Customer Operations Representative - Purina Animal Nutrition

Land O'Lakes, Inc.; Arden Hills (MN); On-site; USD 28,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

Land O'Lakes, Inc. in the Midwest region seeks a customer service/order management professional to handle orders, inquiries, concerns, and requests by phone, email, and fax.

This hourly, full-time role requires CST hours and location in MO, IA, MN, WI, or IL, with 7:00am–4:30pm CST availability. You will work across Salesforce, JDE E1, and SAP, manage the order-to-invoice process, resolve issues, build customer relationships, and support cross‑functional teams.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• 2–4 years of comparable customer service experience.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, Word).
• Ability to work 7:00am–4:30pm CST.

Responsibilities

• Manage a set of customers from time-of-order entry to invoicing.
• Provide direction to cross-functional teams to meet customer fulfillment and cost/quality objectives.
• Identify problems, determine root cause, and drive resolution of all order fulfillment issues.
• Communicate, collaborate, and negotiate with internal and external customers and supply chain partners to manage service.

Skills

Problem solving

Decision making

Customer relationship

Process improvement

Communication

Education

High School Diploma/GED

4-year degree in Business/Communications/Ag or related field

Tools

Salesforce

JDE E1

SAP

Microsoft Office

Job description

This role supports the Midwest Region which includes MO, IA, MN, WI, IL – The ideal candidate will be located in one of these 5 states. Hours: 7am-4:30pm CST.

We're looking for a person with a customer service mindset and high levels of empathy, poise, and professionalism. A passion for animals large and small is a bonus. The ideal candidate is a team player with a service-minded personality who enjoys interacting with people via phone and email. This role supports the Midwest Region which includes MO, IA, MN, WI, IL – You must be located in one of these 5 states. Hours: 8am-4:30pm CST.

Position Purpose

This is a full-time role handling orders, inquiries, concerns, and requests about Purina products and services via phone, email, and fax.

Key Roles/Responsibilities

Order Management:

• Involves managing a set of customers from time-of-order entry to invoicing.
• Must have skills in problem solving, decision making, customer relationship, process development and improvement.

Problem Solving And Decision Making

• Provides direction to cross-functional teams to meet customer fulfillment expectations, while ensuring company business processes are followed and appropriate cost and quality considerations are made.
• Identifies problems proactively, determines root cause and is responsible for driving resolution of all issues related to the fulfillment of customer orders.
• Owns individual decision making and coordinates collaborative decisions to ensure timely resolution.

Customer Relationship Management

• Communicates, collaborates, and negotiates with internal and external customers and supply chain partners to manage service.
• Develops and owns customer relationships in order to anticipate customer needs and proactively provide service.
• Balances the need for business practice adherence vs. circumstantial exceptions.

System Technical

• Skilled at working within and across multiple systems and understand how information inputs impact systems and business decisions.
• Proficient knowledge of Salesforce from all aspects, including account management, account maintenance, logging calls, building notes and contacts, and the ability to record and manage service requests.
• Proficient knowledge of our order entry systems, JDE E1 and SAP.

Experience-Education (Required)

• High School Diploma/GED
• 2 - 4 Years of comparable Customer Service experience
• Proficient skills in Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, Word)
• Ability to work any set schedule between the business hours of 7:00am – 4:30pm, CST

Other Desirable Traits

• 4-year degree in Business, Communications, Ag or other related field
• Effective communication (verbal and written)
• Interpersonal effectiveness as an individual and in teams
• Must be comfortable managing conflict while maintaining a high level of integrity and quality of work
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to prioritize, plan, and problem solve to deliver results
• Experience in SAP

This position requires a quiet, uninterrupted work environment.

This is an hourly role and will pay between $20-24/hr. In most cases, candidates offered employment can expect to be hired at a pay rate near the middle of our salary ranges.

About Land O'Lakes, Inc.

Join us and be part of a Fortune 250, farmer- and member-owned cooperative that is reimagining the business of food. We have been named a Top Workplace by Indeed and LinkedIn, and to the TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list.

Benefits for most full-time roles include medical, dental, vision, PTO, life & disability insurance, education assistance, a 401k and a variety of well-being resources. Most part-time employees are eligible for prorated PTO, holiday pay, employee development programs, prorated education assistance, and a 401(k).

Land O'Lakes, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) M/F/Vets/Disabled. The company maintains a drug-free workforce, including post-employment substance abuse testing pursuant to a Drug and Alcohol Policy.

Land O'Lakes does not use Automated Decision-Making Technology, as defined by California law, to substantially replace human decision-making or make significant decisions about applications for employment or contracting opportunities.