Operations Planning Data Analyst

• Locations 33215 DOWE AVE, Union City, CA, 94587, US
• Job Category Operations:
  Individual Contributors

Since 1990, Forward Air has been a leading provider of ground transportation and related logistics services to the North American air freight and expedited LTL market. We offer surface shipping on an accelerated “time-definite” basis, delivering cargo at a specific time, but under less time-sensitive situations – supplying you with a cost effective, reliable alternative to air transportation. We work with companies of all sizes to develop tangible advantages and build the best products to meet your specific needs.

Forward Air presents to the wholesale transportation community (logistics companies, freight forwarders, integrated air cargo carriers, passenger/ cargo airlines, and non-traditional shippers), a single-source provider that can deliver more supply chain services and a superior menu of choices. Throughout the years we have added supplementary lines to our linehaul service, such as full truckload operations (Truckload Services), final-mile coverage (Complete® Cartage), and an Airline Logistics program, and we will continue to expand our services to meet the changing needs and growth of our customer base.

Forward Air is structured to optimize both savings and service to our customers. Direct partnerships with owner-operators and other surface transportation providers, enable us to remain cost-competitive. The Forward Air network is designed with over 90 facilities located at or near major U.S. and Canadian airports, 12 regional sort centers and over 300 beyond points (secondary airports provided through our Complete Cartage service), creating one of the most comprehensive linehaul networks in the industry.

Position:
Operations Planning Data Analyst

Compensation: $112, Annually

Job Description:

The Operations Planning Data Analyst is an embedded technical expert within a logistics operation, specializing in the utilization of WMS/TMS technologies, such as SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), to extract, consolidate, and present operational data, such as productivity, labor, costs, etc., that improve efficiency and support decision-making. With a deep operational understanding, they are the analytical backbone of our service delivery – translating operational data into insights for leaders, executives, and clients.

Unlike traditional IT/BI-centric analyst roles, they are tightly integrated into daily operations, supporting labor planning, priority setting, backlog management, and service performance, often in support of same-day decisions and outcomes.

Responsibilities:

Build, maintain, and enhance operations-centric dashboards and reporting with Microsoft Power BI and Excel, as needed, using WMS/TMS (in this case, SAP EWM) as the primary data source.

Develop operational data models that support fast, intuitive decision-making.

Improve report usability, refresh performance, and clarity for non-technical users.

Maintain documentation for operational metrics and reporting standards.

Identify opportunities to reduce manual reporting and streamline daily operational reviews.

Help standardize KPIs, dashboards, and reporting cadence across the assigned site(s).

Provide visibility across core operational metrics, such as inbound, outbound, returns processing, picking, packing, inventory, backlog, productivity, and Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance.

Validate all data products to ensure they reflect operational realities and support same-day execution rather than historical reviews, alone.

Partner with the Operations leaders on daily workload planning, volume vs. capacity analyses, and priority sequencing.

Leverage data to support task assignments and monitor execution, providing real-time updates as needed.

Provide end-of-day reporting highlighting planned vs. actual volumes, productivity, labor highlights, SLA adherence, exceptions, and recovery actions.

Prepare and distribute custom dashboarding/reporting to the Operations leaders, Executives, and clients as requested.

• All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.

Qualifications:

• Education:
  
  Undergraduate degree (or higher) in a…