Manager in Training

PURPOSE OF CHANNEL MANAGER: To manage national & key accounts in your allocated Channel / Sector. To engage, support & brief Channel Sales Managers & Sales Development Representatives on accounts that they cover at site level within your ledger. To create & provide all relevant information to ensure that the Customer Engagement team are fully briefed & able to execute the sales plan. Understand the Customers world.

REPORTING AND KEY RELATIONSHIPS OF A CHANNEL MANAGER: The Channel Manager will report to the Channel Lead (Controller or Senior). Key business contacts in customer network: Buyers, Chefs, Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance, Sales, Operations. Target contacts: Buying Directors, NPD teams, Chefs, Associations. Internal teams: Channel Team, Business Insights, Finance Team, Ecommerce Team, Customer Engagement Team, Product Team, Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, Technical & Quality Control, Chefs.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A CHANNEL MANAGER:

• STRATEGY: Own, develop & execute a LIVE strategic Sector plan work and review regularly with Line manager & Business Insights. Work with field sales to ensure the Sector plan is relevant & aligned; collective collaboration is key. Deliver the agreed strategic plan by sector for the account portfolio you are responsible for, including the development & retention of existing business & new business opportunities. Provide a detailed period brief (templated) for any accounts that have Field coverage & / or Customer Engagement contact. Work with the Channel / Field Sales and Customer Engagement teams to design and implement tactical activity in your accounts to support your account plan aligned and agreed 3 months in advance. Deliver sales forecast and revenue, EBIT from assigned national or development accounts. Customer Contact Strategy: Get inside your customers world to fully understand it & how DDF can best access & maximise the opportunity. Ensure pricing defensibility implemented & maintained across the account portfolio / channel. Share good & best practice across the Channel Team to ensure that all opportunities are maximised. Work collaboratively across the Sales function & Business Insights to ensure that all Channel / Sector opportunities & learnings are taken into consideration and applied through the Channel / Sector strategic plan.
• ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT: Develop an Account Plan for Each Customer in line with the Company / Business Unit Plan to deliver Sales Value Target & Margin EBIT forecast and budget within each customer across your account portfolio. This plan is to develop into a JBP with key customers aligned to Buys / Customers own KPIs (Easy to do business with). Devise, implement & execute a promotional plan which will include NPD, promotional offers and menu development & listings aligned to customers strategic direction / focus & development plans. Accountable for completion of written correspondence (contact reports 48hrs post call) regarding meetings, proposals, re-negotiations, presentations. File & documentation to be stored centrally (S:DRIVE). Ensure all customer communication is completed & actioned in a timely manner with account file updated post each meeting, site visit or electronic / phone communication. Pro-actively manage your account portfolio from a credit perspective to ensure that disputes, queries etc, are promptly resolved, aged debt is kept to the minimum and maximum sites are available to trade at all times. Manage your accounts payment terms to the benefit of DDF, strive for 30 days EOM and adherence to those terms. Identify & implement ways in which to service customers that will deliver incremental profit; RTM strategy, product mix, electronic trading, Field / Customer Engagement Team support etc. Quarterly review of account profitability through latest business case mechanic by SKU with all terms included. On a quarterly basis present your business plan for your account portfolio to the senior sales management team supported by quarterly account profitability review. Create an account contact matrix for your portfolio detailing all required meetings by account along with the required frequency. In addition, site visits to be completed on a monthly basis to ensure a full understanding of your customers business & relevance of any proposed listings / activities. Matrix & plan to be signed off & reviewed regularly by Channel Lead. Regular review of contracts, where terms are in place they must have a dated contract to support. Any contracts up for renewal must be submitted through business case & only approved business cases and agreed contract terms are to be implemented, documented and filed with Business Insights. Work closely with Supply Chain to ensure OTIF delivery - provide regular forecasts of key SKUs for key customers. Implement Price Increase within briefed timelines & in full. Brief product specification changes to relevant customers as provided by Technical & Quality Control. Manage product assortments attached to your accounts. Ensure that on restricted assortments, alternative products are available to support ongoing supply for any OOS or delists. Ensure customers are fully briefed on delists in a timely manner & that alternative SKUs are secured. Deliver ROI on any equipment placements within your accounts; where a site or account falls below required ROI levels you are required to take action to resolve. Focused plan on forecast management with reference to seasonality etc. Development and retention of existing business and new business opportunities. Sector specific range creation. Accountable to ensure customers and their units are on the correct pricing levels as agreed to avoid any credits and proactively manage credit risk customers. (Linked to finance to ensure accounts run smoothly). Finance engagement - Constantly review margins / EBIT being achieved versus targets, reduce/manage credit risk customers, ensure pricing on file is correct at each customer level to avoid unnecessary credits, and look for ways in which to service customers which will deliver incremental profit; through an RTM strategy, customer product mix, electronic trading, Field / Customer Engagement Team support, central distribution.
• FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: The individual will have responsibility for managing a min of £5m+ sales value across a range of customers and the appropriate margin target assigned to those customers. Accountable for financial 1-2-1 account management with Head of Business Insights / Business Insights Business Partner monthly. Price increase management: Review all options for price increase with customers annually, or as requested. Reporting performance and proposing range rationalisation / margin enhancement at all levels by product management. Challenges oneself to fully understand ROI & Customer P&Ls. Able to present these at Exec level to the key stakeholders.
• DECISION MAKING LEVEL/COMPLEXITY: Strategic Planning: understand the bigger picture. Taking a holistic view and setting clear direction to the route to be taken to deliver your plan. The individual will be required to lead & manage financial proposals together to win, retain and/or re-negotiate existing/new customers. Manage all areas of What if Investment, ROI, Promotions, Contracts, Key influencers. NPD Management: Clear thinking in the deletion / origination of NPD.
• PEOPLE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY: Yes

BENEFITS OF A CHANNEL MANAGER:

• Competitive Company Pension Scheme
• Company Life Assurance for added peace of mind
• Company Car or Car Allowance
• Free On-Site Parking
• Employee Referral Scheme
• Long Service Recognition & Awards
• Generous 50% Staff Discount on Company Products
• Eyecare Voucher Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) including:
• 24/7 confidential support line
• Access to our Wellbeing App, offering health and wellbeing resources, exclusive discounts, and employee perks

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE:

• Ideally degree educated (Business discipline).
• Experience of National Account Management (ideally in a food related business).
• Sales experience & Sales Skill.
• Team Player.
• Dynamic Go Getter Highly Motivated.
• Good Communicator.
• Strategic Thinker, Active Doer.
• Flexible & Nimble to Change.
• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to influence & present at all levels.
• Highly developed Presentation skills.
• Clear confident communication skills both verbal and written.
• Highly developed numerical skills, complete P&L understanding to Senior Management level.
• General interest in people.
• Demonstrable drive and enthusiasm.
• Highly mobile as role will require significant travel across the UK.

KEY MEASURES:

• Business Strategy & Customer Plans- Live Monthly - KPI Performance Tracker.
• Key Customer / End user Contact strategy Managing the chain and key decision makers.
• Sales Reporting Tools Daily Sales Reporting Sales & Margins Actuals v Targets.
• Total accountability / Management LTA/Settlement Discount Measures in line with contractual obligations.
• Development Of Development / Marketing Plan in line with contracts, and or use of marketing promotional plans.
• Account Plan objectives set versus achievements.