Strategic Account Manger

Strategy & Growth:

• Penetrates the account by making contacts and building relationships at multiple levels, including senior leadership, and in multiple departments within the account.
• Conducts regular business reviews with senior leadership, leveraging internal and external data to gain customer insights, to uncover new opportunities for growth, increase sales, and retain and grow the business by presenting long-term strategic solutions to customers.
• Works with and influences account team members (account management and operational resources) across geographies and/or divisions to execute the account strategy and deliver results.
• Uses strategic negotiation and sales strategies at the leadership level in discussing complex pricing and selling solutions with customers.
• Shares customer specific data, requirements and expectations with internal leadership in order to collaboratively create viable supply chain solutions to customer
• Reviews financial, volume and service performance reports to make adjustments (pricing, process, etc.), that create efficiencies and drive continuous improvement.
• Interprets and uses internal/external data and market intelligence (indexes, research, etc.) along with customer information (articles, press, etc.) to provide customers with business insights, improve customer outcomes and grow the business.
• Stays informed of changes within customers’ business, industry and sector through regular customer communication and applies that knowledge to identify new opportunities.
• Creates annual account/portfolio budgets and plans that are reviewed frequently and managed to, in order to achieve desired outcomes.

Customer Service

• Serves as the primary point of accountability for customers within portfolio, delivering a positive customer experience through proactive communication, timely responses ensuring quality execution against expectations.
• Manages conflict and navigates difficult conversations with the customer, using tact and diplomacy.
• Acts as an advocate for customers, internally conveying their customer-specific needs across the organization, to ensure proper alignment and prioritization of resources.
• Collaborates and actively communicates with management on the capacity/product/supply teams to identify strategic solutions for complex issues.
• Engages internal leadership team members to ensure alignment, resource prioritization and participation in account strategy.
• Partners with operations and capacity/product/supply teams to ensure optimal execution through the use of SOPs, best in class business processes, and mutually agreed upon customer KPI’s.
• Drives the holistic plan for seamless transition of customer accounts, define expectations and timelines, seek opportunities to leverage automation and set plans for execution.
• Engages internal resources and leadership team members and leverages them in complex logistics and supply chain issues.
• Builds trusting relationships by ensuring quality execution against expectations and collaborating with senior leadership to identify and resolve issues in a timely manner.
• Negotiates payment terms and oversees processes and payment to ensure timely invoicing through monthly reviews.

Pricing

• Manages pricing strategy through a clear understanding of customer buying habits and the position within customer supply chain.
• Uses internal tools and resources, including but not limited to service line and pricing SMEs, to determine customer pricing strategy.
• Leads RFP opportunities for customer.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in sales, account management or leadership in freight forwarding
• Strong oral and written on both English and Chinese
• Demonstrated strong influencing, negotiation, collaboration, analytic, communication and presentation skills
• Technical proficiency in MS Office
• Ability to travel up to 50%