Key Account Manager in Sawmills

Location:

Primarily based at Ambergate, Derbyshire, DE56 2JR, with travel to our Essex site, RM20 4EL, as and when required.

Salary:

£35,000 - £40,000 + Company Car

Hours:

40 hours per week, Monday to Friday between 07:00 and 18:00 (flexibility required based on operational needs)

About Us

Established in 1965, the Lockwood Group is a family-run business employing over 400 people across eight UK sites. Our operations span UK transport, warehousing, food production and co-packing solutions.

The Role

This is a hands-on operational and customer-facing role, responsible for both the day-to-day running and ongoing performance of a significant transport account. The account covers a range of logistics activities with differing operational requirements. The successful candidate will be directly involved in daily load building, order management, planning and customer communication, working closely with our Transport Planning team to ensure requirements are executed effectively. Alongside the daily operation, you will own the customer relationship and closely monitor service performance against agreed KPIs, identifying issues, investigating failures and driving continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Take day-to-day ownership of a major and fast-moving customer account.
• Act as the primary operational contact between the customer and Lockwood Group.
• Manage daily customer orders and transport requirements from receipt through to delivery.
• Take an active role in daily load building and planning to maximise efficiency and service.
• Manage a high volume of daily communication with the customer and other stakeholders.
• Respond quickly to changing requirements, delays and operational challenges.
• Work closely with Transport Planning to ensure plans are achievable and executed successfully.
• Monitor outstanding orders, collections and deliveries throughout the operation.
• Maintain accurate systems, trackers and customer information.
• Monitor and manage performance against agreed customer KPIs and service levels.
• Investigate service failures, identify root causes and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
• Provide regular performance reporting and updates to the customer and internal management.
• Build a strong working relationship with the customer and understand their changing operational requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve service, processes, load utilisation and overall account efficiency.

The Person

We are looking for someone who is highly organised, proactive and comfortable being directly involved in the detail of a busy transport account.

• Strong experience within transport, logistics or supply chain.
• Experience in transport planning, load building or operational account management.
• Strong customer relationship and communication skills.
• Comfortable working within a KPI and service-driven environment.
• Excellent organisation and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage high volumes of emails, orders and changing priorities.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the confidence to take ownership of issues through to resolution.
• Good analytical and IT skills, including Excel and transport/customer systems.
• Commercially aware with a hands-on approach.
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel to our Essex operation when required.

What We Offer

• £35,000 - £40,000 salary.
• Company car.
• 40 hour working week.
• Full PPE and uniform provided.
• Free, security-patrolled on-site parking.
• Ownership of a significant and growing customer account.
• Career development within a growing, family-owned logistics group.