Inside Sales and Planning Manager

Job Summary

The Inside Sales and Planning Manager leads the inside sales function for a mid-sized manufacturing organization, driving revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and operational alignment. This role oversees order management, demand coordination, and customer engagement while partnering closely with supply chain, planning, and production teams to ensure accurate forecasting, efficient order fulfillment, and high service levels from inquiry through delivery.

Qualifications

Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Communications, Supply Chain, Operations, or related field
• 5–7 years of experience in inside sales, customer service leadership, or sales operations within a manufacturing environment
• Proven experience managing customer orders, forecasting, and cross-functional coordination with supply chain and production teams
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Advanced proficiency in ERP/MRP/CRM systems such as SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, or Salesforce
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills; familiarity with data visualization tools is a plus
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing teams and performance
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with demand planning, forecasting, and inventory coordination
• Knowledge of key metrics including:
  • Order Cycle Time
  • OTIF (On-Time-In-Full)
  • Forecast Accuracy
  • Service Level Attainment
  • CSAT
  • NPS
• APICS CPIM certification or similar supply chain certification preferred
• Lean/Six Sigma knowledge
• Experience in discrete manufacturing environments

Key Responsibilities

Sales & Customer Management

• Lead and develop the inside sales team across phone, email, and digital channels to support customers and drive revenue growth
• Manage the full order lifecycle from quotation and order entry through fulfillment and post-sale support
• Establish service standards, SLAs, escalation processes, and response time expectations
• Build strong relationships with customers, distributors, and internal stakeholders to ensure a seamless customer experience
• Manage RMA service level expectations internally and externally

Demand Planning & Order Coordination

• Partner with Operations to align customer demand forecasts with production capacity and material availability to achieve on-time delivery goals
• Support demand forecasting and backlog management to improve forecast accuracy and service levels
• Monitor order flow, prioritize customer needs, and resolve constraints impacting delivery timelines

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Supply Chain, Production, Logistics, and Quality teams to ensure efficient order fulfillment and issue resolution
• Coordinate with Finance on pricing, cost considerations, and margin optimization
• Serve as the primary liaison between customers and internal operations regarding order status, changes, and escalations

Performance Management & Continuous Improvement

• Track and analyze KPIs such as order cycle time, OTIF, forecast accuracy, response times, and customer satisfaction metrics
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on lead time reduction, service enhancement, and process efficiency
• Identify root causes of recurring issues and implement corrective actions across teams
• Create and manage supplier scorecards for vendors

Systems & Process Optimization

• Oversee CRM and ERP system utilization to ensure accurate order visibility, reporting, and data integrity
• Implement and optimize workflows, dashboards, and reporting tools to improve decision-making and transparency
• Maintain documentation, audit trails, and compliance with company policies and quality standards

Team Leadership & Development

• Recruit, train, and mentor inside sales team members
• Manage staffing, performance evaluations, and professional development plans
• Foster a high-performance, customer-focused culture aligned with company goals

Key Account Focus

• Maintain focus on new and submitted quotes for pricing and lead-time feedback
• Forecast incoming purchase order impacts on production lead times and delivery schedules
• Conduct long-range forecasting for increases or decreases in customer volume

All offers of employment are contingent upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen and background check.