Newport News
This role is an Administrative Assistant / Expediter supporting buyers by tracking inbound shipments, maintaining visibility of shipments, and updating internal systems. This is a critical operational role focused on logistics coordination and shipment visibility, not a traditional admin position. The purpose of the role is to remove shipment-tracking burden from buyers, allowing buyers to focus on placing POs. Key Responsibilities • Track inbound shipments (domestic and international), • Monitor shipment milestones and ETA changes, • Update arrival dates and shipment status in Trilogy (proprietary ERP), • Maintain tracking documentation primarily in Excel, • Pull data from Infor Nexus (when applicable) and external carrier websites, • Manually track shipments when freight is customer-owned, • Communicate delays, changes, and priorities to:, • Buyers, • Suppliers / vendors, • Internal teams, • Work very closely with assigned buyer (“BFF-level” partnership), • Support prioritization of shipments based on business need (role may grow into more supplier-priority communication over time) Systems & Tools Required • Microsoft Excel (Must-Have – Hands Down), • VLOOKUP, • IF statements, • Concatenate, • Formulas (calculations, comparisons), • Outlook & Teams Shipment Tracking Breakdown • Company-Controlled Freight, • Tracked via Infor Nexus, • Integrated visibility across shipment milestones, • Customer-Owned Freight, • Requires manual tracking, • Uses carrier websites (UPS, FedEx, vessel tracking) Excel Usage Details • Weekly cycle of pulling open PO data, • Use SQL-generated data tables as input, • Carry comments forward week-over-week using lookups, • Identify “gaps” that need follow-up, • Continuously update and maintain shipment status documentation Must-Have Skills • Advanced Excel proficiency, • Strong written and verbal communication, • Experience tracking shipments (domestic or international), • Ability to manage repetitive, ongoing work, • Detail-oriented, organized, self-motivated, and able to multitask Nice-to-Have • Infor Nexus (shipment tracking platform), • SQL, • Microsoft Access, • General ERP experience (Trilogy is proprietary; no prior experience expected) Successful Backgrounds • Logistics, shipping, imports, or supply chain exposure, • Experience working with imported products, • Prior expediter or buyer support experience Work Model • In-office, 5 days per week (initially), • Opportunity to move to hybrid (Mon/Fri WFH) if converted to full-time and performance is strong, • Buyer partner is onsite full-time Hiring Urgency • Interviews will be virtual for speed, • Likely one interview, with a second if needed Key Notes for Agencies • This is not a buyer or planner role, • Excel skills will be validated during interviews, • Behavioral questions will be used to confirm real Excel experience, • Accuracy on resumes is critical