Assistant Area Sales & Customer Manager

Unilever; Navi Mumbai; On-site; INR 800,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Unilever in Mumbai is seeking an Assistant Area Sales & Customer Manager to drive top-line growth in the territory, land new launches, and ensure strong merchandising and execution.

You will lead a field-force, manage distributors, and collaborate with Supply Chain and Commercial teams to maintain healthy customer economics and timely payments.

The role requires MBA, analytical and negotiation skills, and experience in FMCG; strong leadership will help you build a high-performing team.

Qualifications

• MBA degree or equivalent with strong business sense.
• Strong analytical and numeric skills to drive decisions.
• Experience in FMCG or consumer sales is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Drive top-line growth and monitor channel- and category-wise performance.
• Ensure robust customer infrastructure and monitor distributor performance.
• Lead and develop the sales team to achieve targets and deliver results.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain and Commercial teams for timely launches and merchandising.
• Maintain financial hygiene and resolve critical customer issues.

Skills

MBA

Analytical skills

Decision making

Negotiation

People management

Education

MBA in Business Administration

Job description

Role Title: Assistant Area Sales & Customer Manager

Location: Mumbai RO

Reporting to: Consumer Cluster Head

• Customer Infrastructure & satisfaction: The ASCM is responsible for ensuring a robust Customer Infrastructure is in place in the territory. Distributors are appointed by the ASCM wherever necessary, and it is his/her responsibility to track their overall performance on key metrices. ASCM is supposed to optimize the quantity & quality of customers in his area such that there are no service gaps while ensuring adequate service levels for trade and financial viability for customers. She/He monitors the financial health and profitability of all Customers. The ASCM also needs to step in from time to time to resolve customer issues which cannot be handled at a field-force level. Along with his/her team (FF) the ASCM is also responsible for primary & secondary customer complaint resolution.
• Growth & Execution: The ASCM drives Top-line growth in the area and ensures all execution metrices are also in place. She/He will also need to monitor channel-wise and category-wise growths in the territory. It is also the ASCM’s responsibility to ensure all new launches are landed in the area and to ensure all merchandising activities are run well. Execution metrics are the input metrics for delivering share gaining growth and are hence very important.
• Drive a team: Team handling & team building are the most important aspects of an ASCM’s role. An ASCM is responsible for managing the team, motivating them and getting them to deliver their metrices. She/He needs to understand the working style and strengths and weaknesses of each person to get them to reach their potential and also needs to provide developmental inputs on a continuous basis. How an ASCM binds his/her team together is often a make-or-break factor in performance of a team.
• Liaising with key Partner Functions: The ASCM liaises with the Supply Chain Team to ensure pack wise estimates are built correctly for the area. She/He also ensures norms build up at an RS level are hygienic and supplies from depots are in order. She/He also ensures that the stock build up at Customer points are at the acceptable level. The ASCM works with the Commercial Team to ensure customers are healthy and that payments to company are in order.
• Ensuring controls & financial hygiene: Along with Commercial & Supply Chain team, ASCM is supposed to have check on system hygiene at customers on aspects like extent of sales return, extent of damage/ shortage claims, mismatch between primary & secondary, physical vs. book stock mismatch, trade discount
• hygiene etc. ASCM needs to play an active role in probing cases of deviation from norms on the above-mentioned aspects.

Role Title: Assistant Area Sales & Customer Manager

Function: Customer Development

Location: Mumbai RO

Reporting to: Consumer Cluster Head

Here is how your day at Unilever would look like:

• Customer Infrastructure & satisfaction: The ASCM is responsible for ensuring a robust Customer Infrastructure is in place in the territory. Distributors are appointed by the ASCM wherever necessary, and it is his/her responsibility to track their overall performance on key metrices. ASCM is supposed to optimize the quantity & quality of customers in his area such that there are no service gaps while ensuring adequate service levels for trade and financial viability for customers. She/He monitors the financial health and profitability of all Customers. The ASCM also needs to step in from time to time to resolve customer issues which cannot be handled at a field-force level. Along with his/her team (FF) the ASCM is also responsible for primary & secondary customer complaint resolution.
• Growth & Execution: The ASCM drives Top-line growth in the area and ensures all execution metrices are also in place. She/He will also need to monitor channel-wise and category-wise growths in the territory. It is also the ASCM’s responsibility to ensure all new launches are landed in the area and to ensure all merchandising activities are run well. Execution metrics are the input metrics for delivering share gaining growth and are hence very important.
• Drive a team: Team handling & team building are the most important aspects of an ASCM’s role. An ASCM is responsible for managing the team, motivating them and getting them to deliver their metrices. She/He needs to understand the working style and strengths and weaknesses of each person to get them to reach their potential and also needs to provide developmental inputs on a continuous basis. How an ASCM binds his/her team together is often a make-or-break factor in performance of a team.
• Liaising with key Partner Functions: The ASCM liaises with the Supply Chain Team to ensure pack wise estimates are built correctly for the area. She/He also ensures norms build up at an RS level are hygienic and supplies from depots are in order. She/He also ensures that the stock build up at Customer points are at the acceptable level. The ASCM works with the Commercial Team to ensure customers are healthy and that payments to company are in order.
• Ensuring controls & financial hygiene: Along with Commercial & Supply Chain team, ASCM is supposed to have check on system hygiene at customers on aspects like extent of sales return, extent of damage/ shortage claims, mismatch between primary & secondary, physical vs. book stock mismatch, trade discount
• hygiene etc. ASCM needs to play an active role in probing cases of deviation from norms on the above-mentioned aspects.

Key Skills & Requirement

• MBA with relevant experience.
• Analytical skills and demonstrated ability to manage the business by the numbers.
• Jobs involving quick decision making.
• Jobs involving extensive oral communication, people interaction & negotiation.
• Experience in a highly analytical, results-oriented environment. Preferably FMCG.
• External customer interaction.
• Experience of jobs involving active listening skills, highly consultative and solutions oriented.
• Deep understanding of the retail and wholesale landscape in India with prior interactions with sellers and distributors is desirable.
• Experience in selling new products and developing markets.