JOB PROFILE

Job Position: Key Account Manager

Function: Sales & Marketing
Reports to: National Account Manager
Scope: MT/E-Comemrce

Location: India

Business Context and Main Purpose of the Job

The Key Account Manager is responsible for the companys Modern Trade/E-Commerce growth with specific customer(s)
nationally. He manages customer infrastructure by ensuring distributors are in place and running efficiently, leads a team
of Work Level 1 Key Account Executives as well as lead the customer care team to drive sales and execution matrices
with the customer.

Main Accountabilities
The KAM will be working in a dynamic sales environment; he/she will be responsible for prospecting, qualifying,
negotiating and strategizing business development with his customer account. His/her success will be measured by the
delivery of business critical goals, growth and gain in market share. The ideal candidate will possess a demonstrated
ability to think strategically about customers, categories and channel challenges, with the ability to build and maintain
relationships with customer teams. Some of the key areas of responsibility are as follows:
1.

Lead Customer Care Team: The KAM is responsible for the overall performance of the customer account(s) on key
metrics. Through his larger team, he ensures adequate service levels and financial hygiene and viability for customers.
Along with his cross functional team, the KAM is also responsible for all customer complaint resolution. The KAM also
leads the development as well as execution of Joint Business Plan with customer along with signing annual terms of
trade, promotion planning, activation support and account profitability.

2.

Growth & Execution: The KAM drives Top-line growth in the customer and ensures all execution metrics are also in place.
He is responsible for quarterly planning, negotiation with customers and executing plans on a continuous basis. He will
also need to monitor category-wise growths and shares at his customer. It is also the KAMs responsibility to ensure all
new launches are landed on time and to ensure all activations are run well. Execution metrics are the input metrics for
delivering share gaining growth and are hence very important.

3.

Drive a team of WL 1s: Team handling & team building are the most important aspects of a KAMs role. The KAM role is
a key leadership role, with direct WL1 reportees as well as a larger cross-functional team accountability through CC team
structure. The KAM is responsible for managing the team, motivating them, impart on the job training and getting them
to deliver their metrics. He needs to understand the working style and strengths and weaknesses of each person to get
them to reach their potential and also needs to provide developmental inputs on a continuous basis. How a KAM binds
his team together is often a make or break factor in performance of a team.

4.

Negotiation: Since the KAM interacts with the customer on a day-to-day basis on closing and executing plans and
promotions, negotiation skills play a very critical part of his day-to-day job. The KAM also deals with a lot of internal
teams where these skills come to good use.

5.

Ensuring right trade support as per category-customer construct and competitive context: The KAM works closely with
the Customer Marketing team to ensure the right kind of promotion support is provided to help deliver metrices. He
also feeds back competition activities/ops etc to the CM Team to ensure we are competitive in the market. The KAM will
need to meet with customer contacts several times in a month to pick up inputs on these. The KAM needs to ensure
higher focus on categories of future so as to ensure a balanced category-channel construct, sustainable from growth
point of view.

6.

Liaising with key Partner Functions: The KAM liaises with the Supply Chain Team to ensure packwise estimates are built
correctly for the customer. He also ensures estimates build up at a depot level are hygienic and supplies from depots are
in order. He also ensures that the stock build up at Customer points are at the acceptable level. The KAM works with the
Commercial Team to ensure customers are healthy and that payments to company are in order.

7.

Ensuring controls & financial hygiene: Along with Commercial & Supply Chain team, KAM is supposed to have check on
system hygiene at customers on aspects like short payments, asset implementation, visibility and promotion
deployment, discount hygiene etc.

Direct Reports

Key Interfaces

WL1s (depending on role)

Customers
CD Operations
Supply Chain Team
Commercial Team
HR Team

Critical success Factors for the Job

Key Skills
Key Competencies:
- Bias for action.
- Real accountability
- Team Building and Leadership
- Customer and consumer centricity.
Professional Skills:
Demonstrated leadership skills
Sound analytical skills
Negotiation and Consensus Building
Takes Initiative
Team player who understands people well
Proven ability to thrive in ambiguous environment.
Result orientation
Ability to express thoughts logically and succinctly.

Relevant Experience
Essential:
Bachelor's degree required. MBA is preferred.
Analytical skills and demonstrated ability to manage
the business by the numbers.
Jobs involving quick decision making
Has good track record when it comes to delivering
results (academic/ professional).
Jobs involving extensive oral communication, people
interaction & negotiation
Desirable:
Experience in a highly analytical, results-oriented
environment. Preferably FMCG.
External customer interaction.
Experience of jobs involving active listening skills,
highly consultative and solutions-oriented.
Deep understanding of the retail and wholesale
landscape in India with prior interactions with sellers
and distributors is desirable.
Experience in selling new products and developing
markets.

Skill Profile
N/A : Not Applicable

BA: Basic Appreciation

Functional Skills
1

Sound analytical skills

Ability to detect opportunities

and gaps in market/categories

Negotiation

Supply chain / Finance working

Quick decision making &

result orientation

Managing customers/
stakeholders

Category understanding

WK: Working Knowledge

Level
N/A

BA

WK

FO: Fully Operational

LE: Leading Edge

Comments
FO

LE

X
X
X
X
X
X

Team, Customers & partner functions

To work with BoM team with proper inputs

8
9
10

General Skills

Level
N/A

BA

WK

Comments
FO

Driving and motivating a team

Ability to express thoughts

logically and succinctly

Accountability & responsibility

4
5

LE

Especially to customer
X

For own & as well others