United Kingdom · Operations · Lead (8-12 years)

Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

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Free to start: a plan built for this role, and a Future Fluency module to try first. No card.

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  • Experience bandLead (8-12 years)
  • Direct reports3-5 reports
  • Reports toTransport Manager
  • UK framework levelUsually a manager, or the deepest specialist in a team

Also advertised as Logistics Optimisation Specialist · Network Planning Lead · Senior Logistics Analyst · Transport Strategy Lead

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

SFEDI Awards Level 5 Diploma in Manufacturing and Production Management (IoSCM) SFEDI Enterprises Ltd. T/A SFEDI Awards · Level 5 · covers 1 of 10 standards
Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Transport Planning Pearson Education Ltd · Level 3 · covers 6 of 10 standards
EAL Level 3 Diploma in Rail Engineering Technician Competence Excellence, Achievement & Learning Limited · Level 3 · covers 1 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate in Leadership and Management City & Guilds Limited · Level 3 · covers 1 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 2 Certificate in Team Leading City & Guilds Limited · Level 2 · covers 1 of 10 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Managing the performance of teams and individuals in the workplace NOCN Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Construction Contracting Operations Management (Construction)
Effective Management of Transport SFEDI Awards Level 5 Diploma in Manufacturing and Production Management (IoSCM)
Understanding the use of Data and Information in Transport Planning Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Transport Planning
Plan, allocate and monitor work of a team EAL Level 3 Diploma in Rail Engineering Technician Competence
Planning and monitoring work City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate in Leadership and Management

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
Systems Fluency seeing the whole picture
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst

5 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Managing the performance of teams and individuals in the workplace NOCN · covers 2 of 10 standards Level 6
  2. Effective Management of Transport SFEDI Enterprises Ltd. T/A SFEDI Awards · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 5
  3. Understanding the use of Data and Information in Transport Planning Pearson Education Ltd · covers 6 of 10 standards Level 3
  4. Plan, allocate and monitor work of a team Excellence, Achievement & Learning Limited · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 3
  5. Planning and monitoring work City & Guilds Limited · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 3
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skill this role is being asked for

  • Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration for Operations
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst plan as you set up, starting with a Future Fluency module on using AI in your job. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

3What this role really is

A lead transport planner works out how to move goods around the country, and sometimes further, at the lowest cost and on time. This means solving logistics problems, analysing data, and planning routes that others follow.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) / SAP TM / Blue Yonder TMS Expert

Configuring routing guides, building complex multi-leg shipments, troubleshooting system errors, and training junior staff on advanced functionalities. You'll be the resident expert.

Paragon / Descartes / PTV Route Optimizer Advanced

Building new routing models from scratch, running 'what-if' scenarios for network changes, and optimising for cost, service, and carbon emissions. You're the architect of our routes.

Geotab / Samsara / project44 (Telematics & Visibility) Advanced

Creating custom geofences and alerts, analysing driver behaviour data for efficiency and safety, and building performance dashboards. You'll use this data to drive improvements and carrier discussions.

SAP S/4HANA (Logistics Module) / Oracle NetSuite / MS Dynamics 365 SCM (ERP) Intermediate

Understanding the end-to-end data flow between sales orders, warehouse picks, and transport plans. You'll identify data discrepancies and collaborate with IT to ensure seamless integration and data integrity.

Mastering Power Query for data cleaning and transformation, using the Solver Add-in for optimisation problems, and building complex cost models for transport scenarios. This is your analytical playground.

Power BI / Tableau Advanced

Connecting to various data sources, building new, interactive dashboards from scratch to visualise transport performance, and presenting these insights to senior leadership. You'll be telling the story with data.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Route Optimisation Strategy Follows pre-defined routing rules and makes minor adjustments based on daily operational needs; escalates significant deviations. Independently selects optimal routes for daily shipments within established parameters; proposes minor improvements to existing routes. Designs and implements new routing models for specific lanes or regions, making technical decisions on software configuration and data inputs; consults on strategic implications.
Carrier Selection & Negotiation Selects carriers from a pre-approved list based on rate cards and availability; escalates any issues with carrier performance. Independently selects carriers for routine shipments, troubleshooting minor service issues; proposes new carriers for specific lanes to manager. Leads negotiations for specific lane rates with existing carriers; makes recommendations for new carrier onboarding based on performance and cost analysis.
Team Management & Development No direct reports; focuses on individual task execution. Provides informal guidance to new joiners; shares knowledge on routine tasks. Mentors 1-2 junior planners, providing technical guidance and feedback on their work; assists with onboarding.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Accessorial Spend Reduction
Reducing the 'hidden' costs like detention, demurrage, and unexpected surcharges.
Target · Reduce accessorial costs by 10-15% year-on-year for your managed lanes.

If we spent £50K on detention last year for a specific lane, you'd aim to get that down to £42.5K-£45K this year by improving scheduling and carrier relations.

Load Consolidation Savings
Converting multiple smaller shipments (LTL) into fewer, more efficient full truckloads (FTL) or multi-stop routes.
Target · Generate £100K-£250K in annualised savings through consolidation initiatives.

Identifying 50 recurring LTL shipments that can be combined into 10 multi-stop FTLs, saving £2,000 per week, equating to £104,000 annually.

Route Optimisation ROI
The cost savings achieved by implementing new, optimised routes compared to previous methods.
Target · Achieve a minimum of 5% cost reduction on specific route optimisation projects.

After redesigning our Northern England delivery routes, we reduced fuel consumption and driver hours by 7%, saving £15,000 per quarter.

Carrier Performance Improvement
Improving the overall on-time performance and service quality of our core carriers.
Target · Increase OTIF (On-Time, In-Full) for key carriers by 2-3 percentage points.

Moving a key carrier's OTIF from 95% to 98% through better communication and process alignment.

Strategic Problem Solving
Your ability to dig deep into recurring transport issues, identify root causes, and propose sustainable, long-term solutions, not just quick fixes.
  • You're regularly presenting data-backed proposals for process changes or system improvements. People come to you with the 'impossible' problems. Your solutions are adopted and actually stick, reducing repeat issues.
Mentorship & Team Development
How effectively you guide and develop the junior and mid-level planners in your team, helping them grow their skills and confidence.
  • Your direct reports consistently meet their performance targets. They're asking fewer basic questions and more complex ones. They speak highly of your guidance in their 1:1s and performance reviews. You've got a clear development plan for each of them.
Cross-functional Influence
Your ability to get other teams – like Warehouse, Sales, or IT – to understand and support transport initiatives, even when it means changes for them.
  • You're invited to planning meetings outside of Operations. Other departments proactively ask for your input on projects that might impact logistics. You can get a warehouse manager to adjust loading times because you've clearly shown the transport benefit.
Documentation & Knowledge Sharing
How well you capture your insights, new processes, and system configurations so that others can understand and replicate your work.
  • Our internal knowledge base for transport planning is up-to-date and actually useful. New planners can pick up your documentation and understand complex routing logic without constantly asking you. Your analysis methodologies are clearly outlined.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Solving Complex Puzzles

You get a real buzz from taking a messy, multi-variable transport problem – like optimising our entire regional network or figuring out how to reduce empty miles on a tricky lane – and breaking it down into a logical, actionable plan. You enjoy the 'aha!' moment when the data finally clicks.

Spending a few days deep in Excel and Power BI, modelling different scenarios for a new distribution centre location, and presenting a clear recommendation that saves us £200K a year.

Driving Tangible Impact

You're not just moving numbers around; you're directly affecting our bottom line and our customer experience. Seeing your implemented solutions reduce costs or improve delivery times gives you a genuine sense of accomplishment.

Successfully negotiating new rates with a carrier based on your analysis, leading to a 5% reduction in freight spend for a major lane, or seeing a 2-point increase in OTIF for a critical product category.

Mentoring & Building Capability

You enjoy sharing your knowledge and helping others grow. You find satisfaction in seeing your team members develop their skills, tackle more complex tasks, and become more confident in their roles because of your guidance.

Helping a junior planner debug a complex routing issue, or coaching a mid-level planner on how to run a QBR with a carrier, and then seeing them confidently execute it on their own.

What frustrates people
  • The Sales vs. Ops Conflict: Being told by Sales they promised a customer next-day delivery on a 3-day lane, and now you have to be the 'bad guy' or pay a fortune to make it happen.
  • Warehouse Bottlenecks: Meticulously planning a schedule of trucks arriving, only to have them all backed up for hours because the warehouse is short-staffed or disorganised. You'll get the angry calls from the drivers, even though it's not your fault.
  • 'Garbage In, Garbage Out': Spending hours cleaning up incorrect addresses, weights, and dimensions in the TMS because the master data is a mess, causing all your automated plans to fail and your analyses to be skewed.
  • The Friday Afternoon Scramble: Trying to find a reliable carrier for a cross-country load at 4 PM on a Friday before a bank holiday weekend. It's a seller's market, and you're going to pay for it, often with your own time.
  • Being the Scapegoat: When a delivery is late due to a production delay, a snowstorm, or a traffic jam, the first person everyone looks to blame is the transport planner, even if you had no control over it.
What this role does not give you
  • A predictable 9-to-5 routine – urgent issues will crop up, especially during peak seasons.
  • A perfectly clean data environment – you'll spend a fair bit of time wrestling with messy data.
  • Complete control over all variables – you're dealing with external carriers, traffic, and weather, which are inherently unpredictable.
  • A quiet, isolated work environment – you'll be on the phone, in meetings, and collaborating constantly.

8Who you work with

This role directly influences our overall transport efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Your decisions on routing, carrier selection, and network design can save us hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pounds annually. You'll also play a big part in improving our customer experience by making sure our delivery promises are realistic and consistently met. Essentially, you're building the engine that keeps our goods moving, and if that engine isn't running optimally, the whole business feels it.

Inside the business
  • Transport Manager (your boss)
  • Warehouse Operations Leads (the people loading the trucks)
  • Sales Operations (who need to know when stuff arrives)
  • Finance Business Partners (who scrutinise every penny of transport spend)
  • IT/Systems Team (for TMS integrations and data issues)
Outside the business
  • Key Carrier Account Managers (the people whose trucks we use)
  • Logistics Software Vendors (who provide our TMS and optimisation tools)
  • Consultants (if we're doing a big network redesign project)

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • Proven track record of 5+ years in a Senior Transport Planner or Logistics Analyst role, where you were responsible for optimising routes and managing carrier relationships.
  • Demonstrable experience leading small projects or workstreams, seeing them through from analysis to implementation.
  • Advanced proficiency in at least one major TMS (e.g., OTM, SAP TM, Blue Yonder) and a route optimisation software (e.g., Paragon, PTV).
  • Strong analytical skills, including advanced Excel (Power Query, Solver) and experience building dashboards in Power BI or Tableau.
  • Experience mentoring or guiding junior team members, even if it wasn't a formal management role.
  • A solid understanding of logistics finance, including cost-to-serve analysis and budget management principles.
  • The ability to effectively present complex data and recommendations to senior management.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Data Engineering for Logistics

Important within 12 months. As data volumes explode from telematics, IoT sensors, and various systems, the ability to clean, transform, and integrate disparate datasets efficiently becomes paramount. You won't just analyse data; you'll help build the pipelines that feed your analysis.

ETL/ELT processes (Extract, Transform, Load) · SQL for complex data manipulation · Data governance and quality frameworks · API integrations (basic understanding)

  • This week: Identify one recurring data cleaning task you do manually in Excel. Research how to automate it using Power Query or Python (if you're learning it).
  • This month: Take an online course on advanced SQL for data analysis. Practice querying your company's data warehouse (if you have access).
  • Month 2: Work with the IT team to understand the data architecture behind our TMS and ERP. Ask about their ETL processes.
  • Month 3: Propose a small project to automate a data pipeline for one of your recurring reports, even if it's just a proof of concept.

Quick win: Learn to automate your most repetitive data cleaning tasks in Excel using Power Query. It's a game-changer for data quality and speed.

Carbon Footprint Optimisation & Green Logistics

Critical within 12-18 months. Customers, investors, and regulators are increasingly demanding transparency and action on environmental impact. Optimising for carbon emissions will become as important as optimising for cost and service. You'll be at the forefront of this.

Scope 1, 2, 3 emissions relevant to transport · Carbon accounting methodologies for logistics · Alternative fuels and vehicle technologies · Modal shift strategies

  • This week: Read up on current UK/EU regulations regarding transport emissions and corporate sustainability reporting.
  • This month: Research different carbon accounting tools or methodologies specific to logistics. Look at what our competitors are doing.
  • Month 2: Model the carbon impact of one of our key lanes using current data. Identify potential areas for reduction.
  • Month 3: Present a preliminary report to your manager on opportunities for green logistics initiatives and their potential impact.

Quick win: Start including carbon emissions as a factor in your route optimisation models, even if it's just a secondary metric for now.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Attending industry conferences and webinars (e.g., Multimodal, Logistics UK events) to stay current on market trends and new technologies.
  • Participating in professional networking groups for logistics and supply chain professionals.
  • Taking advanced courses in data analytics, operations research, or specific software tools (e.g., Python for data science, advanced Power BI).
  • Reading industry publications and whitepapers to deepen your knowledge of emerging best practices and challenges.
  • Seeking out opportunities to lead cross-functional projects that touch different parts of the supply chain.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration for Operations

Critical within 6 months – this isn't future tech, it's here now. Competitors are already using Large Language Models (LLMs) to draft carrier communication, summarise incident reports, and even assist with initial data analysis in minutes, tasks that used to take hours. Planners who master this will outproduce peers significantly.

  • Context windows and token limits
  • Temperature settings for different tasks
  • RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) architectures
  • Output validation and hallucination detection
  • Prompt chaining for complex analysis

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Load Optimisation & Consolidation
  • Network Design & Modelling
  • Carrier Management & Sourcing
  • Demand & Capacity Planning
  • Lean Logistics & Continuous Improvement

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Senior Transport Planner (L3)

    3-5 years in previous role

    Skills to master

    • Leading complex lanes, managing difficult carrier relationships, mentoring junior staff, and running small-scale improvement projects. You'll have built a reputation for solving tough problems.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently exceeding performance targets for cost and service on challenging lanes.
    • Proactively identifying and implementing process improvements that deliver tangible benefits.
    • Being the 'go-to' person for technical questions or complex operational issues within your team.
    • Demonstrating strong mentorship skills and helping junior colleagues develop.
  2. 2

    Logistics Analyst / Data Analyst (from another industry)

    5-8 years in previous role

    Skills to master

    • Deep analytical skills, particularly in data modelling, statistical analysis, and dashboard creation. You'll need to quickly learn the nuances of transport operations and industry-specific software.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Proven ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable business insights.
    • Experience building and maintaining sophisticated analytical models.
    • A strong desire to apply your analytical skills to real-world operational challenges.
    • Quickly picking up industry-specific terminology and understanding logistics workflows.
  3. 3

    Consultant (Logistics/Supply Chain)

    4-7 years in previous role

    Skills to master

    • Experience in various supply chain environments, project management, stakeholder management, and presenting strategic recommendations. You'll need to adapt your consulting mindset to an in-house operational role.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successful delivery of multiple logistics optimisation projects for clients.
    • Strong ability to diagnose problems and design practical solutions.
    • Excellent communication and influencing skills, especially with senior leadership.
    • A desire to move from advisory to hands-on implementation and ownership.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to a director of transportation role. That means setting transport strategy for a whole operation. It can also lead to head of supply chain analytics, leading data-driven decisions across inventory, warehousing and procurement.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst is actually changing.

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Managing the performance of teams and individuals in the workplace, worked against Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst.

Managing the performance of teams and individuals in the workplace Level 6

Applied to your work in Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst

This unit aims to provide learners with the skills to effectively manage the performance of teams and individuals in the workplace. Learners will be able to allocate work, agree on work plans, assess performance, and provide constructive feedback to both teams and individuals, fostering a productive and collaborative work environment.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst
  • Load Optimisation & Consolidation
  • Network Design & Modelling
  • Carrier Management & Sourcing
  • Demand & Capacity Planning
  • Lean Logistics & Continuous Improvement
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Transport Manager (L5)

    3-5 years as Lead Transport Planner

    From individual contributor/team lead to functional manager, owning the entire transport budget and team.

    • Developing and executing the overall transport strategy for the business unit.
    • Leading major technology implementation projects (e.g., new TMS selection).
    • Managing regulatory compliance and risk across the entire transport operation.
    • Building business cases for significant capital expenditure in transport assets or technology.
  2. Principal Logistics Analyst (L5 - Individual Contributor)

    3-5 years as Lead Transport Planner

    From leading a small team to becoming a recognised expert and architect for complex, enterprise-wide logistics solutions, without direct reports.

    • Architecting enterprise-wide logistics solutions and network redesigns.
    • Evaluating and implementing new, complex logistics technologies (e.g., autonomous vehicles, advanced robotics in warehousing).
    • Developing and maintaining sophisticated predictive models for demand and capacity planning.
    • Leading complex, cross-functional projects with significant business impact, acting as the technical authority.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Imagine having a highly intelligent assistant who handles the repetitive, time-consuming parts of transport planning. That's exactly what AI can do for you. It's not about replacing your expertise, but about freeing you up to focus on the strategic, high-impact work that truly matters.

As a Lead Transport Planner, you're already juggling complex optimisation problems and team leadership. AI tools can take a significant chunk of the manual grunt work off your plate, giving you more time to design better networks, mentor your team, and influence key stakeholders. We're talking about real, measurable time savings every single week.

Automated Carrier Tendering

AI can automatically send load tenders to a cascading list of preferred carriers based on cost, performance, and capacity. It'll even auto-confirm the first acceptance, eliminating manual emails and phone calls. Think of the time saved not chasing confirmations!

Predictive Route Optimisation

Forget just looking at current traffic. AI analyses historical traffic data, weather forecasts, and delivery windows to suggest optimal routes and departure times that a human might not consider. This minimises delays, cuts fuel costs, and reduces your planning headaches.

Market Rate Intelligence

An AI assistant can continuously scrape market data from various sources (like DAT or FreightWaves) to provide real-time rate benchmarks for spot loads. This gives you a massive advantage in negotiations, ensuring you're always getting a fair price and strengthening your position with carriers.

Automated Stakeholder Updates

AI can draft concise, daily summary emails for your key stakeholders, pulling real-time tracking data for critical shipments and highlighting any potential delays. This frees you from repetitive communication tasks, allowing you to focus on resolving issues rather than just reporting them.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst?

Common routes in include Senior Transport Planner (3-5 years in previous role), Logistics Analyst / Data Analyst (from another industry) (5-8 years in previous role) and Consultant (Logistics/Supply Chain) (4-7 years in previous role). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst progress to?

This role can lead on to Transport Manager (3-5 years as Lead Transport Planner) and Principal Logistics Analyst (3-5 years as Lead Transport Planner), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Lead Transport Planner / Logistics Analyst?

Increasingly, Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration for Operations. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 5

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

More jobs in operations

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.

If you leave this industry

The skills involved, including analytics, network optimisation and carrier management, apply beyond one employer. They can lead to work in logistics consulting, with a third-party logistics provider, or with a company building logistics software.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my plan, free What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.