Customer Account Specialist

POSITION DESCRIPTION: 

Under the limited supervision of the VP of Business Development, the Customer Account Specialist position will be responsible for supporting the sales team in growing HFI sales through exceptional customer service and incoming sales leads. 

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES: 

• Provide contract management for sales in working with HFI facilities, departments, and partners on contracts to ensure availability for customers’ needs.  
• Accurately process customer transactions including, but not limited to, processing POs/orders with direct communication with the customer and HFI internal team regarding order status and updates as required. 
• Assist the QA team, as needed, to process customer complaints or requests. 
• Assist the sales team with inquiries about new products, sample requests, etc.
• Maintain regular contact with the established customer base by following up on samples and asking about future projects, with an emphasis on developing long-term relationships to achieve company sales goals.  
• Generate quotations and remain attentive of customer contracts. Support Business Development as needed with quotes and contracts.  
• Actively request customer forecasts and communicate planned customer forecast requirements and unexpected increases or decreases in product demand in the Sales Forecasting worksheet. Enter forecast details with support from Business Development, checking for shipment date accuracy and total sales and profit margin. 
• Proactively contact customers following sales to ensure ongoing customer satisfaction, and assist Business Development in educating customers on all products to increase market share.  
• Use the SalesForce database to record all customer management activities and plan follow-up actions. Update ProSoft as needed with contract management. 
• Understand the basic applications for all HFI products.  
• Integrate VP of Sales, Business Development, Management, Marketing, Quality, Logistics, Purchasing, Accounting, and/or Operations Personnel in customer interface situations as needed. 

QUALIFICATIONS: 

• High School Diploma required, college or technical degree preferred.  
• Customer Service experience  
• Strong verbal and written communication skills  
• Attention to detail and a team player.  
• Ability to utilize computer programs and manage spreadsheets and databases.  
• Experience with food ingredients is highly valued.  
• Experience with Enterprise Resource Planning software (Aptean, Plex, Netsuite, etc) and/or SalesForce is highly valued

BACK UP: 

• Customer Account Specialist Team