Company: TikiNOW Logistics | Team: Cross-Border (Regional Trade Lanes) | Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Reports to: CEO | Level: Senior Manager
1. Company & Role Summary
TikiNOW Logistics is a fast-growing e-fulfillment company in Vietnam. We help brands scale seamlessly across online and offline channels, delivering top-notch service with high reliability and real-time, end-to-end visibility. We aim to become the premier integrated logistics company in Southeast Asia, serving brands as they scale omnichannel across the region.
The Cross-Border Manager is the founding operator of this function. You will build from zero the process that lets international brands import into Vietnam and, later, move goods across other SEA countries, with forwarding, customs clearance, compliance and fulfillment handled end to end. You will set up the forwarder, customs broker and 3PL network, create a compliance checklist for each country, and write the playbook for every new market.
2. What Success Looks Like
• 90 days: Document the end-to-end Vietnam import process, sign trial agreements with forwarders and a customs broker, and release the v1 SKU compliance checklist.
• 6 months: Onboard brands and ship with first-time-clean clearance and landed-cost quotes that match actuals. Run SOPs in production and, with the engineering team, deploy technology to automate the process.
• 12 months: Have the country-by-country rules matrix and partner templates ready for the next SEA market, with the process running independently of founder involvement.
3. Key Responsibilities
• Build the process: Design SOPs, document standards, SLAs and escalation paths covering pre-shipment checks, origin pickup and export, linehaul, import clearance, FC inbound, and returns or re-export. Define importer-of-record and pricing models with Legal.
• Manage forwarders, brokers and 3PLs: Source, contract and negotiate (RFQs, rates, transit times, liability). Run scorecards and regular reviews, and keep backup partners for critical lanes.
• Lead customs and compliance: Own HS classification, duty/VAT modeling and permits. Supervise brokers on declarations and holds, run a pre-acceptance SKU gate (restrictions, registration, labeling, origin), screen for sanctions and IP risk, and keep audit-ready records.
• Country checklists and expansion: Maintain a rules matrix per country (duty, VAT, registration, labeling, import rights, restricted goods), validate it with local counsel and brokers, and build a repeatable go-live template for each new market.
• Clients and operations: Work with Sales on feasibility, quoting and onboarding. Oversee shipment tracking and exceptions, and report on performance KPIs.
• Team and stakeholders: Hire and lead the initial team. Coordinate with Fulfillment Ops, Finance, Legal, Product/Tech and Sales, and report progress and risks to leadership.
4. Requirements
• 5+ years in international logistics, freight forwarding, customs or cross-border e-commerce, including 2+ years managing partners or a team.
• Solid understanding of import clearance (declarations, HS codes, duty/VAT, permits, broker coordination).
• Proven experience selecting forwarders, brokers or 3PLs, negotiating rates and managing SLAs.
• Ability to build processes from scratch; strong analytical skills (landed cost, KPIs, Excel/BI).
• Business-level English and Vietnamese; an additional language (Chinese, Korean, etc.) is a strong plus.
• Builder mindset, compliance rigor, technology orientation, strong partner management and clear communication.
• Bonus points: Import registration experience for cosmetics, personal care, fashion or FMCG; knowledge of other SEA markets and ASEAN rules of origin; bonded or transit handling; customs software.