Customer Business Manager - Industrial
Superior Foods Companies is seeking talented people to join our team! Our ideal candidate is progressive, innovative and customer-focused. We seek recent college grads or experienced candidates with a background in and a passion for delivering quality products with exceptional service while supporting community involvement efforts and sustainability.
Who We Are: Superior Foods Company is a global manufacturer, supplier and distributor of high-quality frozen fruits, vegetables and grains to the retail, food service and industrial food markets. We are a leader in product innovation, offshore diversification as well as social responsibility. Our customers are the top-tier retail, industrial and foodservice sectors of the frozen industry.
We are engaged in social responsibility programs internationally, and we maintain rigorous quality assurance and food safety programs. Our corporate vision is clear: To be the leading supplier to the retail and foodservice private brand marketplace, as well as supplier of ingredients for the food manufacturing industry; To create profitable sustainability and promote a culture where the industry wants to do business and where people want to work.
What We Offer: Superior Foods Companies offers more than 30 years of strength through diversification allowing the Company to be the most consistent cost-competitive producer of a full line of frozen vegetables and fruit in the world. Our global, culturally diverse staff of 600 is committed to helping our customers achieve their business goals. We are vertically integrated with broad and diversified production and supply capability. Through innovation, we continually evolve and improve our customers' market position. Superior Foods Companies' vision is clear: To be the leading supplier to the retail and food service private brand marketplace, as well as the supplier of ingredients for the food manufacturing industry; to create profitable sustainability and promote a culture where the industry wants to do business. We offer a work culture where we connect quality of work with quality of life and promote the RITE behaviors; Respect, Inclusion, Trust, and Empowerment. To learn more about us and our values, click on: www.superiorfoods.com.
The Customer Business Manager (CBM) is responsible for the day-to-day management and support of their assigned lane and core customers, serving as the primary point of contact between the customer and the Superior Foods. The CBM is responsible for the main aspects of their respective lanes and customers’ business including: contracting, building pricing models and negotiating contracts, long-term planning, travel to trade shows and customer meetings, as well as drive service optimization and efficiency. The CBM builds and maintains customer relationship with appropriate contacts to ensure the Lane is successful in developing new sales leads and re-contracting of existing business. Lastly, the CBM partners with the Lane’s Sales Lead to ensure that their respective lanes help drive profitability and hit our overall goals for sales, margin, and outstanding customer service.
Customer Service:
- Manages the daily business, serving as the first point of contact in fielding customer questions and providing solutions when issues arise.
- Maintain customer relationship with appropriate contact to be successful in developing new sales leads and re-contracting of existing business in conjunction with Lane Lead, via regular phone and email communication, as well as on-site meetings when required or appropriate.
- Reviews Weekly Customer Order Status Reports generated by Order Entry Clerk, analyzing any changes to the shipping schedule to determine what potential impact it will have on a customer.
- Compiles Weekly QA Punch List to ensure that all customer needs for QA response are meet on or before desired deadline.
- Mastery of assigned accounts knowledge including items, packaging, specs, customer delivery/pick up requirements, existing supply chain, and historical/potential impact with SFC.
Sales Operations:
- Responsible for reviewing purchase and sales contracts created by Data Entry Clerk to ensure fully that customer specific needs and requirements are clearly listed.
- Coordinates with Data Entry Clerk and Sales Lead to maintain updated Contract Repository in Public Server, ensuring all appropriate quotes, customer contracts/bookings, and formal pricing quotes are kept in an organized and easy to access manner.
- Creates ICA’s/Costing Sheets and works in conjunction with the Lane Lead on quoting customer business.
- Requests freight quotes and warehouse rates from Logistics and Operations department to ensure current information is used when quoting customer business.
- Reviews Customer Performance Reports and communicates directly with customer contacts to ensure their meets are been met and exceeded.
- Reviews Customer Requirement Reports to ensure that all information required by a customer to conduct business with Superior Foods is fully understood and met.
- Assists in the annual rebook of non-bid items, coordinating the final quotes and confirmation of business with Lane Lead and/or Sales Executive.
- Work with Data Entry Clerk to maintain an accurate database of customer specifications and tote/case labels.
- Assist in resolving AR/AP issues once identified by Operations Department and drives communication with customer to resolve if it cannot be solved through direct SFC AR to Customer AP communication.
- Responsible for ensuring the accurate vetting of items based on the following criteria: new item, new supply source, new packaging/pack size, following rejection of like item at same supply source.
- Coordination and completion of customer approval and supplier setup documentation with QA/FS, Accounting, and Supply Management.
- Coordinating seasonal demand planning on core SFC crops for all assigned customers.
- Reviews AR Aging Report weekly and conducts a quarterly review of credit limits to ensure that levels are within parameters required to conduct business.
- Review and creates quarterly inventory budgets for International Division industrial programs with VMI (vendor managed inventory) component.
- Reviews and approves Selling Expenses pertaining to Industrial Lane.
Commercial Activity:
- Qualifies in-bound leads at are specific to the Industrial Lane that are from companies not currently being sold by Superior Foods. Depending on scope of project and/or customer, may act as sales lead under direction from Director of Industrial Sales.
- Manages Plant Ops, Unsold, and Liquidation Inventories in alignment with department and company goals.
- “Mines” for new bulk items and line extensions through customer research, market research, or from main customer contact.
- Prepares sales presentations for annual or quarterly business reviews/customer visits, participating in the meetings directly to show depth of overall Superior Foods team supporting customer.
- Assists in the coordination of trade shows, customer conferences, and expos, as well as attend when needed, to ensure events are conducted and executed in a highly organized, effective, and cost conscious effort.
- Attends customer plant visits when needed, or when appropriate to fully develop and understand item seasonality and core production.
Bids & Bookings:
- Reviews the bid requirements and documents with Lane Lead/Sales Executive and works with them to assign “leads” to various sections of the bid.
- Calls Opportunity meeting with all internal colleagues who have a role to play in completing the bid and/or specific assignments.
- Works in conjunction with Lane Lead/Sales Executive to upload appropriate documents and information to bid portal and to ensure the ultimate completion of bid in a timely and accurate manner.
Project Management:
- Proactively drives Opportunity Meetings to review all details pertaining to new contracts or new opportunities, ensuring program details & requirements are reviewed by the appropriate cross-departmental team to facilitate the successful execution and implementation of the program. Main criteria for Opportunity Meetings include:
- Launching brand new item.
- Awarded Bid for large new or recurring business.
- Addressing a supply issue that may have an impact on customer inventory levels.
- Tackling large scale AR issues that are impacting Superior Foods ability to be paid in a timely or accurate manner.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Bachelor's degree from four year college or university required, with a focus in Business helpful; and three to five years related experience and/or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, and sales and marketing reports.
- Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedures with conformance to the prescribed style and format.
- Effectively present information and respond to questions from employees, managers, clients, suppliers, vendors, other stake holders and the general public.
- Apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
- Ability to define and solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables, occasionally in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
