How to hire a Logistics Manager
What the role does, the job description, the interview questions, and the 42-minute screening pack that tells you who can do the job before you book a single interview.
The role
What a Logistics Manager does
A Logistics Manager is an operations professional who plans and controls the transportation, warehousing, and distribution of goods so shipments arrive on time, in full, and at the lowest sensible cost.
- Plan and coordinate transportation and distribution of goods
- Manage warehouse operations and delivery performance
- Control freight and handling costs across the network
Screen before you interview
The Logistics Manager screening pack
Supply chain knowledge, operations, process and the spreadsheets that run them. Every applicant gets one link. You get one ranked report.
- 1
A shipment is stuck and the customer is waiting. Walk us through your next hour.
- 2
How do you choose and manage carriers?
- 3
Describe a cost you took out of the logistics operation.
- 4
How do you plan capacity for peak season?
- 5
Which KPIs do you run the warehouse on?
Job description
Logistics Manager job description
Our team needs a Logistics Manager to take ownership of how goods move and get stored across our network. You will coordinate carriers, manage warehouse operations, and keep delivery performance high while keeping freight and handling costs in check. We are looking for someone hands-on and detail-driven who can juggle competing shipments and still hit every deadline.
Responsibilities
- Schedule and route inbound and outbound shipments across carriers and modes
- Negotiate freight rates and service terms with carriers and 3PL partners
- Oversee day-to-day warehouse operations including receiving, picking, and dispatch
- Monitor on-time and in-full delivery rates and resolve exceptions quickly
- Manage transportation management and warehouse management system configuration
- Plan labor, equipment, and space to match order volume and seasonal peaks
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in logistics, supply chain, business, or a related field
- 4 or more years in logistics or distribution, including supervisory experience
- Working knowledge of TMS and WMS platforms and route optimization tools
- Familiarity with freight regulations, customs, and carrier contracts
- Demonstrated success improving delivery performance or lowering freight cost
Interview questions
Logistics Manager interview questions
For the candidates who pass the pack. Each comes with a sample answer on the full page.
Ask these after the screening pack, not instead of it. A candidate who has already scored on Supply Chain Fundamentals, Business Operations Management, Process Improvement, Microsoft Excel has shown they can do the work, which frees the interview to do what a test cannot: find out how they think, how they explain themselves, and how they behave when something goes wrong.
- Ask every Logistics Manager candidate the same questions in the same order. Comparable answers are the whole point; a different conversation with each person tells you who you liked, not who was strongest.
- Look for a specific example with a result, not a description of how the candidate would approach it in principle. Follow up once with “what happened next?” and stop talking.
- Score each answer before moving to the next question, and write down what was said rather than the impression it left.
- At volume, record the first 4 of these instead of calling. Candidates answer on their own time, the answers are transcribed and scored, and you keep live interviews for the shortlist.
The pack takes a candidate about 42 minutes, so a Logistics Manager applicant arrives at this interview already measured on the parts you can measure without a meeting.
- 01
What draws you to logistics management rather than a purely operational role?
- 02
Walk me through the scale and scope of the operation you last managed.
- 03
What logistics metrics do you watch most closely and why?
- 04
Why are you looking to move, and what are you looking for in this role?
- 05
How do you approach carrier selection and freight cost negotiation?
- 06
How do you manage inventory levels to balance service and carrying cost?
- 07
What is your experience with warehouse management and transport systems?
- 08
How do you optimize warehouse layout and picking productivity?
Frequently asked questions
Send every applicant one link that carries 4 skills tests (Supply Chain Fundamentals, Business Operations Management, Process Improvement, Microsoft Excel), 2 personality inventories and 5 one-way video questions. springhire scores everything automatically and ranks the candidates, so you interview the top few. The free plan covers 10 candidates a month.
About 42 minutes for the tests, plus 10 to 15 minutes for the video questions. Candidates complete it on their own time, on any device.
A short brief, three to five key responsibilities, a fuller list of duties, must-have and nice-to-have skills, and the requirements. The template on this page has all of it, ready to copy.
Questions that ask for a specific past example and a walkthrough of how the candidate thinks. This page lists 8 with sample answers, and the full bank has more.
Yes. The free plan includes every screening tool with 10 candidate credits a month and no card. Paid plans start at $39 a month.
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