Customer Sales & Service Representative

Customer Sales & Service Representative

A Customer Sales & Service Representative (CSSR) is responsible for establishing and maintaining profitable relationships with customers on behalf of Applied by taking personal and complete responsibility for each customer contact and by ensuring that customer requirements are met while pursuing the interest of the company.

The CSSR is an integral part of the Applied sales team and interacts with Applied's customers by providing them with information to address inquiries regarding products and services.

Responsibilities/Duties:

• Professionally handle requests from customers to ensure that issues are resolved promptly and thoroughly.
• Requests are received via phone, email, fax, EDI, walk-in customers and as communicated by Applied sales associates.
• Recommend and source the most profitable products, utilizing internal inventory first, supplier inventory as an alternate option, to meet or improve upon the customer required dates.
• Proactive review of open customer orders and pending quotes to ensure on-time responses, shipments, and conversion of quotes to orders.
• Communicate disruptions in service levels, approval requests, corrective actions needed, customer feedback, and preventative actions to Service Center management.
• Maintain a balance between company policy and customer benefit in decision making.
• Handles issues in the best interest of both Applied and Customer.
• Maximize profit by working with suppliers to gain additional chargebacks, recommending the most profitable product offerings.
• Support pricing and margin improvement efforts by communicating opportunities with management, adopt and utilize methods that will reduce overrides, promote most profitable options to our customers, and recover freight expenses.
• Gain and utilize product knowledge and expertise to assist customers with product selections and coordinate supplier engineering support to drive the sales process.
• Responsible for personal investment in gaining proficiency in our systems, product training, adoption of company initiatives and tools and overall continuous career development.
• Continuously identify and evaluate process improvements that positively impact the Customer's experience by using Customer Feedback, Supplier Nonconformance, and OnTime and Error-Free forms and metrics.
• Perform warehouse functions including pulling and packing product, receiving, cycle counting, stock put away and delivery of product. Provides emergency and after hours services as scheduled.
• Provide backup support to other associates within the Service Center as necessary along with other duties assigned by management.

Education/Work Experience:

Required:

• 6+ months of customer service experience or 1+ year of experience in a Stockroom/Driving position within industrial distribution
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Demonstrated mechanical and mathematical aptitude
• Excellent communication and organizational skills
• Ability and desire to learn new systems and processes quickly
• Strong computer skills, particularly in Excel
• Requires ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time, walk, bend, and lift up to 25 lbs. regularly and up to 50 occasionally.

Preferred:

• SAP experience in a customer service setting
• Knowledge of industrial products and hydraulics
• Ability to learn and use calipers to measure specs on a wide variety of industrial parts
• Highly developed sense of integrity and commitment to customer satisfactions
• Demonstrated passion for excellence in customer service
• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally, both verbally and in writing
• Has a pleasant, patient and friendly attitude
• Detail oriented with strong communication and listening skills
• Possess a solid work ethic and team player mentality