Job Summary
We are seeking a strategic and customer-focused Customer Service Manager to lead our retail support. This role will ensure exceptional service delivery to our retail partners, including home improvement chains, buying groups, and independent retailers. The ideal candidate has strong leadership skills, a deep understanding of retail dynamics, and a background in customer service or sales operations within a manufacturing environment.
Responsibilities
Customer Service Leadership
- Lead and mentor a team of customer service representatives handling retail accounts in North America.
- Ability to lead a team through transformation and new system implementation.
- Monitor team performance and implement KPIs to track order accuracy, response times, and customer satisfaction.
- Ensure timely resolution of issues related to orders, pricing discrepancies, returns, and delivery.
- Managing the customer service team by providing direction, goal setting, and performance reviews.
- Arranging training on products, systems, and processes so that CSRs can continually grow and improve their knowledge and efficiency.
- Liaise with Sales to ensure CSRs are up to date with market conditions, needs and challenges.
- Ensuring that teams operate at maximum efficiency at all times, by implementing best practices, and reviewing customer service resources and processes
Team development
- Managing the customer service team by providing direction, goal setting, and performance reviews.
- Arranging training on products, systems, and processes so that CSRs can continually grow and improve their knowledge and efficiency.
- Communicating company activities and changes so that the team is always engaged in the big picture
- Liaise with Sales to ensure CSRs are up to date with market conditions, needs and challenges.
- Ensuring that teams operate at maximum efficiency at all times, by implementing best practices, and reviewing customer service resources and processes
Resource planning
- Ensuring adequate resources are assigned to service customers, so that orders, quotes, RMAs and other transactions are completed in a timely manner
- Hiring customer service representatives and administrative staff when required
Retail Partner Support
- Serve as the primary escalation point for major retail accounts.
- Develop strong relationships with retailer customer service teams, buyers, and logistics contacts.
- Collaborate with Sales, Logistics, and Marketing to ensure retail programs, promotions, and product launches are executed effectively.
Process & Systems Optimization
- Partner with IT and ERP teams to streamline order-to-cash processes (e.g., SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics).
- Drive automation and digital self-service tools tailored to retail partner needs (EDI, retailer portals, etc.).
- Ensure compliance with retailer-specific routing guides, labeling standards, and service level agreements (SLAs).
Retail Analytics & Reporting
- Analyze service metrics and retailer scorecards to identify trends and areas for improvement.
- Provide weekly and monthly service performance updates to senior leadership.
- Collaborate on forecasting and planning to ensure inventory availability and order accuracy.
Administration
- CSM must ensure that the activities of the customer service team are properly administered. These tasks include:
- Upkeep of dispute list
- Timely approval of credits, debits, RMAs
- Enforcement of best practices for transaction processing, including orders, quotes, etc.
- Maintenance and verification of ship and debit, CMD programs etc.
- Direct customer service when required
- Overall tidiness of transactions
- On occasion the CSM will be expected to be a part of projects that may not be directly related to their position and are expected contribute to the ongoing success of IPEX. CSMs should actively seek out such opportunities.
Require Skills/Qualifications
- Completion of college or university, and/or business management experience
- Minimum 5 years experience in customer service management
- Advanced experience in an SAP environment
- Experience with retail customers and in depth understanding of the expectations.
- Computer literate, good command of Microsoft programs with specific focus on excel.
- Strong leadership, administrative and analytical skills
- Positive attitude, driven to provide a positive, productive environment
- Ability to communicate with all levels of staff and management
