What are the responsibilities and job description for the Parts & Customer Support Specialist position at CMS North America, Inc.?
Position Summary
The Parts & Customer Support Specialist is responsible for providing responsive, accurate, and commercially effective aftermarket parts support to CMS North America customers. The position manages customer parts requests from initial inquiry through final resolution, including parts identification, quotations, order processing, shipment coordination, RMAs, warranty support, inventory activities, and customer communication. The Specialist serves as a key operational link between customers, Field Service, Purchasing, Accounting, Shipping & Receiving, vendors, and CMS S.p.A.
- Serve as a primary point of contact for customer and technician parts inquiries.
- Respond to customer requests with a strong sense of urgency, particularly when a machine is down or production is affected.
- Obtain the technical and commercial information necessary to correctly identify customer requirements.
- Coordinate with technicians, Purchasing, vendors, and CMS S.p.A. to identify the correct parts and solutions.
- Provide customers with clear and timely information regarding pricing, availability, lead times, shipment status, and alternatives.
- Maintain ownership of open customer requests through resolution rather than simply transferring issues between departments.
- Escalate critical customer situations, excessive lead times, unavailable parts, or unresolved issues to the Parts Customer Service Manager.
- Handle internal and external customer complaints professionally and constructively, including difficult or high-pressure situations.
- Take ownership of the customer experience throughout the parts-support process, from initial request through final resolution.
- Proactively communicate order status, lead times, delays, alternatives, and next steps so customers do not have to repeatedly request updates.
- Follow up after critical machine-down cases, significant orders, or difficult customer situations to confirm that the customer's need has been successfully resolved.
- Monitor customer feedback and promptly address or escalate dissatisfaction and recurring complaints.
- Identify recurring causes of customer dissatisfaction and communicate them to the Parts Customer Service Manager.
- Build customer confidence and loyalty by being responsive, transparent, solution-oriented, and accountable.
- Contribute to making CMS North America the customer's first choice for parts and aftermarket support.
- Generate accurate and timely parts quotations.
- Follow up on open quotations and obtain customer purchase orders.
- Convert approved quotations into sales orders and coordinate fulfillment.
- Ensure orders contain all information necessary for accurate and timely processing.
- Prioritize urgent and machine-down orders appropriately.
- Coordinate with Shipping & Receiving and logistics providers to meet required shipping deadlines.
- Track critical shipments through delivery and proactively communicate delays or exceptions.
- Follow up on missing, damaged, delayed, or incorrect deliveries of parts.
- Maintain accurate records of quotes, orders, customer communications, and order status in company systems.
- Coordinate with Accounting regarding invoicing, customer account status, credit issues, and collections when required.
- Develop working knowledge of CMS machines, controls, components, BOMs, electrical and mechanical documentation, and historical parts usage.
- Research and identify replacement parts using BOMs, drawings, service records, vendor information, and technician knowledge.
- Communicate replacement strategies clearly to customers, technicians, and internal stakeholders.
- Create and maintain item codes, kits, spare-parts lists, and related BOM information as required.
- Participate in technical and product training to continuously improve knowledge of CMS equipment and its evolution.
- Evaluate potential warranty situations and coordinate with Service management as required.
- Process RMAs and warranty repairs from initiation through completion.
- Coordinate communication among customers, vendors, technicians, and CMS S.p.A.
- Whenever appropriate, support manufacturer evaluation, repair, or rebuild opportunities rather than automatically replacing components.
- Identify frequently used, long-lead-time, high-risk, and critical machine-down components.
- Identify shortages and potential supply risks and communicate them to the Parts Customer Service Manager.
- Proactively communicate material availability issues that may affect customers.
- Support the review of BOMs and available machine documentation for new machine installations.
- Help identify critical, long-lead-time, and recommended spare components.
- Coordinate with Service, Sales, and CMS S.p.A. as necessary to develop recommended spare-parts lists.
- Prepare recommended spare-parts quotations for new customers.
- Help customers understand appropriate spare-parts and MRO practices that can reduce future machine downtime.
- Identify obsolete and discontinued components encountered within the installed machine base.
- Work with Service, and CMS S.p.A. to identify available replacement or retrofit solutions.
- Identify potential retrofit opportunities and communicate them to the Parts Customer Service Manager.
- Support approved proactive retrofit and obsolescence campaigns – Service Bulleting
- Identify repair, rebuild, retrofit, and spare-parts opportunities based on customer requests, equipment history, and installed machines.
- Identify situations where customers are purchasing parts or services from third parties and communicate potential opportunities to management.
- Identify opportunities for additional parts, repairs, rebuilds, retrofits, and spare-parts packages.
- Identify situations where pricing, availability, or lead time may cause customers to source elsewhere and communicate this information to the Parts Customer Service Manager.
- Support approved initiatives involving alternative suppliers, repair sources, retrofit programs, and other aftermarket activities.
- Maintain effective day-to-day communication with CMS S.p.A. regarding parts availability, pricing, technical information, replacement parts, retrofits, and customer requirements.
- Clearly communicate the urgency associated with North American customer requirements.
- Actively follow open requests and obtain updates necessary to keep customers informed.
- Escalate excessive response times, availability problems, or unresolved issues to the Parts Customer Service Manager.
- Document recurring problems and provide specific examples to support management escalation and process improvement.
- Identify recurring failures, delays, and inefficiencies in the parts-support process.
- Recommend practical improvements to the Parts Customer Service Manager.
- Maintain documentation of replacement-part strategies, obsolete components, vendor alternatives, repair options, and lessons learned.
- Follow standardized processes for quotations, orders, RMAs, inventory, customer communication, and escalation.
- Use company ERP and business systems as the primary source of operational information wherever applicable.
- Help reduce dependency on individual knowledge, personal spreadsheets, and undocumented processes.
- Participate in departmental and cross-functional continuous-improvement initiatives.
- High School Diploma or equivalent required; Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering Technology, Manufacturing, or a related discipline preferred.
- Minimum two years of experience in industrial parts, aftermarket support, customer service, purchasing, MRO, order fulfillment, or a related manufacturing environment.
- Experience supporting industrial machinery, automation, CNC equipment, or other technical products strongly preferred.
- Experience working with ERP/accounting systems and structured inventory processes preferred.
- Strong customer-service orientation and commitment to customer satisfaction.
- Strong sense of urgency, accountability, and personal ownership.
- Ability to remain professional and solution-oriented in high-pressure and machine-down situations.
- Technical curiosity and willingness to continuously learn CNC machinery and industrial components.
- Ability to read and interpret BOMs and basic technical documentation, or willingness to develop this capability.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work with incomplete or changing information.
- Commercial awareness and ability to recognize aftermarket opportunities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to coordinate effectively across Service, Purchasing, Accounting, Sales, Logistics, vendors, and international counterparts.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple simultaneous priorities and interruptions.
- Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills, including formulas and data analysis.
- Strong Outlook and general Microsoft Office skills.
- Experience with ERP/accounting systems; Microsoft Dynamics experience preferred.
- Ability to challenge existing processes constructively and recommend practical improvements.
- High tolerance for ambiguity while maintaining disciplined follow-through.
- Fluent in English.
- Ability to sit for extended periods.
- Ability to work effectively in an active office environment with multiple simultaneous customer and internal communications.
- Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. regularly and occasionally lift up to 60 lbs. to waist height.