabled logistics analysis and automation mindset.
• Executive-level communication and data storytelling.
• Cross-functional enterprise partnership.
• ROI validation and business case development.
• Strategic thinking with practical execution awareness.
• Governance, roadmap development, and decision support.
• Continuous improvement leadership.
Success Measures
• Logistics savings opportunities identified, validated, prioritized, launched, and tracked.
• Clear logistics network guardrails established for markets, zones, service territories, routing strategy, and cost-to-serve decisions.
• Improved visibility to logistics cost, service, utilization, capacity, and network performance.
• Tableau dashboards, SQL Server data models, scorecards, and performance tracking tools built and adopted by leadership and enterprise partners.
• Better alignment with SIOP, Finance, IT/AI, Operations, Manufacturing, TWA, Distribution, Logistics Procurement, and Systems + Execution.
• Improved decision-making around inbound flows, outbound delivery, branch transfers, linehaul, customer service models, and network integration.
• Improved ability to quantify service, cost, capacity, inventory, and network tradeoffs.
• Progress against approved logistics roadmap, savings plan, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Increased enterprise confidence in logistics recommendations, scenarios, and business cases.
Professional Certifications:
Preferred: Lean, Six Sigma, project management, data analytics, or continuous improvement certification.
Other:
Position Type: Full-time. Direct reports include the Network Optimization Analyst and related analytics / strategy resources as the capability matures.
Working Conditions:
Work Environment:
Centralized logistics / enterprise support environment with frequent partnership across Logistics leadership, SIOP, Finance, IT/AI, Operations, Manufacturing, TWA, Distribution, Logistics Procurement, Systems + Execution, and other enterprise stakeholders. The role supports strategic network design, executive decision support, analytics, savings tracking, logistics roadmaps, governance, and continuous improvement across a multi-site logistics environment.
We care for our people.? Here are some of our great, comprehensive Benefits:
Dexter offers a competitive wage
Full benefits package including Health, Dental, Vision, Life, STD, LTD, FSA, HSA
3% profit sharing in our Safe Harbor program
401(k) Plan with company contributions
Opportunities for internal career development and growth
Apply now to join?an industry leader and make a difference in what we do for the customers we serve!
Dexter is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining a highly qualified, dedicated workforce. We hire and promote individuals based on their qualifications, performance, and abilities.
It is the policy of the Company to provide equal opportunity to all qualified individuals without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, veteran status, citizenship status or any other protected characteristic as outlined by applicable U.S. and Canada equal rights legislation protected by federal, state, province or local law.??