Product Managers - Batteries

SUMMARY:
Our client, based in Randburg, is looking for a Product Manager, with specific product knowledge on Batteries to join their team.

Role Overview:
Manage and market a product group within the range of the company's products, communicating with existing customers, gathering market intelligence, and benchmarking against our competition to know what to offer and in what quantities. Then support colleagues and customers with these products to ensure targets are obtained. Products include all backup power electrical equipment and accessories or associated products around back-up power applications.

POSITION INFO:
REQUIREMENTS

• Matric is essential.
• B-Tech or National diploma in electrical/mechanical engineering or similar qualification relevant to products and applications required to sell.
• Valid driver’s license and own transport.
• Must be willing to travel and have a valid passport.
• Technical knowledge of back-up power equipment and systems, control & maintenance, and the application thereof.
• Good understanding of the market and root to customers.
• Good knowledge of all relevant IEC standards.
• In-depth knowledge of Microsoft packages especially that of excel.
• This job will from time to time require entertainment from customers outside of business hours and it is expected that all sales and sales support people will be involved in these activities.

• Identify the right products that we should be providing for the local market and decide whether we should look at keeping local stock in what quantities.
• Once stock levels have been selected, ensure stock levels are correct in stores for the above.
• Help identify markets, customers and applications that salespeople should focus on aligning with the company overall strategy, communicate this to the sales team.
• Provide sales type training for internal and external customers, via the supplier and by self, and maintain a database with all this training for new and existing sales team to refer to at any time.
• Support salespeople with/on shows, demos and presentations for responsible products. Look at cut-through samples for the training centre and working demos that can be used for shows and training and customer factory visits.
• Keep up to date with competition activities, products, pricing, market demands and communicate this to both the company sales team and suppliers.
• Maintain relations with suppliers of responsible products and accessories for pricing, special pricing on projects or large orders, marketing materials, presentations, software, apps, technical documents, demos, technical support, training materials and warrantee issues and claims.
• Create a database folder with only the latest documents in to ensure no older data can be used by anyone in the company, then communicate changes as and when they happen via e-mail and weekly sales meeting to keep all in the loop. Older files must be deleted when replaced with newer files!
• Facilitate resolving product issues with suppliers as and when required and then communicate learning with the rest of the team once issues have been resolved. Goes hand in hand with Warrantee claims and management. All these issues should be reported in the company to the Product Manager and the Product Manager should keep a database for ISO9001 and pick up trends in product failure.
• Arrange product launches with suppliers, marketing and the sales team / customers. This could also be for relaunching new markets we may want to give a big push to or that our supplier may be interested in.
• Assist customers with technical issues when field service people are not present, but telephonically, on site as a last resort or to collect data to better understand and communicate problems back to suppliers.
• Prepare support tools and check lists for the sales team to assist them with sizing and selecting the right equipment for their customers’ applications, then train the team on the location and use of these tools.
• Assist the sales team with technical specifications in quotes and tenders to ensure the solution we put forward meets the technical requirements and application needs. This includes helping the salespeople look at all the options for the applications and understand the advantages and disadvantages so the sales team can put a strong value proposal forward.
• Attend the weekly sales meeting to communicate above to the sales team, listen to the opportunities and challenges salespeople are having or may be busy with where the product manager can offer support and advice to help secure the opportunity, and then share this info with the supply and pull the supplier in where needed to improve the company's chances.
• Have a monthly meeting with the service manager looking after relevant product ranges to ensure we are up to date with any product issues and problems even if the product manager is not directly involved with the resolution. These issues should be recorded in the warrantee database, claimed or not, and then communicated to the supplier in the monthly meeting as part of the agenda.
• Have a monthly meeting with the supplier to communicate all the relevant above and keep record via minutes of these meetings for IS90001.
• Get our products and company specified at all the relevant consultants directly or via the sales team.
• Take accountability of the company target for the products you look after through direct sales done and created on your own and through the sales team.