Commercial Manager at Vector Logistics

Job Purpose

• To provide direct commercial support and insight to the finance and customer teams internally, as well principals and customers externally.
• To facilitate the development of commercial engagement with the rest of the business.
• To deliver enhanced customer and business profitability and assist in focused strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Contribution

• Participate in the formulation and implementation of the national customer/commercial strategy, based on a 2-to-5-year view of requirements.
• Ensure that assigned and agreed strategic targets are operationalized and achieved. 

Customer Pricing and Contract Management

• Calculate and provide accurate pricing information for the annual price negotiations.
• Together with the Customer team, review customer and principal pricing contracts and manage the annual pricing negotiations and formula-based adjustments and agree pricing with customers and principals.
• Ensure related profitability objectives are achieved.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and highlight opportunities for the business and its customers/principals relating to, among others, rate reductions and improved efficiencies.
• Provide continuous pricing support regarding profitability to ensure that costs are managed against targeted margins.
• Drive commercial conversations with and answer related queries from customers and principals.
• Ensure that the Finance Support Team is informed of the correct pricing for customers and principals.
• Manage and monitor the allocation of charges to customers and principals to ensure that they conform to the agreed rates.
• Draft new contracts and service level agreements in consultation with the Vector legal team and manage the process in consultation with the Customer and Financial teams to the point of formal sign off by the parties concerned.
• Monitor the contract terms of all existing customer and principal contracts including notice periods and schedule renewal discussions accordingly.

Budgeting and Forecasting

• Compile and review results of the budgeting and sales forecasting processes, including volume and distribution revenue analysis.
• Provide insight and interpret the impact of key revenue drivers on profitability.
• Compile the monthly reports detailing customer and principal sales and performance.
• Conduct regular commercial strategy reviews and report to the Exco on:
• current and historical revenue performance
• market positioning and relevance
• competitor analysis and pricing
• growth strategy and opportunities
• margin improvement opportunities.
• Complete annual “tail cutting” reviews focusing on unprofitable customers and principals.

Profitability Analysis

• Provide meaningful profitability information and recommend ways to optimise customer, principal and business profitability.
• Support the customer team in the use of system tools regarding pricing and profitability.
• Provide support and regular feedback on performance to the customer, sales and account managers.

Billing

• Ensure accurate and complete monthly billings to principals and customers.
• Support the customer team in reviewing and signing off revenue.
• Recommend strategies for simplification and automation of revenue billings and customer communication.

Reporting

• Drive enhanced customer and business profitability and performance information designed to unlock margin opportunities and influence improved contributions.
• Identify opportunities for value added reporting to improve the quality and content of reporting and message management.
• Provide sustained support to customers and principals, particularly those who raise specific queries.

Commercial Insight and Technical Expertise

• Provide calculations, detailed analysis and associated recommendations emanating from any and all queries that arise as a result of changes in business operations, the economic climate or potentially might offer more profitable solutions.
• Provide expertise in management team meetings to internal clients and colleagues and recommend solutions based on insights and findings.
• Provide practical commercial expertise and insights to external customers and principals as part of regular engagement and ad hoc requests.

Staff Management

• Lead and develop staff within the context of the Labour Relations Act, Employment Equity Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Skills Development Act.
• Monitor staff performance and provide regular feedback.
• Manage staff activities, ensuring service levels are met and protocols are adhered to.
• Coach and support staff where necessary to achieve objectives.
• Manage staff leave and general time management issues in line with organisational deliverables and standards.
• Manage and deliver on succession plans to enable the development of a future generation of leaders and specialists and ensure optimal turnover and retention levels are maintained.
• Champion staff training and development through the utilisation of available training
• opportunities or contributing to the development of new training solutions in collaboration with national training specialists.
• Conduct regular performance appraisals with subordinates.
• Establish sound staff and labour organising and communication structures and systems.
• Lead the team towards meeting the strategy and targets through regular communication and utilisation of the full organisational talent management tool set.
• Develop and manage high performance multidisciplinary teams in order to solve problems within the commercial arena.
• Conduct regular meetings and ensure that records are kept and shared across the team and that action plans agreed to within team meetings are delivered upon.

KPI’s

• Timeliness and accuracy of pricing information.
• Achievement of profitability targets.
• Accuracy and relevance of profitability analysis.
• Value added reporting components.
• Quality of advice, insight and recommendations to customer team, customers and principals.
• Outcome of pricing negotiations.
• Timeliness and accuracy of reporting.

Key Relationships

Internal

• Customer team.
• Operations management.
• Sales team.
• Wider finance team.
• Procurement.
• IT Team.

External

• Legal representatives.
• Auditors.
• Existing and potential customers.
• Principals/Suppliers.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience Required for the Job

Qualifications and Experience

• Must have Matric (Grade 12).
• BCom degree and/or similar experience.
• CA or CIMA is preferred.
• 3-5 years’ experience, including commercial and front-end experience and people management.
• SAP experience would be advantageous as would exposure to a supply chain/FMCG/ logistics environment. 

Skills and Competencies

• Leadership Standards
• Provide inspirational leadership.
• Create a culture of execution.
• Display business insight and innovate.
• Develop customer service obsession
• Develop commitment through engagement.

Knowledge

• Commercial accounting principles and practices.
• Management accounting principles and practices.
• Marketing principles and methodologies.
• Supply chain and logistics.
• Commercial and contract law.
• Pricing strategies.
• Broad knowledge of Vector operations and systems.
• An understanding of multiple key performance indicators, inter-relationship and bottom line sensitivity.

Skills

• Financial modeling.
• Feasibility and appraisal methods.
• Verbal and written communication.
• Computer literacy (MS Office and especially proficiency in Excel).
• Report writing.
• Interpersonal and customer relations.
• Negotiation.
• Logical thinking.
• Problem solving.
• Decision-making.
• Analytical thinking.
• Presentation.
• Numeracy.
• Strategic influencing.
• Lateral thinking.
• Organisational awareness.

Attributes

• Diplomacy.
• Initiative and assertiveness.
• Tolerance of stress and pressure.
• Creativity.
• Proactivity.
• Attention to detail.
• Deadline driven.
• Able to interact at all levels of the organization.
• Able to plan ahead and manage time.
• Able to prioritise.