A Route Scheduler should ideally be someone who thinks several steps ahead. They should be able to look at the day's loads and immediately ask:
"What needs to go where, by what time, with which vehicle and driver, and what could go wrong?"
Person requirements:
- Extensive route control experience in the road freight industry working with 10+ trucks (long distance articulated preferred)
- Qualification in Logistics / Transport management
- Excellent Planning and organising skills
- High Attention to detail
- Problem solving and quick thinking ability
- Ability to work under pressure on 24-hour call
- Geographical/route knowledge of South Africa
- Excellent Communication skills in English and other local languages
- ExcellentTime management to manage multiple tasks
- High Computer literacy (planning software; tracking software; MS Excel; MS Outlook)
- Assertiveness
- Accountability for work and team
Shift: Monday to Friday with Saturday duty on rotation
1. Purpose of the Role
The role ensures service reliability, cost-effective routing, accurate trip execution, and strong customer communication, while upholding safety, compliance, and company values. This role leads route control staff, troubleshoots operational issues in real time, and supports the Depot and National Operations teams to achieve business performance targets.
Route Planning & Scheduling
· Design daily and weekly transport routes to ensure on-time, cost-efficient deliveries.
· Allocate loads to drivers and vehicles according to capacity, cold-chain requirements, and client needs.
· Update and optimise schedules in real time to address delays, breakdowns, or last-minute customer changes.
· Ensure adherence to NBCRFLI working hours and overtime rules when allocating driver shifts.
Real-Time Freight Control
· Monitor live route execution using tracking systems and respond immediately to deviations.
· Proactively resolve non-deliveries, late running, or customer escalations.
· Provide clear communication to drivers, depot teams, and customers regarding delays or reroutes.
· Record all trip adjustments and report variances against planned schedule.
Customer Service & Communication
· Act as the first escalation point for key customer delivery queries.
· Liaise with clients to confirm delivery windows, resolve complaints, and maintain service standards.
· Provide daily updates to Customer Service and Sales teams on delivery performance.
Data, Reporting & Cost Control
· Maintain accurate trip records, including kilometres travelled, fuel usage, delivery times, and exceptions.
· Analyse route efficiency, cost per kilometre, and delivery success rates.
· Submit daily/weekly reports on performance metrics to Depot Manager.
· Identify opportunities to reduce costs through improved route design and load consolidation.
Compliance & Safety
· Ensure all routes comply with road safety laws, company driving standards, and cold chain requirements.
· Confirm that drivers’ licences, PDPs, and vehicle permits are valid before route allocation.
· Escalate and document incidents, accidents, and non-conformance issues.
· Support health and safety audits relating to transport operations.
Cross-Functional Coordination
· Work closely with Warehouse, Operations, and Customer Service teams to ensure delivery readiness.
· Support Sales with feasibility checks on new customer routing needs.
· Liaise with Finance/Admin on reconciliations for fuel, overtime, and delivery variances.
· Gets it: Deep understanding of route optimisation and cold chain freight operations
· Wants it: Committed to leading route control and achieving delivery performance
· Capacity: Analytical, decisive, and capable of leading people and managing systems
EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
The company is committed to Employment Equity, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from candidates who will contribute to the achievement of the company's Employment Equity objectives.
Preference may be given to suitably qualified candidates from designated groups, including Women, African, Coloured and Indian South African citizens, persons with disabilities, and other designated groups, in accordance with the company's Employment Equity Plan and applicable legislation.
All appointments will be based on the requirements of the position, the candidate's suitability and the company's Employment Equity objectives.
IMPORTANT
Applicants should carefully consider these requirements before applying.
Only candidates who meet the minimum requirements and are shortlisted will be contacted.
Work Location: In person
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