Assistant Area Sales & Customer Manager

Job description

No matter who you are, or where in the world you are, the chances are that our products are a familiar part of your daily routine.

Every day, around the world, people reach for Unilever products. Our brands are trusted everywhere and, by listening to the people who buy them, we've grown into one of the world's most successful consumer goods companies. In fact, 150 million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a Unilever product.

Look in your fridge, or on the bathroom shelf, and you're bound to see one of our well-known brands. We create, market and distribute the products that people choose to feed their families and keep themselves and their homes clean and fresh.

MAIN JOB PURPOSE:
The Customer Development team in India is broadly split into General Trade and Modern Trade. General Trade contributes majority of HUL sales nationally. Winning in General Trade is crucial in sustaining top-line and in ensuring competitiveness through growing market share nationally.

The Asst Area Sales and Customer Manager is responsible for the company's General Trade growth in a specific geography. He manages customer infrastructure by ensuring distributors are in place and running efficiently, leads a team of WL1 Sales Officers/Executives and drives sales and execution metrices.

The AASCM will be working in a dynamic sales environment; he/she will be responsible for prospecting, qualifying, negotiating and strategizing business development for his area. His/her success will be measured by the delivery of business-critical goals, growth and gain in market share. The ideal candidate will possess a demonstrated ability to think strategically about customers, categories and channel challenges, with the ability to build and maintain infrastructure and teams

JOB SUMMARY (JOB DESCRIPTION)

· Customer Infrastructure & satisfaction: The AASCM is responsible for ensuring a robust Customer Infrastructure is in place in the territory. Distributors are appointed by the AASCM wherever necessary and it is his responsibility to track their overall performance on key metrices. AASCM is supposed to optimize the quantity & quality of customers in his area such that there are no service gaps while ensuring adequate service levels for trade and financial viability for customers. He monitors the financial health and profitability of all Customers. The AASCM also needs to step in from time to time to resolve customer issues which cannot be handled at a field-force level. Along with his team (FF) the AASCM is also responsible for primary & secondary customer complaint resolution.

· Growth & Execution: The AASCM drives Top-line growth in the area and ensures all execution metrices are also in place. He will also need to monitor channel-wise and category-wise growths in the territory. It is also the AASCM's responsibility to ensure all new launches are landed in the area and to ensure all merchandising activities are run well. Execution metrics are the input metrics for delivering share gaining growth and are hence very important.

· Drive a team: Team handling & team building are the most important aspects of an AASCM's role. The AASCM is responsible for managing the team, motivating them and getting them to deliver their metrices. He needs to understand the working style and strengths and weaknesses of each person to get them to reach their potential and also needs to provide developmental inputs on a continuous basis. How an AASCM binds his team together is often a make or break factor in performance of a team.

· Liaising with key Partner Functions: The AASCM liaises with the Supply Chain Team to ensure packwise estimates are built correctly for the area. He also ensures norms build up at an RS level are hygienic and supplies from depots are in order. He also ensures that the stock build up at Customer points are at the acceptable level. The AASCM works with the Commercial Team to ensure customers are healthy and that payments to company are in order.

· Ensuring controls & financial hygiene: Along with Commercial & Supply Chain team, AASCM is supposed to have check on system hygiene at customers on aspects like extent of sales return, extent of damage/ shortage claims, mismatch between primary & secondary, physical vs. book stock mismatch, trade discount hygiene etc. AASCM needs to play an active role in probing cases of deviation from norms on the above-mentioned aspects.


KEY REQUIREMENTS (EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & SKILLS)
· MBA with relevant experience.
· Analytical skills and demonstrated ability to manage the business by the numbers.
· Jobs involving quick decision making.
· Jobs involving extensive oral communication, people interaction & negotiation.
· Experience in a highly analytical, results-oriented environment. Preferably FMCG.
· External customer interaction.
· Experience of jobs involving active listening skills, highly consultative and solutions-oriented.
· Deep understanding of the retail and wholesale landscape in India with prior interactions with sellers and distributors is desirable.
· Experience in selling new products and developing markets.