Customer Service Manager

DLF Seeds•Albany, OR

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Customer Service Manager drives excellence across customer service operations through leadership, structured processes, and continuous improvement. The role leads team development, customer experience programs, and operational execution while ensuring systems and technologies are effectively utilized to support customer and business outcomes. Working closely with Sales, Planning, Production, Inventory, and other functional teams, the Customer Service Manager ensures customer requirements are met while supporting scalable and standardized business practices aligned with future organizational growth.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in customer service, supply chain, customer operations, or related leadership roles within a manufacturing, agriculture, or operational environment.
Previous people leadership experience with demonstrated success leading and developing teams.
Strong understanding of customer service processes, inventory principles, and operational workflows.
Experience using ERP systems (Navision, SAP, Oracle, Business Central, or equivalent).
Experience with CRM platforms and customer service systems.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
Strong organizational capability with demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities.
Proficient with Microsoft Excel and reporting tools; Power BI experience desirable.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations Management, or related discipline.
Experience within agriculture, seed, or manufacturing industries.
Experience leading customer experience initiatives and performance metrics programs.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop a high-performing customer service team, creating a collaborative and customer-focused environment.
Recruit, onboard, and develop team members to ensure capability aligns with current and future business needs.
Establish performance expectations and objectives, providing coaching, mentoring, and ongoing feedback.
Conduct regular performance discussions and development planning activities.
Recognize and celebrate achievements while fostering accountability and continuous improvement.
Promote a positive team culture that supports engagement, adaptability, and operational excellence.
Ensure resources are appropriately structured and aligned to seasonal and operational demands.
Develop and champion customer experience strategies aligned with business objectives.
Partner with cross-functional teams to improve customer journeys and overall customer satisfaction.
Utilize the Net Promoter Score (NPS) process and associated metrics, identifying trends and improvement opportunities.
Monitor and analyze customer feedback, satisfaction measures, retention metrics, and loyalty indicators.
Prepare and communicate customer experience insights and recommendations to leadership teams.
Develop and maintain customer service standards and operating guidelines to ensure a consistent customer experience.
Promote customer-centric behaviors and best practices throughout the organization.
Identify emerging customer experience trends and attend relevant industry events and forums to support continuous learning and innovation.
Ensure the team provides proactive and effective communication regarding product availability, supply risks, and customer impacts.
Provide recommendations and feedback to improve operational performance, including participation in seasonal and post-season reviews.
Ensure processes are in place to deliver products that meet defined quality and specification requirements.
Monitor inventory levels and work closely with Planning and Procurement teams to ensure supply requirements are understood and actioned.
Support inventory-related activities including retesting programs, inventory optimization initiatives, and coordination of surplus or out-of-spec inventory activities.
Ensure freight activities are effectively coordinated and consolidated to optimize cost and customer outcomes.
Monitor service performance and identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency and customer outcomes.
Lead and support the implementation and adoption of systems and technologies across customer service operations.
Drive effective use of Customer Relationship Management systems, ensuring customer interactions, activities, and insights are accurately captured and leveraged.
Champion Customer Relationship Management best practices and ensure data quality standards are maintained.
Provide coaching and training to improve system capability and utilization across the team.
Lead effective utilization of ERP systems including Navision and future business systems.
Monitor process performance and system usage to identify opportunities for simplification and improvement.
Collaborate with functional and technology teams to resolve issues and implement enhancements.
Work closely with Sales, Planning, Inventory, Production, Procurement, and Logistics teams to align customer requirements with operational execution.
Participate in operational and planning forums to identify risks, constraints, and improvement opportunities.
Lead or support continuous improvement initiatives focused on customer service effectiveness and process optimization.
Support standardization of processes and implementation of best practices across teams and locations.
Identify opportunities to improve accuracy, efficiency, and performance.
Prepare reports and recommendations for operational and leadership teams.
Support root cause investigations and corrective action activities.
Participate in team meetings and continuous improvement initiatives.
Perform other duties as assigned by the manager.