Implementation Manager

Job Description :

The Implementation Manager will act as a senior project owner, facilitator, and leader to ensure a seamless and sustainable handoff from Sales to Operations for new domestic and international forwarding and freight business. This role is critical in setting up operations for long-term success by coordinating stakeholders, managing timelines, and translating customer requirements into executable operational, systems and compliance solutions, while ensuring the customer experience remains exceptional throughout the onboarding process.

You will serve as the “air traffic controller” for implementation projects—owning implementation strategy and readiness, facilitating discussions between internal teams and clients, challenging assumptions and resolving issues proactively, and ensuring every detail is aligned before operations take over.

Core Responsibilities & Duties :

• Own end-to-end implementation strategy and execution for new business, both domestic and international - with a significant focus on international solutions
• Act as the central point of contact between Sales, Operations, IT, and external stakeholders ensuring clarity of ownership and process
• Assess customer requirements and operational needs, translating them into clear project plans, including implementation actions, risks and readiness criteria that must be addressed prior to go-live
• Facilitate communication across multiple functions and global teams to ensure alignment
• Lead implementation of international forwarding processes, including coordination across customs, trade compliance, documentation, and multi-country stakeholders
• Develop working knowledge of Forward, Omni, and partner transportation management systems (TMS), as well as EDI / API integration capabilities, to ensure customer requirements for rating, booking, visibility, and tracking are fully supported prior to go-live
• Partner with Sales, Operations, and Finance to review post-implementation performance, including realization, profitability, and customer experience metrics, identifying gaps between what was sold and what is being executed
• Facilitate cross-functional discussions when post-launch performance, customer experience, or operational outcomes indicate misalignment, driving corrective actions
• Serve as a trusted advisor during onboarding, creating a positive customer experience and setting relationships up for long term success
• Recommend process enhancements to improve implementation efficiency and scalability
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications :

Forward Air is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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