Account Specialist III

Account Specialist

The account specialist will be responsible for proactively engaging with customers to identify potential issues and concerns. They will analyze customer needs and collaborate with internal teams to make informed business decisions that address these concerns. They will offer tailored solutions, working to maintain and strengthen customer relationships ensuring satisfaction and long-term loyalty. This role requires problem-solving skills, effective communication, and the ability to make strategic decisions that keep customers engaged and satisfied.

Essential duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following. All work is to be completed with minimum supervision and in accordance with company standards. Other duties may be assigned.

• Customer & Supplier Engagement: Network with key clients and suppliers to identify and address specific needs.
• Analyze the customer journey to establish best practices
• Manage relationships and support the needs of customers to promote retention and loyalty
• Work closely with customers to ensure they are satisfied with the services they receive and to improve upon areas of dissatisfaction.
• Conduct regular check-ins to assess service effectiveness and identify opportunities for optimization.
• Align with customers on long-term goals, helping drive mutual success and growth.
• Process Improvement: Lead daily, weekly, monthly, and/or quarterly meetings with key customers and suppliers to drive efficiency.
• Run meetings with customer to develop solutions for current issues.
• Lead cross function teams to implement solutions for current customer issues.
• Escalation Management: Serve as the escalation point for key Direct and Buyback Accounts, both internally and externally.
• Identify underlying issues causing escalations and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Develop and refine escalation workflows to enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• Provide direction to CSRs handling challenging cases, ensuring consistency in issue resolution.
• Escalate critical concerns to leadership when necessary, providing data-driven insights and recommendations.
• Customer Relationship Management: Develop and maintain strong customer relationships to ensure long-term success.
• Drive proactive customer engagement based on business impact, order history, and service needs.
• Decide the frequency and method of outreach (e.g., regular check-ins, surveys, or meetings) to strengthen relationships.
• Develop and implement customized support strategies for high-value or at-risk customers to improve satisfaction and retention.
• Internal Coordination: Act as a liaison between customers and internal teams to ensure client requirements are met.
• Establish clear timelines and responses to keep both customers and internal teams informed.
• Identify workflow inefficiencies and implement process changes to better support customer needs.
• Lead cross-functional meetings when necessary to address complex customer requirements.
• Customer Support: Handle all calls and cases for assigned key customers.
• Decide the most effective way to resolve a customer's issue while balancing policy and customer satisfaction.
• Evaluate when to offer credits, refunds, or alternative solutions to resolve complaints.
• Brand & Service Consistency: Ensure brand consistency and maintain high customer satisfaction ratings in line with company standards.
• Determine how to handle public or high-profile service failures to maintain trust.
• Determine how to address and resolve customer complaints to protect brand reputation.
• Decide when to follow up with customers to prevent future issues and maintain strong relationships.
• Decide which cases require immediate attention based on urgency, impact, and customer status.
• Sales Growth & Strategy: Stay updated on industry trends and suggest strategies to drive sales.
• Identify opportunities to refine or expand offerings based on customer feedback and market trends.
• Determine when and how to introduce additional products or services to existing customers.
• Ensure sales strategies align with operational capabilities and customer service goals.
• Inventory & Procurement Decisions: Collaborate with procurement and forecasting teams to maintain accurate stocking levels.
• Work with customer and develop forecasting for their current needs.
• Reaching out to customers when they are not buying to their forecasted levels and developing new demand levels for them based on business trends.
• Order Management: Oversee the entire order-to-cash process for assigned customers, reviewing open order reports, and addressing issues.
• Review customer open orders and trends if customer has fallen off normal trends call customer and work through issues and provide solutions to get customer back on track.
• Make decisions on resourcing orders from one location to another with 3rd party delivery option
• Make decisions on late orders due to extended backorders and offering alternative product solutions.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Work with inventory, dispatch, operations, and billing teams to resolve order-related concerns.
• Work with dispatch, operations to expedite orders.
• Decide how to allocate limited inventory when demand exceeds supply.
• Approve or deny requests for expedited processing based on urgency and feasibility.
• Determine the best course of action for missed, delayed, or incorrect deliveries, including rescheduling or alternative fulfillment methods.
• Determine when to issue credits or refunds for billing errors or service failures.
• Approve or reject invoice adjustments based on order discrepancies or customer claims.
• Sales Collaboration: Engage with sales teams for support on approved tasks.
• Evaluate and approve exceptions for expedited orders, pricing adjustments, or service accommodations.
• Determine when to step in and facilitate order fulfillment challenges in collaboration with sales.
• Identify inefficiencies in sales support workflows and implement improvements.
• Make judgment calls on policy exceptions, discounts, or service accommodations based on customer impact and business needs.
• Confirm that all sales support activities align with company policies, pricing structures, and contract terms.
• Emergency Support: Manage the emergency line during assigned times.
• Manage emergency line after hours for assigned time.
• Make decision to determine if after hours call is true emergency and quote emergency fees to customers and get customer approval they will pay fees.
• Work with cross functional teams to have emergency delivery made to the customer.
• Reach out to customer and coordinate emergency delivery.
• National Accounts Management: Act as a liaison for assigned National Accounts and their programs.
• Determine which accounts require immediate attention based on business impact and customer needs.
• Decide on the level of interaction and communication needed for each National Account.
• Develop action plans to strengthen relationships and ensure long-term account satisfaction.
• Decide how and when to escalate or address service disruptions, product shortages, or order fulfillment issues.
• Identify inefficiencies in servicing National Accounts and implement corrective measures.

Requirements

Competency:

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Customer Service - manages difficult or emotional customer situations; responds promptly to customer needs; solicits customer feedback to improve service; responds to requests for service and assistance.
• Interpersonal - focuses on solving conflict, not blaming; maintains confidentiality; listens to others without interrupting; keeps emotions under control.
• Oral Communication - speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; listens and gets clarification; responds well to questions; participates in meetings.
• Teamwork - balances team and individual responsibilities; exhibits objectivity and openness to others' views; gives and welcomes feedback; contributes to building a positive team spirit.
• Business Acumen - understands business implications of decisions; displays orientation to profitability; demonstrates knowledge of market and competition; aligns work with strategic goals.
• Diversity - shows respect and sensitivity for cultural differences.
• Ethics - treats people with respect; keeps commitments; Inspires the trust of others.
• Attendance/Punctuality - is consistently at work and on time; ensures work responsibilities are covered when absent; arrives at meetings and appointments on time.
• Dependability - follows instructions, responds to management direction; takes responsibility for own actions; keeps commitments; commits to long hours of work when necessary to reach goals; completes tasks on-time or notifies appropriate person with an alternate plan.
• Planning/Organizing - prioritizes and plans work activities; uses time efficiently.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The 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.

Education/Experience:

Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from four-year College or University with 3-5 years related experience and/or training or equivalent combination of education and