Claims Coordinator (Store Support Center, Overland Park, KS)

Claims Coordinator

Ace Retail Group (ARG), is a division of Ace Hardware Corporation that owns and operates several Ace brands. ARG is one of the largest hardware retailers in the United States and has two headquarters located in Lenexa, KS and Farmington Hills, MI. ARG's origins date back over a century and operates over 250 neighborhood stores located throughout the United States. Great people make ARG stand out in our industry, and we are looking for individuals who strive for personal and professional growth, and who want to work with a company founded on (and still led by) our solid Core Values of: Winning, Excellence, Love, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility and Teamwork.

The Claims Coordinator is responsible for processing defective goods in JDA, submitting necessary paperwork to vendors, and ensuring timely credit is received and processed in Accounting. The Claims Coordinator will provide direct support in areas of financial reporting including creating monthly journal entries, preparing balance sheet account reconciliations, and providing assistance to the Accounts Payable (A/P) department.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide support to stores that goes above and beyond. This may include (but is not limited to) answering questions related to the defective goods and warehouse claims processes, working with store teams to obtain necessary information to submit claims to vendors, and ensuring all defective goods are accurately returned using the correct code at POS.
• Maintain the defective PO process in JDA for all Ace Policy A items. This includes verifying that defective records generate properly.
• Check daily reporting to determine all Ace Policy B and C items that have been returned defective. Submit all necessary claims paperwork to vendors for eligible Policy B and C items. Follow up with vendors as needed to ensure that credit is received in a timely manner.
• Aid Merchandising with vendor recalls and buybacks. This may include building instructions for stores, adjusting inventory, monitoring inbound credits, and following up with the vendor as needed.
• Work with Accounting team to properly allocate incoming credits to the correct GL account.
• Contact direct-pay vendors to obtain credits for shortages and damaged items.
• Maintain accurate record-keeping of all claims submitted to verify that all expected credits are received.
• Monitor total dollars of claims and on-hand adjustments to look for stores that may fall significantly above or below the chain average. Determine root cause and work with store team, Loss Prevention and Operations to correct any procedural issues.
• Review system reports and verify all items that are adjusted are under the correct reason code and that a matching warehouse claim has been filed if applicable.
• Provide monthly presentation to stakeholders regarding contract fulfillment status and collections.

Prepare monthly balance sheet account reconciliations and adjustment journal entries as necessary for assigned accounts.

Provide assistance to the A/P Department with coding and processing credit memos.

Minimum Skills, Requirements and Qualifications

• Associates Degree in Accounting or 2+ years' experience in Accounting or related field.
• Proficiency MS Excel including the ability to collect and organize large amounts of data using pivot tables, vlookups and other Excel tools.
• Must be a self-starter with strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills along with excellent organizational, written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to define problems, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form.
• Ability to apply commonsense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
• Must have the ability to work both independently and on a team to complete multiple assignments in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, customers, and the general public.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as purchase orders, invoices, statements, and procedures. Ability to write routine, effective correspondence to vendors, merchandising group, stores, and auditors, etc.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and color vision.
• Experience with JD Edwards financial software is desired.
• Proficiency in MS Office: Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Standing, walking, lifting (up to 25lbs.) and climbing.

Compensation Details

$20 - $22 per hour