Job Description

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND OPERATIONS MANAGER

TAKASHINA USA (TKU) is the North American Sales & Marketing agent for an 85-year-old, privately held, family-owned business TAKASHINA LIFE PRESERVER CO (TKJ) located in Osaka, Japan. TKU is located in Sauk Rapids, MN. TKU operates direct import, private label wholesale operation, selling to many nationally recognized retailers, as well as a consumer direct e-commerce business under the brand name BLUESTORM®.

TAKASHINA USA is a small company with big aspirations. The ideal candidate will possess an uncanny ability to plan forward, coupled with being able to handle unplanned situations, as they arise. Our office environment is team oriented, and our corporate culture is casual, with a “just get the job done” attitude. At the end of the day, bottom-line numbers will define our team’s success but with the understanding that the big picture is made up of many smaller images. We sweat the details. If you are interested in being a part of our next level of success, we are interested in you.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND BACKGROUND

We are looking to add a motivated and skilled CUSTOMER SERVICE & OPERATIONS MANAGER to oversee our BLUESTORM® e-commerce business, as well as manage TAKASHINA USA wholesale operations. This position is vital to the growth and success of our company. You will oversee all e-commerce customer relationship activities and manage wholesale customer service processes between TKU and our retail customers.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL POSSESS THE FOLLOWING SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

· 2 years of Customer Service and Support experience

· In depth back-end operations knowledge of Shopify, Amazon, Walmart and other e-commerce platforms as well as SPS Commerce Trading platform

· Ability to communicate effectively to resolve potential customer conflicts with the best possible outcome

· Ability to handle multiple projects at one time as well as understand and offer solutions to improve and automate our internal processes

· Proficiencies in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and QuickBooks accounting software

· Familiarity with the Outdoors Industry would be a plus but not required. We will train you on all our products

IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR ABILITIES, TAKASHINA USA CAN OFFER:

· Competitive compensation package

· Health insurance package, with $0 employee out of pocket premium expense

· Competitive PTO and vacation schedule

This job will be in our Sauk Rapids, MN office location

JOB DUTIES AND PERFORMANCE FOCUSES

BLUESTORM® - As the relationship and support connection between the company and its retail customers, you will manage communications and contacts, as you service Bluestorm® customer’s various needs, such as:

· INBOUND COMMUNICATION RESPONSE – Provide timely response to customers inquiries and questions through the various communication channels available to them; telephone, email, social media and e-comm platforms (Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, etc.) such as:

o Order Inquiries

o Amazon Answers Inquiries

o Online Product Reviews

o Facebook and Instagram

o Customer Phone Calls

· PROCESSING INCOMING ORDERS – On a daily basis, review all incoming orders and address, avoid or correct such processing issues as:

o Potential fraudulent order

o Correct address and ship to locations are confirmed

o Make order modifications requested by the customer

o Ensure proper billing and credit card information is confirmed

o Other potential fulfillment problems prior to shipment

· MANAGE RETURN PROCESSES – Ensure returns are addressed in a timely and complete manner, seeing the process through from the initial customer inquiry to finalization of the refund payment. Duties include:

o Response to initial inquiry and determining appropriate action

o Issuing return authorization and shipping labels

o Tracking of all inbound return shipments and processing of return goods received

o Issuing refunds and ensuring refund payments are received by our customers

o Ensure return goods are properly accounted for and place back into inventory once complete

· E-COMMERCE PLATFORM MAINTENANCE – Conduct a daily or periodic review of all e-commerce operating platforms to ensure proper operation

o Confirm that all product listings for all online stores are displaying and transacting properly

o Update inventory levels on all platforms as need to ensure no erroneous out of stock situations occur

o Generate performance metric sales reports

TAKASHINA USA – Maintain continuous communication between the company and our wholesale business partners such as Bass Pro Shops®, West Marine, Dick’s Sporting Goods and other nationally known retailers. Duties include:

· PROCESSING OF ALL INCOMING PURCHASE ORDERS – Process all purchase orders received from our retail partners through the SPS Commerce online platform

· PROCESS MANUFACTURING ORDERS – Submit manufacturing orders directly to our factory located in Hanoi, Vietnam or through our International Liaison in the company’s corporate office located in Osaka, Japan.

· PRODUCTION STATUS TRACKING – Maintain tracking of all manufacturing orders through continual communication with the factories directly or through the International Liaison. This information will be communicated across all company departments.

· PURCHASE ORDER STATUS TRACKING – Maintain tracking of each customers purchase order delivery status to ensure on-time delivery to our wholesale customers. This information will be communicated directly with select wholesale partners.

· PROCESSING OF ALL IMPORT DOCUMENTS – Coordinate execution and collection of all documents necessary for FOB shipments and Customs/Import processing. These documents include:

o Commercial Invoices

o Bill of Lading

o OMB Booking Management

OTHER DUTIES – Perform other miscellaneous duties as they arise and as needed.

Company Description

Our business is the development, sales and marketing of lifejackets and other US Coast Guard regulated products for the boating, fishing, sailing and other outdoor recreational segments. Takashina USA is a full service agency that manages trade with many nationally known retailers in the US and Canada (Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, Dick's Sporting Goods, West Marine, Costco, Canadian Tire) as well as operating a direct to consumer brand that we sell through our own website and many other third-party platforms such as Amazon and Walmart.