The Sales Manager will act as a liaison between customers and Tenneco Engineering, Manufacturing and Finance teams and will be the main Tenneco representative, interacting with the Purchasing, Marketing, Engineering, and Quality functions at each customer.
This position is responsible for developing and managing current business commercial issues and new business opportunities for Tenneco's Powertrain Americas business unit.
The main responsibilties of this role are:
- Act as key customer contact within the Tenneco organization (one face to the customer).
- Support multiple customers and work across all functional groups of the company and other Tenneco locations worldwide.
- Share relevant information with the Sales Department and other functional groups of the company as well as with other Tenneco Units.
- Visit customers regularly and support both the Sales Department and Application Engineering in developing specific sales strategies for customers, projects, and parts.
- Contribute actively to establishing annual sales plans and strategic plans as well as medium- and long-term sales forecasts.
- Identify and propose new business opportunities for Tenneco in close collaboration with Application Engineering.
- Gather information relevant to prices and supply agreements, initiate cost calculations at the manufacturing plants, and support the Sales Department in providing proposals for pricing and contracts, both for new and existing business.
- Start and maintain RFQ process in collaboration with Sales Administration.
- Prepare and submit quotations to customers in close collaboration with Sales Administration.
- Follow up on current quotations with customers at regular intervals and inform the Sales Department and Application Engineering on the progress of the corresponding engine programs.
- Have an understanding of competitors' prices and pricing strategies, evaluate this information ("benchmarking"), and keep the Sales Director duly updated on the results.
- Ensure a close and open working relationship with all relevant Tenneco disciplines, including other Account Managers, Application Engineering, Research & Development, Logistics, Quality, Manufacturing, and Finance.
- Identify cost down opportunities, liaise with the Sales Director, and maintain a log of all price proposals made to customers.
- Support logistics in resolving delivery problems and other critical customer issues.
- Gather regular information on new engine programs and engine build rates from customers and advise the Sales Department and Application Engineering accordingly.
- Provide customer call reports and internal meeting minutes on a regular basis.
- Deliver reports on new business awards, wins and losses, new business opportunities, threats, pricing, and cost issues to the Sales Director on a regular basis.
- Support contract review and maintain files in the local drive in close collaboration with Application Engineering.
- Internal distribution of customer-specific requirements and specifications in close collaboration with Sales Administration.
- Negotiate or assist the Sales Director in negotiating high-level contracts and/or supply agreements with customers.
- Support the Sales Director in evaluating and clarifying contractual matters and other issues of particular importance with customers.
- Ensure the best possible profitability of all OE and OES parts delivered to customers. Help analyze margins, both for existing and new business, and identify anomalies or opportunities for targeted improvements.
- Identify and monitor the long-term development trends marked out by customers as well as competitors' strategies and market activities, and keep the Sales Department, R&D, and Application Engineering informed on the results.
- Liaise with and support the Tenneco Aftermarket Organization as required.
- Support new acquisitions and joint venture activities of the Tenneco Corporation as requested by management.
- Review sales plans and forecasts as well as the status of customer programs, report variances, and initiate or propose corrective action if necessary.
- Support manufacturing location decisions (MLD) and coordinate and help obtain customer approvals for the transfer of parts to other Tenneco locations.
- Capable of providing support as requested by the supervisor.
