Senior Associate, Customer Service

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 113,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

A healthy heart is essential to good health. That's why we're committed to advancing treatments for people with cardiovascular disease. As a global leader in Cardiac Rhythm Technologies, our breakthrough medical technologies help restore people's health so they can get back to living their best lives, faster. We focus on innovative technologies that can improve the way doctors treat people with heart arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats.

Our location in Minnetonka, MN currently has an opportunity for a Senior Associate, Customer Service.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Manages, coordinates and analyzes the rental and purchase business sales cycle by determining the needs of our customers and provides guidance ensuring compliance to programs and customer satisfaction. Manages and facilitates rental and purchase orders, shipments, trunk stock, unit tracking, determines sourcing and coordinates deliveries with manufacturing, warehouse or 3PL as needed working with field personnel, internal/external customers and customer service staff
• Follows up and resolves discrepancies, credit holds, training requirements or product availability issues in a timely manner. Ensures proactive communication to our customers on order status, expected release dates or requirements needed to fulfill order.
• Support a continuous improvement environment for department processes including order processing and invoicing transactions, returns processing, backorder processing, credit requests, and new product launches.
• Develops rapport with customers and field sales/clinical personnel via verbal and written communication.
• May be assigned to assist on projects requiring more direct and diverse experience and expertise within the Customer Service department.
• Provides and communicates inventory status updates and support. Performs advanced transactions requiring research and intra-department coordination and/or approvals. Manages allocations cross functionally and provides direction to team on shipments. Provides inventory tracking and support for all company devices. Transacts inventory movement and status changes. Researches and processes billing correction requests to ensure proper billing and corrects commission payments on all devices. Provides accurate entry and field support for clinical procedure calendar when required.
• Responsible for obtaining approvals, issuing and tracking returns and issuing credits based on procedures. Works with customers to expedite the return through to resolution
• Researches, troubleshoots, investigates and resolves customer challenges to ensure timely resolution and high customer satisfaction. Analyzes and interprets the customer requirements and develops feasible solutions working with other related personnel when problems and/or inquiries arise.
• Keeps current on all products offered by company. Monitors, understands and implements changes in regulatory requirements or CS processes.
• Ensures all system requirements are met prior to product distribution. Processes product distribution releases in the ERP system once required documentation is obtained.
• Actively participates in FSCA or recall activities such as contact report generation, tracking of devices shipped/exchanged, creating and implementing action plans to support activities, progress reporting and providing direction to internal/external customers with product handling, monitoring inventory for exchanges and ensuring documentation meets RA/QA requirements.
• Conducts sales order audits and works collaboratively with Customer Service Management in analyzing, preparing and responding to Sarbanes Oxley and/or regulatory agency audit requirements. Conducts and analyzes all Customer Service audits and provide recommendations and feedback.
• Provides timely feedback to Information Systems on any systems issues.
• Performs consignment inventory initial set-up, audits and troubleshoots discrepancies through to resolution with external customers. May generate reports on inventory and consignment products for field or management distribution.
• Maintains Accounts and Contacts within the ERP and CRM Databases, including maintenance, updates, reporting, duplicate resolution and regular auditing. Creates reports in CRM Database and act as internal contact for data pulls.
• Works on or facilitates process improvement and projects under the supervision of the Customer Service Lead/Supervisor/Manager. Manages assignments where considerable judgment and initiative are required in resolving problems and making recommendations.
• Proactively and effectively communicates and interacts with internal and external customers to ensure priorities and exceptions are clearly understood. Maintains and models positive and cooperative communications and collaboration with all levels of employees, customers, contractors, and vendors.
• Handles issues and resolves and/or facilitates resolution of problems including identifying causes to prevent re-occurrence.
• Receives and responds to customer product complaints, determines validity of warranty period, processes credits, works with internal personnel to schedule installs, ship replacements or loaned equipment to address immediate customer needs. Receives and responds to customer service complaints, researches and analyzes data to facilitate resolution of trended occurrences, escalates as appropriate
• Establishes and maintains a business climate that fosters positive and cooperative working relationships with all levels of employees, customers, contractors and vendors.
• Handles after hours delivery and technical question coordination (after hours pager)
• Determines and creates guidelines and/or procedures on new or sustaining programs, processes, and product launches and may coordinate or direct activities of others.
• May develop and generate routine or custom reports as needed for Internal and/or External Customers.
• Provides technical leadership to Customer Service team(s) for transactional and/or technical questions and processes including areas related to ERP functionality and other systems and processes used by Customer Service teams. Provides timely feedback to Information Systems on any systems issues.
• Acts as focal point for the Customer Service Department for members to escalate problem solving and/or issues to and creates/makes proposals to management for consideration and adoption. May lead the implementation.
• Monitors appropriate transactional workflow queues and assign/reassign resources as necessary to accommodate daily business volumes and requirements as well as departmental metrics.
• May provide training to new employees and provide updated business process communications and or materials. May develop training material and executes training on subject matter to Customer Service team. Identify deficiencies and opportunities in specific or overall training needs for individuals and the team and ensure documentation meets the division quality standards
• Support all Company initiatives as identified by management and in support of Quality Management Systems (QMS), Environmental Management Systems (EMS), and other regulatory requirements. Complies with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, other regulatory requirements, Company policies, operating procedures, processes, and task assignments.
• Performs other related duties and responsibilities, on occasion, as assigned.
• Possibility of scheduled overtime may be a requirement.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE YOU'LL BRING

• College AA/AS degree or other specialized training/equivalent related experience.
• 6 years or more of demonstrated experience in a customer service or closely related environment.
• Advanced experience with Microsoft Office including Excel, Word or equivalent applications.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor, coach, supervise, lead or train individuals.
• Regularly scheduled overtime is a requirement of this position.
• Ability to travel approximately 10%, including internationally.

Preferred

• Knowledge of Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO Standards and common medical device export laws preferred
• Ability to work within a team and as an individual contributor in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Strong verbal and written communications with ability to effectively communicate at multiple levels in the organization.
• Demonstrated organizational skills, attentiveness to detail, and the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to work in a highly matrixed and geographically diverse business environment.
• Multitasks, prioritizes and meets deadlines in timely manner.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills, including the ability to listen, resolve problems, deal with unresolved issues, delays and unexpected events, and the ability to effectively communicate and maintain rapport with sales representatives and customers.

WHAT WE OFFER

At Abbott, you can have a good job that can grow into a great career. We offer:

• Training and career development, with onboarding programs for new employees and tuition assistance
• Financial security through competitive compensation, incentives and retirement plans
• Health care and well-being programs including medical, dental, vision, wellness and occupational health programs
• Paid time off
• 401(k) retirement savings with a generous company match
• The stability of a company with a record of strong financial performance and history of being actively involved in local communities

Learn more about our benefits that add real value to your life to help you live fully: www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that provides the growth and strength to build your future. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews and @AbbottGlobal.

The salary for this role is between:

N/A

JOB FAMILY:

Customer Service

DIVISION:

CRM Cardiac Rhythm Management

LOCATION:

United States > Minnesota > Minnetonka : 14900 Minnetonka Industrial Road

ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS:

WORK SHIFT:

Standard

TRAVEL:

Not specified

MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE:

Not Applicable

SIGNIFICANT WORK ACTIVITIES:

Continuous sitting for prolonged periods (more than 2 consecutive hours in an 8 hour day), Keyboard use (greater or equal to 50% of the workday)

Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities/Women/Individuals with Disabilities/Protected Veterans.

EEO is the Law link - English: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_English.pdf

EEO is the Law link - Espanol: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_Spanish.pdf