Job DescriptionThe Manager, Trade & Distribution role is responsible for overseeing order management and the company's third-party logistics (3PL) partner(s) to ensure efficient, compliant, and cost-effective product flow from warehouse to customer. This role owns the order management process from order intake through shipment confirmation, as well as 3PL performance and operations, while ensuring distribution practices comply with applicable pharmaceutical regulations such as the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and state licensing requirements. The role serves as the primary liaison between the company, its 3PL warehouse and distribution provider, and internal Finance, Quality, and Supply Chain teams. This is a full-time, remote-based position reporting to the Senior Director, Trade Relations, within Market Access.
Job RequirementsEducation and Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, or a related field required. MBA a plus.
- 5+ years of experience in order management, 3PL or warehouse management, distribution, or supply chain operations, preferably within pharmaceutical, healthcare, or consumer packaged goods environments.
- Hands-on experience managing 3PL relationships, including SLA and KPI management and business reviews.
- Strong working knowledge of order management processes, including order entry, validation, exception handling, allocation, and shipment coordination.
- Working knowledge of DSCSA and other regulatory requirements governing pharmaceutical distribution.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
- Excellent cross-functional communication and vendor management abilities.
- Ability to travel up to 20% of the time, including periodic on-site visits to 3PL facilities.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience supporting a specialty pharmaceutical product distributed through a limited specialty pharmacy or specialty distributor network.
- Experience supporting a commercial product launch, including 3PL implementation and EDI trading partner onboarding.
- Familiarity with ERP and order management platforms and with 3PL customer portals.
- Working knowledge of chargeback, government pricing, and gross-to-net processes that depend on distribution data.
- Understanding of state wholesale distributor licensing and accreditation requirements.
- Experience with cold chain distribution and temperature excursion management.
- Familiarity with rare disease or pulmonary hypertension therapeutic areas.
- Experience working in a smaller or growth-stage biopharmaceutical environment where the role carries both strategic and hands-on responsibility.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Analytical and data-driven approach to decision-making, with the ability to build and interpret operational reporting.
- Demonstrated ability to manage vendor and 3PL performance and hold partners accountable to contractual commitments.
- Process rigor, with high levels of attention to detail and accuracy.
- Regulatory and compliance acumen, with sound judgment on when and how to escalate.
- Effective problem-solving under ambiguity, with a bias toward resolving issues rather than routing them.
- Ability to collaborate cross-functionally with both internal and external stakeholders.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present performance results to leadership.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
Job Responsibilities- Serve as the primary point of contact and day-to-day relationship owner for the company's third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse and distribution provider(s).
- Monitor and manage 3PL performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), including order fill rate, on-time shipment, inventory accuracy, pick, pack, and ship cycle times, and damage and error rates.
- Lead regular business reviews with the 3PL to address performance gaps, capacity planning, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Manage returns processing, product recalls, damages, and expiry and destruction activities in coordination with the 3PL, Quality, Accounting, and Supply Chain teams.
- Ensure 3PL compliance with DSCSA, state licensing and pedigree requirements, current Good Distribution Practices, and other applicable distribution regulations.
- Support new product launches by ensuring 3PL systems and processes are launch-ready, including item setup, EDI trading partner setup, and inventory receipt.
- Maintain the state licensing calendar and support the renewals, accreditations, and other authorizations required for the company and its distribution partners to ship product in all applicable jurisdictions.
- Oversee cold chain and product security requirements, including shipping lane qualification, temperature excursion investigation, and escalation to Quality for any future products that may require cold chain distribution.
- Maintain 3PL business continuity and disaster recovery plans and confirm they are current and periodically tested.
- Own the end-to-end order management process, including order intake and EDI processing, order validation, credit hold review, allocation, order exception handling, and shipment confirmation.
- Oversee order exception management, including short shipments, pricing discrepancies, allocation and credit holds, backorders, and rejected orders, driving timely resolution with customers and internal stakeholders.
- Monitor order-to-ship cycle times, fill rates, and order accuracy; identify root causes of recurring order defects and lead corrective actions.
- Coordinate with the 3PL on order release, pick, pack, and ship execution, and shipment confirmation so that orders flow smoothly from receipt to delivery.
- Partner with Finance and Credit teams on credit hold policies and resolution, and provide order-related support for invoicing accuracy, chargebacks, and deduction validation as needed.
- Track and report key order management metrics, including order accuracy, on-time-in-full (OTIF), cycle time, exception and error rates, and backorder aging.
- Identify and implement process improvements to streamline order management workflows and reduce manual touchpoints.
- Support internal and external audits related to order processing and distribution compliance.
- Oversee the accuracy and timeliness of 852 and 867 data feeds from the 3PL and channel partners, which support demand reporting, chargeback and government pricing submissions, and gross-to-net accruals.
- Manage the handling of no-charge orders, including free goods, patient assistance program shipments, and consignment inventory, ensuring transactions are coded correctly and segregated from commercial sales.
- Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and work instructions covering order management and distribution activities.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with internal Liquidia teams, including Market Access, Patient Support, Finance, Accounting, Quality, Supply Chain, Commercial Analytics, IT, and Legal.
- Follow all company compliance policies, procedures, and training requirements.
Job BenefitsLiquidia offers a competitive compensation package as well as a comprehensive benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, STD, LTD, 401(k) Savings Retirement Plan, ESPP, and more!
