Position Summary
The Customer Account Representative at Ward Manufacturing is the primary point of contact for day-to-day communication with our customers’ purchasing teams. This role is responsible for accurate and timely order entry, forecasting, and coordination with internal departments to ensure customer schedules are met. It serves as the foundation of our Customer Account team and plays a critical role in supporting production flow and material planning.
This is a high-expectation, detail-focused role designed for individuals who are highly responsive, eager to learn, and capable of growing into more complex customer-facing responsibilities. While independence is intentionally limited at this level, the role provides substantial exposure to manufacturing operations and builds the skills needed to advance in quoting and account management.
Key Responsibilities
Order Entry & Forecasting
- Enter customer purchase orders into JOBboss ERP system with high accuracy
- Manage and update forecasts for legacy product orders based on customer-provided schedules
- Verify that material requirements align with incoming orders and trigger timely purchasing activity
- Maintain margin neutrality by verifying raw material costs align with quoted or historical pricing when initiating material purchases or reorder requests
Customer Communication
- Serve as the primary point of contact for customer buyers on active orders and delivery schedules
- Communicate order confirmations, delivery timelines, and updates related to production changes
- Escalate technical, pricing, or quality concerns to the appropriate departments when needed
Quoting & Estimating (Developmental Support)
- Support the quoting process by gathering key inputs such as quantities, part numbers, customer specifications, and delivery expectations
- Coordinate with internal stakeholders (Sales Manager, Toolroom, QA/QC) to obtain technical details
- Request vendor quotes for raw materials and outside processes to support Account Managers and Sales team in estimating
- Begin learning to interpret blueprints and understand manufacturing process flows
- Gain exposure to internal pricing models (In Jobboss) and begin working within structured quoting templates
- Quoting independence is a key development milestone — once achieved, this role becomes eligible for promotion into the next tier of customer account responsibility
Internal Coordination
- Collaborate with Production and Shipping to ensure customer expectations and schedule changes are managed in real time
- Follow expedite request procedures and confirm feasibility with the production team
- Maintain clean and accurate handoffs between order entry, purchasing, and job tracking
Authority & Decision-Making
- Empowered to make routine decisions that carry limited financial impact
- Must follow defined procedures for order changes, expedite requests, and material purchasing
- Quotes and credits must be submitted through the appropriate approval channels
Success Metrics
- Order accuracy and data quality (tracked via internal audits and downstream issue reports)
- Responsiveness to customer and internal communications (measured via timeliness and issue resolution)
- Forecast accuracy and proactive schedule management
- Engagement in quoting development, with clear milestones tracked toward quoting independence
Pay: From $60,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Application Question(s):
- How many years of experience do you have in a similar role?
- What ERP systems are you familiar with?
- What is your desired salary?
Work Location: In person
