Strategic Accounts Specialist

Saxco International

$80K — $95K *
Food & Beverages
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years in account management or customer success roles in distribution, preferably in wine, agriculture, food service, or packaging sectors.
  • Exceptional relationship-building skills, capable of quickly establishing trust and maintaining long-term partnerships.
  • Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (including VLOOKUPs and pivot tables) and experience with Power BI; familiarity with Dynamics AX, TMS, and Salesforce is a plus.
  • Knowledge of wine and beverage industry specifics, including packaging and product recommendations.
  • Strong communication abilities across functions, effectively building relationships with all internal departments.
  • Deep analytical skills for data interpretation and actionable insights; efficient in quantifying business opportunities.
  • Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple accounts and shifting priorities simultaneously.

Responsibilities

  • Establish and maintain trusted relationships with strategic customer contacts, becoming their primary point of contact.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally to connect Operations, Sales, and other departments, ensuring seamless service delivery for customers.
  • Create tailored reports based on each customer's unique requirements using advanced Excel and Power BI.
  • Process orders and manage related administrative tasks to ensure accurate fulfillment.
  • Track performance KPIs like OTIF and GMROI, and develop data-driven improvement plans in collaboration with Sales.
  • Engage in Sales & Operations Planning discussions, highlighting stockout risks and inventory issues.
  • Maintain customer data and item setups while ensuring compliance with artwork approvals.

Benefits

  • Competitive pay and incentives
  • 401(k) with profit sharing
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Disability and life insurance
  • Paid time off and holidays
Full Job Description
Position Details

Locations: Fairfield, CA, Norco, CA & Franklin, TN

Reporting Relationship: Reports to Customer Excellence Manager

About the Role

Saxco partners with some of the most respected brands in North America. Our Sales team focuses on winning new business, and once an account is established, you own it. As a Strategic Accounts Specialist, you will be the primary point of contact and strategic owner for your assigned accounts, responsible for delivering an exceptional customer experience while partnering cross-functionally to deliver on time and in full (OTIF).

You will manage a revenue and gross margin profile of $50M+ and $10M+, respectively, providing insights into OTIF performance, demand forecast accuracy, and Gross Margin Return on Inventory (GMROI), along with actionable recommendations for improvement. Success here requires trusted relationship-building, deep cross-functional collaboration, and the analytical skills to translate data into action.

What Success Looks Like in This Role

The ideal candidate is skilled at building deep, trust-based relationships with strategic customers and internal partners. They take the time to understand each customer's business, priorities, risks, and expectations while serving as a dependable point of contact and trusted partner.

This individual is comfortable navigating complex situations, anticipating customer needs, evaluating options, and recommending practical solutions. They demonstrate good business judgment, take ownership of issues through resolution, and communicate clearly and proactively when addressing delays, constraints, alternatives, responsibilities, and next steps.

Success in this role requires the capacity and adaptability to manage multiple strategic accounts, competing priorities, urgent customer needs, and changing business demands without sacrificing responsiveness, accuracy, or professionalism.

The Strategic Accounts Specialist will work closely with the commercial team and cross-functional partners to coordinate execution, resolve issues, and deliver the best possible experience for strategic accounts.

Key Attributes

Relationship Building: Build and maintain strong, credible relationships with strategic customers and internal stakeholders.
Ownership & Accountability: Take end-to-end ownership and follow through on customer needs, commitments, and issues.
Problem Solving & Judgment: Anticipate risks and resolve complex customer challenges using sound judgment and practical solutions.
Proactive Communication: Communicate clearly, confidently, and proactively with customers, Sales, and cross-functional partners.
Priority Management: Manage multiple accounts and competing priorities with urgency, accuracy, and organization.
Adaptability & Resilience: Respond effectively to changing priorities, supply constraints, and evolving customer needs.
Commercial Partnership: Partner closely with the commercial team to support account execution, customer retention, growth, and an exceptional customer experience.
Customer Advocacy: Balance customer needs with Saxco's operational and financial requirements.

Success in This Role Will Be Measured By
  • Relationship Excellence: Earning and sustaining the trust of strategic customer contacts through proactive, knowledgeable partnerships.
  • Performance Accountability: Consistently improving KPIs, OTIF, GMROI, forecast accuracy, and forecast adherence - for every account.
  • Cross-Functional Effectiveness: Building productive working relationships across Sales, Operations, Purchasing, Planning, Forecasting, Accounting, and Transportation to deliver seamless customer outcomes.
  • Sales Enablement: Owning account management end-to-end so Sales can focus on new business development.


Core Responsibilities
  • Relationship Building: Establish and nurture trusted relationships with customer contacts at all levels. Be the person they call first - deeply invested in their business, priorities, and success.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as the internal connector across Operations, Purchasing, Forecasting, Accounting, Sales, and Transportation. Build genuine working relationships to resolve issues, anticipate needs, and deliver seamless customer experiences.
  • Custom Customer Reporting: Develop account-specific reporting tailored to each customer's unique needs using Excel (VLOOKUPs, pivot tables) and Power BI - delivering frequent, insightful, and actionable communication.
  • Order & Transaction Processing: Process all pre-order, order confirmation, and order releases. Manage associated administrative requirements to ensure seamless, accurate fulfillment.
  • Performance Tracking & Improvement: Track and improve KPIs including OTIF, GMROI, forecast accuracy, and forecast adherence. Develop data-driven recommendations and improvement plans with Sales and internal stakeholders.
  • S&OP / Inventory Management: Actively engage in Sales & Operations Planning for assigned accounts. Proactively communicate on stockout risks and overstock situations, including associated billing and storage impacts.
  • Account Setup & Maintenance: Set up and maintain customer master data, item setup, and artwork approval workflows.
  • Product & Industry Knowledge: Maintain current knowledge of Saxco products, services, and procedures. Apply wine and beverage industry expertise, including mold identification and comparable product recommendations, to advise customers with confidence.
  • Team Culture: Actively contribute to a supportive, positive, and engaged team environment.


Required Qualifications
  • 5+ years in a customer success or account management role in a fast-paced distribution environment, preferably in wine, agricultural, food service, or packaging industries, with $50M+ annual revenue managed.
  • Exceptional relationship-building skills - a natural connector who earns trust quickly, maintains partnerships over time, and is genuinely invested in customer success.
  • Advanced Microsoft Excel proficiency (VLOOKUPs, pivot tables) and Power BI reporting experience required; comfortable navigating Dynamics AX, TMS, Manage Artworks, and Salesforce or Microsoft CRM.
  • Knowledge of the wine and beverage industry, including glass packaging, mold identification, and comparable product recommendations.
  • Outstanding cross-functional communication skills; ability to build strong working relationships across all internal departments.
  • Deep analytical capabilities: ability to quantify opportunities, manipulate data, and clearly summarize findings and next steps.
  • Excellent organization and project management skills; ability to manage multiple accounts and competing priorities simultaneously.
  • Strong problem-solving skills and adaptability; creative in identifying and resolving customer issues.
  • Results-oriented self-starter with a passion for continuous improvement and team success.
  • Excellent written and verbal English communication and listening skills.


What We Offer

Our employee partners enjoy:
  • Competitive Pay and Incentives
  • 401(k) / Profit Sharing
  • Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
  • Disability and Life Insurance
  • Paid Time Off and Holidays

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