Steven Cox

• Key Business goal is to support growth of profitable Sales volumes, Net Sales Revenue and bottom-line financial performance (EBIT)
• To standardize fit for purpose strategy, principles, process and systems for in-country Commercial Management teams to adopt and implement
• Manage and implement Commercial Execution methodology in 14 countries, 800k+ customers and achieve over 15% execution improvement over 5 years
• Conduct continuous research of country demographics, economic environment, legalities and trading performance to set appropriate strategies
• Prioritize actions to Managing and Commercial Directors to implement
• Cross functional collaboration into Business Plans, Long Range Plans, Monthly and Quarterly Reviews
• Improve Route to Market and in-store Execution processes, embracing digitalization
• Adapt plans to course correct changes in strategy
• Benchmarking and best practice sharing and implementation
• Continuous improvement in Market Execution through fact based insights
• Advance customer segmentation for cost effectiveness and efficiency
• Develop and nurture in country relationships
• Conduct In trade market visits
• Reduced costs through effective resource allocation and budget management
• Ensured compliance with industry regulations, company policies, and safety standards during all phases of execution management
• Managed cross-functional teams for successful project completion within deadlines and budgets

Management of regional Sales RTM strategies and lead a team of specialists, achieving improvements in sales KPIs and operational efficiency

• Accountable for ensuring Sales Force Structure, Systems , Sales Force Enablers, Rewards and incentives to drive commercial strategy and implemented effectively in all regions and districts within South Africa
• Deploying Customer Service policy changes with Routing Specialist team
• Responsible for managing and evolving Sales Force Automation tool, salesforce effectiveness through KPI's
• Implemented outcomes of Strategic cost saving initiatives impacting more than 60% of customer base service policies
• Managed COVID's impact on ways of working for Sales force interactions in market.
• Maximized performance by monitoring daily activities and mentoring team members.
• Managed and motivated employees to be productive and engaged in work.
• Accomplished multiple tasks within established timeframes.
• Communicated clearly with employees, suppliers and stakeholders to keep everyone on same page and working toward established business goals.
• Build relationships with key customers
• Conduct in Trade Market Visits

• Lead Sales Route to Market strategy, evolve sales systems, and implement key performance indicators in order to entrench new role of salesperson
• Manage commercial investment merger targets
• Implementation of commercial processes into newly acquired merged regions and districts in South Africa
• Proposed and Managed sales Incentives and Rewards systems to foster profitable growth
• In Market visits with sales teams to ensure business process alignment and identify opportunities to improve.
• Manage and evolve Sales Force Automation tool.
• Collaborate with 4 regions, 17 districts to ensure customer service policies implemented and adhered to in over 180k customers
• Managed team of central office specialists of 9
• Implementation of key sales policies such as product returns policy, order rules, Customer engagement rules.
• Collaborated with sales, marketing and other internal teams to meet shared goals
• Increased sales revenue by implementing strategic growth initiatives and fostering strong client relationships

• Group Office secondment to drive commercial transformation projects
• Call Centre project commercial lead, servicing 16k Customers and working with Organizational design lead to anchor
• Deploying Sales Force digital enablers within sales force automation, asset scanning and call schedule management on mobile phones
• Role became permanent Head Office role titled Sales Development Manager
• Monitored project performance to identify areas of improvement and make adjustments.
• Identified plans and resources required to meet project goals and objectives.
• Successfully managed multiple projects simultaneously by prioritizing tasks according to urgency, resource availability, and alignment with organizational goals.
• Planned, designed, and scheduled phases for large projects.
• Building Key Customer Relationships

• Appointed to turnaround negative sales trend
• Lead 5 Sales and Sales Support Managers in total sales force of 67 employees and 6k customers
• Managed successful sales team, consistently achieving and exceeding monthly sales targets
• Established strong relationships with major accounts and key decision-makers to increase sales in designated territory
• Forecasted sales and established processes to achieve sales objectives and related metrics
• Launched new products successfully within assigned territory by executing well-designed launch plans tailored specifically for each product line
• Increased sales revenue by developing and implementing strategic sales plans for assigned territory
• Executed proven strategies to hit sales quota and help company achieve goals
• Built lasting relationships with clients through outstanding customer service interactions
• Developed comprehensive territory plans that ensured efficient allocation of resources and maximized productivity for entire area
• Increased profit margins by effectively controlling budget and overhead and optimizing product turns

• Lead Marketing Services division within Southern Gauteng Region, comprising 3 Districts, East, West and Central Gauteng
• Develop sales forecasts, manage budgets
• Collaborate with suppliers and key stakeholders
• Manage sales fleet and cooler assets through policies, process, registers and audits., manage customer master data department
• Establish ABI's first call centre servicing 6k customers telephonically in 8 week project end to end
• Implement outsourcing intervention to improve business process effectiveness
• Workforce planning and management
• Developed strong relationships with key clients, ensuring long-term partnerships and repeat business opportunities
• Implemented best practices in workflow management to ensure timely completion of tasks without compromising quality or client satisfaction levels
• Collaborated with sales and marketing teams to develop new services offerings, driving business growth and diversification
• Managed team of artisans for optimal performance, resulting in increased productivity and reduced response times
• Developed and implemented customer service policies and procedures

• Profit centre Management comprising 800 customers, 30 Sales & Merchandising staff and management
• Develop and implement Annual Business plans and business reviews
• Achieve and exceed sales volume, revenue and profit target
• Drive market penetration and volume per outlet target
• Manage and develop Sales force
• Drive Quality management
• Manage teams company assets
• Conduct trade visits
• Customer relationship building
• Manage customer contracts
• Implement innovative ideas to drive profitable growth
• Manage costs and reduce waste
• Streamlined communication between internal teams and channel partners, improving overall efficiency of sales process
• Conducted regular performance reviews of channel partners to identify areas of improvement and growth potential
• Managed key accounts to ensure customer satisfaction, retention, and ongoing business development opportunities
• Provided ongoing mentorship and guidance to junior team members, fostering positive work environment that prioritized professional growth opportunities

• Senior Account Manager (1996-1998)
• Sales Representative (1993-1996)
• Trainee Sales Representative (1992-1993)