Customer Support Specialist at Clark-Reliance® in Perry, OH

Job Summary

The Customer Support Specialist is a full-time, salaried position responsible for providing exceptional customer service and comprehensive sales support in a fast-paced steel manufacturing and distribution environment. This role requires strong administrative skills, sound decision-making, effective communication, and a working knowledge of steel products, customer quality requirements, and computer systems.

The Customer Support Specialist manages all sales support activities to ensure customer demand is met accurately and efficiently. This position plays a critical role in order management, customer inventory management, customer communication, and collaboration with outside sales, production, and quality teams. A strong commitment to exceeding customer expectations and delivering superior service daily is essential.

Physical Requirements

Talk/hear(Communicate, Detect, Converse with, Discern, Convey, Express oneself, Exchange information), See (Detect, Determine, Perceive, Identify, Recognize, Judge, Observe, Inspect, Estimate, Assess) Function in the Job

Sedentary Work- Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met. Job Function

Duties and responsibilities

Order Management & Administration

· Accurately enter sales orders, work orders, and part profiles with all required specifications.

· Receive and review customer purchase orders to confirm they are accurate, clearly defined, and contain all details required for MidWest to purchase and process material for their order.

· Verify work orders against customer purchase orders to ensure accuracy, including size, grade, pricing, delivery dates, packaging, customer specifications, and customer receiving hours.

· Enter and process credit memos in OnBase as necessary.

· Monitor blanket orders and Just-In-Time (JIT) shipment material requirements to ensure on-time delivery.

· All customer and internal requests specific to assigned accounts must be addressed by the end of each business day.

Inventory & Material Coordination

· Review inventory availability for new and existing orders.

· Track and follow up on material due in from mills for ongoing and new orders.

· Select inventory strategically to optimize material utilization, using older material first where applicable.

· Verify warehouse stock ahead of cutting coils, ensuring all suitable inventory options are assessed so material is chosen appropriately for the order.

· Coordinate with other inside sales representatives to identify orders that can use remaining coil balances.

· Track, monitor, and report inventory levels to ensure adequate finished goods availability for customer demand.

Customer & Sales Support

· Serve as a primary point of contact for customer inquiries, quotes, order requests, and material applications.

· Communicate effectively with customers regarding order status, lead times, delivery schedules, and required documentation.

· Build and maintain strong customer relationships through proactive communication and follow-through.

· Send mill test reports and other required documentation to customers in a timely manner.

· Collect information related to customer complaints or rejections and collaborate with the Quality Department to resolve issues promptly.

· Monitor on-time delivery and past-due orders and follow up with Outside Sales on aging material.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

· Ensure outside sales representatives are consistently informed about open orders, quotes, delivery delays, pricing changes, material availability, and deliveries.

· Support outside sales by providing accurate data, reports, and updates as requested.

· Collaborate with production to ensure orders are processed on time to meet customer delivery requirements.

· Regularly update customers, the sales team, and sales management on plant lead times, schedules, inventory levels, and deliveries.

Reporting & Account Management

· Create customer-specific and internal reports using Salesforce as requested.

· Review report accuracy prior to distribution and update system data as needed before issuing reports.

· Participate fully in customer account reviews, come prepared to address questions, and complete all follow-up actions including opening or closing sales orders, entering work orders, and reallocating inventory as needed.

· Ensure new customer setup information is complete and accurately entered into ERP System.

Additional Responsibilities

· Support the implementation of sales strategies and ensure adherence to training and standard work procedures.

· Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Required Skills

Qualifications

· High school diploma or equivalent.

· Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities

· Proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially Excel); experience with ERP systems preferred

· Excellent communication and collaboration skills

Working conditions

While performing the duties of this job, the employee will almost always be working indoors in an office environment.

Physical requirements

Duties are primarily performed while sitting at a desk or computer terminal. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, talk, and listen. The employee is frequently required to type, move between offices, and reach with hands and arms.