Sales Assistant

Job Summary

The Sales Assistant will be tasked with assisting and supporting Sales team members in selling the company's products and services. In addition, this role will be responsible for assessing the customer’s needs, discussing opportunities with internal stakeholders, and assisting the sales team in placing orders.

This role also requires general administrative office activities, such as filing, copying, records maintenance, typing, word processing, faxing, mail distribution and may also be responsible for the maintenance of office equipment and supplies. Assists others and the department with daily functions as needed.

Duties/Responsibilities: This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned and are subject to change at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.

• Develop and maintain positive customer relations and coordinate with various functions within the company to ensure customer requests are handled appropriately.
• Order processing: Process orders, provide confirmation receipts and estimated ship dates, give order status, process credit card orders and RMA’s.
• Sales support: Support regional sales managers with updates to ensure opportunities are kept current and accurate.
• Order Tracking/Status: Provide order status and backlog reports, track key customer activity, update customers as needed and provide continual feedback.
• Answering customer calls/customer interface and taking customer orders.
• Input customer orders into the ERP System and update customers on the status of their orders.
• Liaison between sales and corporate administration, resolving problems and ensuring information to provide to necessary parties in an accurate and timely manner.
• Provides administrative support and assistance.
• Complete all required continuous learning training, including safety, compliance, and job specific.
• Other duties as assigned. Duties and responsibilities may vary slightly depending on branch location.
• All purchase orders are given special attention, clear confirmation, and detailed follow-up work to ensure that they are done correctly using all business software as necessary.
• Purchasing agent is very responsive to the requests of others within the company.
• Must manage their portion of inventory (stock items in his/her categories) in an accurate and timely manner.
• Must order and track inventory closely and make sure to have enough stock product inventory and critical customized products to fulfill customer needs. The purchasing agent does this by running their guides as often as necessary, doing thorough and timely follow up on all orders (regardless of whether there is an expeditor in place or not) and making sure we get the best quality product at the lowest available price.
• The purchasing agent should continually work at negotiating with vendors and freight companies to save Piedmont as much money as possible by buying the best quality of product they can at the lowest cost possible.
• Must be up to date with market trends & notify internal teams with updates in market price increases and decreases.
• Utilize purchase reports to create purchase orders.
• Vendor management including current vendors and new vendors.
• Various projects and responsibilities as assigned by the purchasing manager or the management team.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills including an ability to communicate with the senior leadership team, customers, and internal/external stakeholders.
• Proficient in MS Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Must be a positive team player who is accountable for initiating and monitoring projects through to completion in a challenging and changing environment; includes working with and being dependent upon a broad range and level of personnel.
• Flexibility under competing time requirements and changing deadlines. Excellent focus and a good sense of priorities.
• High energy, versatile, self-directed, with effective analytical and organizational skills.
• Occasional travel may be required.

Education/Experience:

• High School Diploma or GED required associate degree helpful.
• 4 years job experience minimum in customer service or sales support.
• Packaging industry experience beneficial.