Customer Account Manager (QSR Packaging)

HTI is assisting an unnamed global packaging company that manufactures paper packaging for the fast-food industry. The Customer Account Manager serves as the primary customer contact, coordinating account relationships, demand planning, reporting, quality compliance, and strategic product development projects.

Responsibilities:

• Effectively build, manage and support external relationships with customer contacts and their distributors. Play a key role in positioning the company as a supplier of choice, ensuring 100% retention in all packaging categories
• Develop winning relationships through transparent communication with key customer stakeholders across all customer functions
• Support strategic new products to market (project management) from initial customer briefing all the way through to product market execution
• Actively collaborate with internal cross-functional departments to deliver executional excellence against raw material forecasting, freight movements, customer alignment, compliance reporting, in-store trials, product benchmarking, and operational improvement projects
• Product specification management for all customer SKU’s
• Capacity reporting and demand planning/forecasting
• Support management of continuous improvement programs, maintaining integral customer data systems, pricing tools, and internal data systems, ensuring compliance
• Raise IQ and RFQ’s through Salesforce, with the autonomy to produce and provide quotes to customers
• Maintain active customer information live in Salesforce and work with the Customer Service team to ensure extensive use of Salesforce to drive business efficiency and improved sales outcomes
• In conjunction with department leadership, develop and play a key role in delivering all quarterly review meetings (Sales & Quality) with customer, targeting continuous improvement and business development opportunities at every review
• Responsibility for managing WIP meeting rhythm to deliver internal/external customer supply planning requirements
• Support analysis of business performance and trends across customer markets to identify account opportunities for growth and operational efficiency
• Prepare business cases for raw material changes and associated testing (internal, customer, and external testing) documentation as part of the QA product compliance process
• Support margin and freight initiatives to drive increased sustainable profitability for the customer’s North American business unit
• Deliver accurate and timely reporting to key internal stakeholders on progress against key objectives
• Establish winning relationships with internal departments, including the South Carolina plant leadership team, customer service/sales, product/brand teams, global supply chain, warehousing, quality, and procurement
• This role will have a medium level of autonomy to develop alternative approaches and solutions, working closely with the team leadership to ensure all opportunities are developed and implemented. This position will have the authority to place production orders, perform invoicing, and to negotiate pricing and promotional activity within the agreed framework

Requirements:

• Must have a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Supply Chain, or a closely related area of study
• Must have at least 4 years of recent experience in a similar role handling the below job duties, with responsibility for customer Account Management and Forecasting/Demand Planning
• Must have experience within the Food Packaging or FMCG manufacturing industries with a company that provides products to the fast-food industry
• The ability to establish strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including internal departments, customer contacts, and distributors
• Sound analytical, problem solving and strategic thinking skills
• Strong negotiation and collaboration skills
• Strong written/verbal communication and presentation skills
• Previous experience managing projects that operate across multiple functions or product portfolios
• An understanding of commercial objectives and how the P&L can be impacted
• Strong time management skillset with the ability to manage competing demands, meet deadlines and deliver on targets
• Demonstrable business acumen with the drive to manage a large account while listening to customers to identify potential new product needs and sales opportunities
• Ability to assimilate data from multiple sources and systems, review and make sound recommendations
• Proficient in the use of CRM systems, MS Office, (PowerPoint, Excel, etc.), Power BI and ERP systems
• Ability to apply a disciplined approach to following business processes
• Previous experience coordinating with internal supply chain departments and contacts on large customer projects