Customer Service Representative

Job Description

About Harvard Bioscience Harvard Bioscience is a leading developer, manufacturer and seller of technologies, products and services that enable fundamental research, discovery, and pre-clinical testing for drug development. Our customers range from renowned academic institutions and government laboratories, to the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and contract research organizations. With operations in North America, Europe, and China, we sell through a combination of direct and distribution channels to customers around the world.

A career with Harvard Bioscience is an experience where our employees are energized and aligned to our purpose - Solutions to advance life science. With an experienced leadership team with a track record of delivering growth and accelerated business improvements, HB sees an opportunity to drive significant organic growth by leveraging and expanding its deep customer relationships, new product development and an empowered, efficient sales force.

Harvard Bioscience is looking for a Customer Service Representative who will provide our customers exceptional service by performing the following duties. Customer Service is the interface between the customer and the business. Customer Service represents the face of the factory. The Customer Service representative will work with all internal partners (for example sales, marketing, purchasing, production, technical support, shipping) to ensure smooth sales order processing, order fulfillment, shipping information communication. The Customer Service representative will handle non-technical support customer cases and ensure that they are completed in a timely manner.

Essential Job Functions

Management of orders including but not limited to new product, spares, customer returns for credit.

The company's order processing goal is less than 24 hours to turn around from order receipt to acknowledgement. Specific tasks include:

Processes POs from any source (phone, email, post, efax, sales, salesforce.com) with accuracy, completeness and adherence to policies and procedures.

Responsible for purchase order accuracy via review against ERP system, quote or other reference.

Closes the loop with the customer via order acknowledgements.

By monitoring shipment dates against acknowledgement date, the Customer Service representative will provide updates to the customer as necessary (including resetting order dates when needed).

Customer Communication Harvard Bioscience has a goal is that all customers will hear back within 24 hours (during business days).

Provides proactive customer communication for product related and any other customer inquiries.

Handles the first level of inquiries from the customer, as sales related help desk. Escalates to customer service management, sales or tech support as required.

Processes follow-up requests from any source such as CRM or email regarding past due orders, provides shipping tracking #s, invoice copies, order status.

If order status is not immediately available, works with internal partners (production or procurement) to get best new date to customer and sales team.

Responsible for owning, maintaining and closing CRM cases/orders (excluding technical support or sales opportunities). Goal for closing a case is less than three business days.

Master Data Maintenance:

Monitors deliveries, order-related down payment, and customer credit holds, escalating to the appropriate internal stakeholders to resolve. May support Accounts Receivable in communication regarding customer overdue payments.

Returns:

Customer Service representatives process customer RMAs for return. The goal is to acknowledge the customer with an RMA number within 48 hours of request.

Monitor RMA cases to ensure returns are meeting commitment to customer.

Customer Service hands off customer complaints to Tech Support within 24 hours.

Quoting support to sales: customer service is a consultant to sales for quoting.

Provides guidance to the salesperson on how to structure the quote so it get processed correctly (legal entity to whom purchase order is being issued, handling incoterms, delivery terms and payment terms, including use of the company's appropriate brand template/header.)

Logistics:

Interfaces with internal departments to manage pricing, availability and logistics of orders and repairs, and drive teams to optimize on-time deliveries.

Reviews results from backlog and operations reviews for existing orders.

Communicate with shipping about schedules, consolidated shipments, and material availability with shipping department, specifying customer preferred freight forwarders/carriers as needed.

skills and abilities required

HS Diploma or equivalent.

Excellent computer skills; proficiency in MS Office including Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook.

Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.

Ability to multi-task and pay attention to detail.

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages.

Experience with ERP or CRM systems; experience with Salesforce a plus

English mandatory; any other language skills a plus

AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER/VETERAN/DISABILITY

FLSA Non Exempt

ADA Disclaimer

In developing this job description care was taken to include all competencies needed to successfully perform in this position. However, for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) purposes, the essential functions of the job may or may not have been described for purposes of ADA reasonable accommodation. All reasonable accommodation requests will be reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

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