Job Summary:The Sales Manager is responsible to market and create new opportunities with new and existing customers, as well as, to provide account maintenance and increase profitability with existing customers. This position is responsible for analysis of the budget and mid-term plan, planning the strategy to achieve the mid-term plan, as well as, to coordination with FAS/AFI/Furmex/other Furukawa facilities to support sales (Japanese & US Sales team) activities such as JKK.
Duties and Responsibilities:Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Serve as the primary customer contact and respond to customer inquiries.
- Responsible to coordinate activities for customer's plants, prototype and technical centers, with focus on customer satisfaction and profit optimization.
- For all existing customer's business projects, do profitability and Furukawa's return on investment analysis to propose ideas to improve profitability. Proactively seek opportunities for improvement on business profitability and execute the coordination for implementation.
- Continue to assess customer's needs of manufacturing and supply and communicate regularly to supervisor/management.
- Maintain and assist Company's ability to meet its annual budget targets, sales targets by incorporating emerging and developing customer needs to meet the overall business plan.
- Provide the mid-term plan for internal reporting and communicate with FAS to finalize the budget and department planning.
- Analyze the status of annual sales and progress of the mid-term plan. In addition, plan the strategy to achieve the mid-term plan and coordinate with Furukawa facilities as necessary.
- Integrate engineering support from Michigan, plants in Mexico, FAS/FEC, customer service, logistics, product design function within the North American subsidiary and act as a liaison/ facilitator between sales (Japanese & US Sales team), procurement, production management, production control departments and Sales and R&D of the parent company.
- Manage various functions of Customer's Portal, including quote and tooling summary submissions, including update all the supplier information in Customer's Portal for their procurement team to be aware of our current status and ability to support their production plans.
- Receive and respond to customer requests for quotation via the quotation process business standard.
- Conduct periodic contract review upon receipt of customer purchase orders and follow all AFI Sales Procedures and expectations for prices, maintenance, tool tracking, contract, quotation and filing.
- Communicate the award of new business contracts with off shore counterparts in Japan via the new business notification department standard.
- Maintain in depth knowledge of customer's current personnel, policies, procedures and systems. Must know all PN's timing and milestones for each program.
- Visit customers regularly to demonstrate and present product(s) and company capabilities. Develop and update customer's knowledge of the product(s).
- Execute successful launch of new product line of new business.
- Address customer inquiries/concerns regarding shipping and/or quality issues.
- Interface with accounting, HR and conduct and secure lateral support for better analysis from other account managers of Detroit 3 makers when necessary.
- Procure and supply market data to support costing and pricing activities to improve profitability.
- Negotiate pricing, cost reductions, payment terms and trade terms with customers, with expectation of optimal profit outcome for AFI.
- Target specific programs and products based on our capabilities and the customer's business plan.
- Proactively engage in activities necessary to meet annual company and department goals and objectives and be an example to others.
- Compile and provide reports of activities, as needed, to sales.
- To ensure winning profitable business cases by getting quotation approval from FEC/FAS through required process such as JKK, and also help and support other sales representatives (Japanese & US Sales team) to do the same (getting quote approval thru JKK) as necessary. This task includes all the activities related to JKK process, such as inquiry report.
- Coordinate activities and communicate effectively with parent company in Japan and other subsidiaries on various tasks, duties, and requests which we receive and we need from them. This task includes to prepare the document for the sales meeting with FAS and attend the meeting.
- Communicate & effectively manage cross functional teams to meet customer and corporate goals.
- Act as a liaison between subsidiaries of the parent company in China, Thailand, Philippines, UK, etc.
- Effectively handle quality issues and concerns by integrating the communication between engineers in Mexico/US and engineers located in Japan.
- Support all potential business avenues with Japanese OEMs.
- Other duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:- Highly proficient using MS Office applications.
- Must have knowledge of Japanese business culture.
- Experience preparing customer quotes and contracts.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Excellent time management skills.
- Motivated & detail oriented.
- Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
- Availability for occasional travel both domestic and international.
- Must have valid driver's license.
- Must have flexibility to work non-standard work week when required.
- Strict adherence to company policies, procedures and standards is required.
Education and Experience:- Bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience in sales/account management.
- Bilingual (English/Japanese) strongly preferred.
- Minimum of 3 years' experience calling on automotive OEM, Tier 1, & 2 customers.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
While performing the duties of this job,
- the employee is regularly required to talk and hear
- the employee frequently is required to sit; stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms
- specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus
- the position requires the ability to occasionally lift office products and supplies, up to 25 pounds.
