Account Controller

We have an exciting opportunity to join the Clearance & Returns team as an Account Controller. This is a permanent position that will be a mixture of Field Base & Home/Office Working. This role will report into the Aftersales & Refurbishment manager. Due to the nature of the role being field base- this role also comes with a company car.

The Clearance and Returns Team is responsible for bridging customer, operational and commercial factors to minimise returns and maximise margin from returned, recycled or clearance products. We do this by:

• Helping customer keep what they buy
• Maximising margin from products we need to clear (returned product or end of range)

As an Account Controller you will be responsible for Management of Third-party service providers for customer warranty and none warranty Repairs and management of associated Spare parts provisions. Third Party service providers play an extremely important supporting role for the Returns team, and, in particular, those linked to aftersales and Spare parts services are a key element of the Company-wide Returns reductions programmes. Provision of services, insight and improvement opportunities are key to achieving these targets.

The role will work collaboratively across all areas of the business: Trading, Technical, Distribution, Retail, Marketing, Customer Services and Finance and require broad cross-business experience. Given the breadth of stakeholders the ability to work collaboratively and influence functional business owners will be essential.

The role will be reporting to the Aftersales & Refurbishment Manager and you will:

• Be the single point of contact relating to third Party Aftersales, Repair and Refurbishment support accounts.
• Travel to third party sites, warehouses and offices to carry out regular performance meetings, business reviews and site reviews.
• Take ownership of Spare parts management to create one process for all, increase spares availability and provide an out of warranty spares revenue stream.
• Be responsible for ensuring we consistently improve agent turnaround times, Maintain and improve agent SLA & KPI Performance
• Provide support and assistance to the Commercial Clearance and Returns team in all other areas of stock clearance, as required.
• Be responsible for receiving, processing and reviewing all third-party service invoices relating to supported accounts.
• Work with Repair service providers to increase and drive repair participation across the business

What you need to do

The main accountabilities of the role are:

• Manage the service delivery from our third-party service providers ensuring the contractual service level agreements and key performance indicators are met, whilst setting stretching targets to drive continuous improvement. Ensuring:
  • Insightful MI from service providers is obtained
  • Improvement areas are highlighted, and plans are developed accordingly with clear objectives & timelines for completion
  • Regular communication with service providers
  • Regular review meetings are carried out
• Manage the end to end after sales proposition of accounts across category area of responsibility to ensure the process delivers the required outcomes in line with the overall returns reduction agenda, whilst delivering an optimal customer experience
• Develop a new approach to spare parts management, incorporating current provisions, increasing spares availability, and creating a none warranty revenue stream.
• Engage relevant business functions to educate on the importance of after sales as being a key factor in the overall returns reduction agenda, gain buy in and support from key stakeholders to support delivering the returns targets & objectives
• Ensure after sales propositions are clearly communicated to customers via product information (i.e. instruction manuals, labelling, leaflets, online)
• Consistent and meaningful management information relating to repairs, spares & pre-sale enquiries collected and made readily available to business functions & key stakeholders on a regular basis and in a form that can be readily used to enabled enhanced selection criteria and cost negotiations
• Work direct with Suppliers to ensure they are fully engaged to support the process though help lines, instruction manuals and product labelling
• Invoice and Cost per call monitoring to ensure services provided are within budgeted costs
• Work closely with Retail teams, regional managers and stores/contact centre to drive change and increase repair booking %.
• Monitor agent repair, spares and service invoices to ensure consistency in services and carry out cost analysis.
• Work closely with finance and Trading teams to ensure pricing structures for aftersales services are up to date for White Goods Service provisions.

What you need to know and show

Key skills and requirements for the role will be:

• Qualified to GCSE standard with excellent numeracy and good literacy skills
• Strong Excel skills essential; Word & PowerPoint to a competent standard
• Demonstrate experience in problem solving skills and have a common-sense approach
• Self-motivated and drives development, both professionally and personally
• Confident in communicating and internally and externally, providing a tailored customer service
• Be able to work both in a team and independently with little to no supervision at times
• Experience in dealing with third parties or account management
• Able to demonstrate stakeholder management
• Willingness to travel to third party service providers around the UK on a regular basis to maintain relationships and monitor services, including some overnight stays.

Work-life balance is important to us, so we offer our colleagues as much flexibility as possible in line with the needs of their role. We trust them to decide how, where and when they work, combining remote and collaborative working with a flexible approach to hours, giving them plenty of time and space for life outside of work whilst delivering against our business goals.

Date of last job evaluation

Hay rating

To be completed by the evaluating panel

Please note: This role profile is aimed at describing the core output that should be achieved in this role. It is not intended to include specific tasks, temporary activities or projects to recognise flexibility in a changing context.

Primary Location

Work Locations

Job

Schedule