Position Summary

Establish and maintain accounts as assigned by the Subsidiary Manager.  Gain an understanding of market trends and growers’ needs while working closely with Product Development to identify leafy and brassica varieties suited for your region.  Be the coordinator for all business-related topics with the Head office in Salinas. Champion the processes, tools, and technologies used by the sales team. Reduce friction in day-to-day sales activities, which helps salespeople improve efficiency and increase productivity.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Sales

·       Maintain, introduce, and establish our proprietary leafy and brassica varieties through trialing and written evaluations of trial performance for our vendors and internal review.

·       Manage and improve relations with our grower accounts within your region.

·       Expand our customer base within the Salinas Region.

·       Be active with all local complaints or claims from inception and follow through with the process in WIN.

·       In close communication with the Supply Chain for delivery of orders.

·       Assist with order deliveries when the warehouse staff is unavailable.

Sales Effectiveness

·       Implement and maintain forecast accuracy through FuturMaster. The forecast accuracy will be measurable through various KPI’s reviewed at the start of each fiscal year.

·       Implement and maintain customer sales effectiveness through a company-provided format. Historical and current years forecast quarterly followed through with quarterly action plans reviewed and discussed with Sub Manager.

·       Implement the use of Company CRM tool to accurately track accounts.

·       Primary functions and Contacts

·       Current and future market potential

o   Trials/product performance

o   Current and past due invoices

o   Traceability of free of seed

o   Open invoices

Accounts Receivables

·     Follow up on collections of accounts as needed.

Product Development and Research & Development

·       Provide input on Commercial and Pre-commercial trialing programs for leafy and brassica as needed through evaluations and grower interest.

o   Assist in the planting and evaluation of leafy and Brassica trials

o   Trial reports – prepare and/or review as needed

o   Variety slotting – ensure PD knows slots for varieties for best results as well as slots that should be avoided

·     Review advanced genetics (R&D trials) and provide feedback.

·     Keep Research up to date on market trends and needs.

·     Help locate and place R&D trials.

Sales Forecasting

·       Bi-annual forecast update (February & June each year) by variety/month to prepare the S&OP process.

·       Monthly updates

o   Revising gross sales for the coming three months (due 1st of each month).

o   Briefly explain (2-3 sentences) why the variance from the forecast by variety.

o   Responsible for selling varieties at the end of the lifecycle

o   Participate and have an action plan for surplus inventory outside of the life cycle

Operational Excellence

·       CRM Tool

Marketing

·       Understand and share knowledge of target markets and customers.

·       Be aware of the ability to bundle related services and products as needed

o   Seed coating and pelleting needs and chemical treatments

o   Gain understanding and discuss areas of possible expansion

o   Be aware of and share new ideas/industry concepts as they relate to our industry

o   Supply input for the long-term strategy of the company

o   Implementation of the product launching plan

o   Active participation in organization and execution of promotional activities like field days, product videos, input for newsletters, website, etc.

Market Intelligence

·       Monitor market trends at the grower level regarding commodities usage, new projects, and innovation being implemented.

·       Share all information related to competitors from pricing to new product introduction and quantity.

Coordination

Animate on a bi-weekly basis the activities through the CRM – visits reports, customer mapping, and crop knowledge for the entire area region.

·                       Support pricing strategy with Subsidiary manager based on Margin performance & market intelligence.

·                       Display all supply-related information to the local team such as shortages, quality, and delays, and prepare a backup plan to absorb the business impact.

·                       Engage & coordinate actions to manage inventory/surplus in the region with the local team (Supply & CS).

·                       Review and challenge all forecasted items before the S&OP cycle for the region for N+1 & 2 using FuturMaster.

·                       Propose & support actions achieving the sales target in her/his region such as payment terms, early cash collection incentive, rebates, FOC, POA… (no authority to validate).

Qualifications

·       Bachelor’s degree in business, Statistics, or Supply Chain Management or a minimum of 3 years of work experience in supply chain or inventory management in the seed industry.

·       Knowledge of the Salinas Region preferred.

·       Quick learner with the ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, maintain focus, and adapt to a variety of challenges.

·       Ability to conduct detailed procedures in a time-constrained environment.

·       Good written and verbal communication skills.

·       Strong sense of time organization and urgency.

·       Able to work independently and within a team.

·       Always maintain a positive attitude.

·       Professional conduct and appearance.

·       Proficient in Microsoft Applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

·       Experience with an ERP system is preferred.

Excellent benefits package with medical, dental, vision and life insurance. This position is eligible for a company vehicle.

The environment is challenging and welcoming of innovative ideas. The team is dynamic and always looking for ways to support our customers. 

There will be various interviews both virtual and in person. The process takes a few weeks to complete. We have a thorough onboarding process and welcome feedback.