Title:  Customer Lead Key Accounts

We Go Places! How about you?
Immediate Superior: Customer Lead Key Accounts 
Location: Caoe Town / Sandton
Function: Customer Services
Sub Function: Customer Replenishment
Type of Contract: Permanent
Reference Number: 110696 
Closing Date: 17/05/2024

The Customer Lead manages the relationship for dedicated customers to drive revenue by ensuring service excellence, drive profit at optimal cost as a % of revenue and drive customer satisfaction and be perceived as the Customer’s preferred supplier.  

• Ensuring the optimal balance of service and cost for the specific Customers and especially the compliance of the Customers to Logistics Trade Terms & service strategy.
• Driving the interface with Customer Supply Chain teams, managing customer relation, leading joint initiatives and developing partnerships for identified Customers.
• Ensuring internal alignment with Sales, Commercial and Supply Chain teams for identified Customers.
• Drives Cost-2-Serve & identify improvements opportunities together with stakeholders (e.g. Analyst) & Customers

Customer Service Strategy

• Contributes to overall Customer Service Strategy. Devises and executes the long term logistics operational strategy for their customers in line with CS&L and Sales Strategy - with a particular focus on delivering optimal balance of service levels and cost as % of revenue and customer satisfaction.
• Manages and promotes communication and cross-functional collaboration with Sales and Finance
• Executes external communication with customers, ensuring trustful customer relations and Customer Satisfaction
• Uses TPM methodology and Customer Value Pillar as tool-kits for continuous improvement as well as External Benchmark

Orders Management and Customer Relationship Management

• Support during onboarding customer process (LTT, ordering etc.)
• Collaborates with Order Specialist on specific customer issues/queries/complaints. Acts as escalation if needed.
• Actively uses and contributes to the one-source of E2E customer information together with Sales, Trade Marketing, Commercial and CS&L.
• Challenge status quo based on customer feedback to optimize the order management process

Customer Profitability & Negotiation with Customers

• Actively drives insights on Customer Profitability by:

• Monitoring Cost-2-Serve (C2S) per Customer
• Collaborating with Commercial to integrate C2S in Customer P&L.
• Continuously improving C2S by coordinating business cases creation with customers
• Advice customer order strategy & negotiate LTT to improve C2S
• Owns and manages the Logistics Trade Terms (LTT) agreements with Customers, while ensuring:
• Development of LTT agreements
• LTT agreements are measured, tracked, reviewed, and enforced.
• Negotiates with customers from the perspective of logistics.

Customer Collaboration & Joint Value Creation

• Gains top management sponsorship.
• Implements Joint Supply Chain Plan with Customers
• Facilitates links between the right people in both companies.
• Forges strong personal relationships with key customers and supply management at all levels.
• Detects opportunities and implements Supply Chain collaboration initiatives with Customers aiming at joint value creation.

Management Information Reporting

Provides clear and accurate information on Customer Service performance via:

• Managing the reporting of service level agreements, costs and KPIs (internally and externally) (ex: Case Fill Rate, Cost to Serve, OSA…)
• Joint Scorecard with Customers
• Ensuring there are clear metrics across all KPIs.
• Ensuring Root Cause Failure Analysis on KPIs

People Management

• Actively drives a customer centric culture in the team and ensures cross-functional alignment
• Manage people development initiatives and people development processes such as performance management, succession planning and talent management to meet functional performance standards.
• Assess team development needs and close gaps through coaching, training and creating a pro-learning environment.
• Ensure operational team performance through effective management within policies and procedures to ensure achievement of standards/objectives.
• Leverage relationships between key stakeholders, customers and working groups through personal contact, meetings, and reviews of service level agreements to achieve buy-in in terms of total customer satisfaction.
• Agree on personal performance goals and achievement thereof.
• Demonstrating the Corporate Values and Behaviours.
• Drive own development to ensure knowledge and skills remain current.

Risk and Issue Management

• Identify, mitigate and manage risks and control measures proactively.
• Conduct root cause analysis of risks and create action plans to mitigate these.
• Resolve issues identified with Customer Services management team.

Governance and Compliance

• Ensure compliance to Heineken Beverages Policies and governance procedures.
• Develop, maintain and enforce policies and procedures, standards of operations, and desk procedures that set clear expectations and produce consistent results for both internal and external users.
• Continuous improvement of SSC governance, processes and controls which support business processes.

• Relevant Bachelor's Degree
• At least 3 – 4 years of relevant experience. 
• At least 2 years of management experience
• Ability to effectively work cross-functionally
• Excellent negotiation & customer relationship management skills with evidence of being able to influence key decision makers within customers
• Strong E2E Supply Chain knowledge
• Ability to understand and explain the financial and economic effects of Customer Service Management
• Financial and commercial understanding
• Strong project management skills
• Problem solving & presentation skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Experience of working directly with Customers

The Company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply. Heineken Beverages (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd) is committed to an organisational culture that recognises, appreciates and values inclusion and diversity. You must be fully eligible to live and work in South Africa to apply.