Customer Service Sales

Debbie Nicholson

Redondo Beach, CA *****

310-***-**** *******************@*****.***

Profile

Customer Service Manager with a customer-first mindset; experience in sales operations, logistics, and global supply chain management; and proven experience implementing best practices, continuous improvements and technologies to maintain highest level of customer satisfaction.

Professional Skills

Global Business Solutions Development

Logistics & Global Supply Chain (GSC)

Sales & Order Fulfillment Processes

Product Strategy & Vision

Sales Forecasts / Budgeting (P&L)

Customer Relationship Management

Market Trends & Competitive Analysis

Proactive Change Management

Analytical & Creative Problem Solving

Technology Integration

Quantitative & Qualitative Analysis

Cross-Functional Team Leadership

Business Intelligence (BI) / Data Analytics

Continuous Process Improvement (CPI)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Organizational Restructuring

Human Resource Management

Employee Coaching & Mentoring

Technology Skills

SAP and AS400 Systems, Simetra and Access Databases Proficiency in MS Office, Excel, Word, Access, and PowerPoint

Performance Highlights

Customer Service Manager who provides strategic sales management to identify customer needs, improve customer service, develop and introduce new process and reports, and reach supply/demand equilibrium. Skilled in developing and implementing continuous process improvements and leveraging technology to upgrade sales forecasting and reporting, inventory availability and visibility, and order fulfillment processes. Proven ability to steer organizational change and manage human resources in support of global product sales.

Professional Experience

SEIKO INSTRUMENT USA, INC Torrance, CA

Associate Director, Customer Service December 2002–July 2016

Seiko Instruments, a division of Seiko Holdings, is a global leader in thermal printing technology.

Managed customer service of all accounts including OEM, distribution, VARs, ecommerce, and international sales for Thermal Printer Division and Business/Home Products Division with annual sales of over $20 million.

Developed divisional budget and tracked all sales, product margins, and expenses to ensure achievement of sales targets or implement corrective actions to achieve sales targets.

Worked with IT to improve systems and reporting for improved visibility of sales, backlog, bookings, inventory, expenses, and profits.

Coordinated with factory and subcontractors in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Germany, and US to ensure on-time delivery of orders.

Conducted daily meetings with distribution center regarding status of customer orders, special packaging and shipping requirements, resolution of issues and cycle counts. Coordinated with DC to insure timely completion of corrective action reports.

Participated in weekly updates with top management in US and Japan to ensure the combined division’s sales performance was on track or above forecast. Negotiated for factory pull-ins and new business opportunities.

Prepared and presented monthly business review report to upper management, accounting, finance, and operations. Compared actual sales, margins, and expenses by product line as compared to budget and forecast. Provided explanations for any deltas. Devised and deployed strategic and tactical plans to adjust for any downturns in sales, product margins, or income or increase in inventory or expenses.

Worked with factory, engineering and technical support on any quality issues and timely completion of all return material authorizations.

Key Initiatives & Results

Implementation of New Processes to Drive Continuous Improvement: Implemented rescheduling and cancellation terms to more effectively manage backlog and inventory. Revised standard sales terms from FOB destination to FOB warehouse to minimize freight costs and liability and optimize profits. Coordinated with finance and distribution center to implement cycle count process to eliminate need for physical inventory increasing inventory accuracy and decreasing down time.

Use of Technology to Improve Processes: Coordinated with IT to develop time phased availability reports allowing customer service representatives to quote accurate lead times to customers. Created dashboard shipping, booking and backlog reports by customer or product category. Created forecast system providing Sales Managers with sales trends, backlog, and inventory availability to upload forecasts directly, which reduced data entry time by 25 hours per month and increased forecast accuracy by 25%. Developed method of automatic upload of purchase order acknowledgements and shipments for more accurate product availability in system.

Proactive Change Management: Managed merger of Thermal Printing Division and Business/Home Products Division, adopting best practices from both divisions. Restructured customer service department to better utilize skillsets of employees and improve process flows, which resulted in faster order turnaround, improved RMA processing, better call handling, and overall accuracy.

Human Resource Management:

Used KPI and MBO to provide achievable bonuses of up to 8% while improving corporate objectives of on-time delivery, customer service, forecast accuracy, sales increases, and cost reductions. Coached and mentored employees, which decreased employee turnover and reduced recruiting costs. These measures decreased overall expense for salaries.

Reviewed and re-wrote all job descriptions, revised titles, ran regional salary comparisons, and made changes as needed to equate compensation to employees’ job responsibilities and performance levels. Combined with reorganization, this initiative resulted in no overall salary increase but improved employee morale and performance, and reduced turnover.

Cross-trained employees to enhance comprehensive knowledge of department functions and to provide full coverage in case of out-of-office situations, ensuring seamless customer and sales support.

Corporate Awards / Recognition: Outstanding Contribution to Success – Seiko Instrument International 2002.

INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER El Segundo, CA

Sales Administration Manager, Global Accounts April 2000–November 2002

International Rectifier, an international semi-conductor manufacturer and world leader in power management technology, merged with Infineon Technologies NA in 2015 to become Infineon Technologies Americas Corporation.

Managed global customer service for PC sector accounts with annual revenue of $55 million. Aligned supply and demand through use of short-term and long-term forecasting, inventory programs, and global logistics. Implemented and coordinated VMI programs.

Identified, established, implemented, and refined customer support plans and processes for global, critical accounts including Apple, HP, IBM, Intel, and their contract manufacturers.

Coordinated support with North America, Europe, and Asia to ensure adequate product in the pipeline for on-time deliveries.

Tracked revenue through contract manufacturers and distributors for OEMs to ensure contract awards were completed through sales.

Key Initiatives & Results

Planned systems for change from direct to contract manufacturing due to visibility of changing business trends, which allowed for efficient transition with no loss of business.

Developed method of transitioning OEMs from direct to CM model including forecast, capacity plan, pricing, and contracting.

Utilized special part number nomenclature and system codes to maintain order and tracking visibility.

JAVELIN SYSTEMS Torrance, CA

Sales Administration Manager 1996–2000

Javelin Systems (now International Security Systems, a division of Ademco) is a leading manufacturer of security and automation solutions for residential and commercial applications.

Managed customer service, technical support, and inside sales. Ensured accurate and timely order processing from receipt of order through customer invoicing. Provided leadership and mentoring to 10 direct reports.

Acted as a liaison between sales, customers, production planning, engineering, manufacturing, and credit departments for sales and

order processing.

Planned, forecasted, monitored, and reported actual shipments to upper management with recommendations for corrective actions as needed to meet sales projections.

Key Initiatives & Results

Increased annual sales from $30 million to $40 million through the design and implementation of sales administration procedures to support the conversion of direct sales to exclusive distribution channels.

Coordinated departments’ move from Torrance to headquarters in New York when division was purchased by Ademco, which resulted in increased operating efficiencies and reduced headcount.

Provided oversight of massive relocation of Los Angeles-based manufacturing, purchasing, inventory management, and accounting to New York. Managed production planning, resource allocation, product management, and order expediting.

Reorganized sales administration department while increasing service levels and support. Developed methodology for updating order files, resulting in improved call handling efficiency. Increased profit margins through the design and implementation of cost-based pricing.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Management, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA.

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