Commercial Operations Associate
The Commercial Operations Associate supports key enterprise clients by managing order fulfillment, commercial reporting, and cross-functional coordination within a manufacturing environment. This onsite role involves handling customer inquiries, aligning purchase orders with production schedules, and ensuring quality and delivery precision, serving as a foundation for career growth in commercial operations and account management.
About Careertakes
👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Manufacturing (Automotive & Industrial Supply).
Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.
Role Overview
Confidential Client is hiring a Commercial Operations Associate to join an onsite commercial team in Ladson, SC. This early-career position provides hands-on exposure to order fulfillment, commercial pricing, demand tracking, and client-facing operational support. You will serve as the operational liaison between enterprise customers and cross-functional plant teams (Production, Supply Chain, Logistics, Engineering, and Finance). The role includes structured development toward positions such as Account Manager, Business Development Specialist, or Key Account Manager.
What You’ll Do
- Act as primary operational contact for customer inquiries on schedules, delivery status, inventory, and order changes.
- Administer, validate, and reconcile customer schedules and purchase orders using EDI platforms and ERP systems.
- Align purchase orders with production schedules, shipping constraints, and agreed commercial terms.
- Produce and distribute operational reports, including:
- Open order tracking and past-due schedules
- Monthly commercial revenue and sales performance metrics
- Customer inventory and backlog summaries
- Assist commercial leadership with annual pricing updates, quote preparation, and RFQ processing.
- Build responsive, trust-based relationships with key account contacts via timely updates and proactive issue resolution.
- Partner with plant teams (Production Planning, Quality Assurance, Logistics, Accounting) to troubleshoot delivery delays, quality alerts, and schedule discrepancies.
- Support customer demand forecasting, historical run-rate analysis, and capacity evaluations.
- Participate in customer operational reviews and commercial discussions as product and client knowledge increases.
- Identify and champion process improvements (reporting, portal admin, customer communications) and error-proofing methods.
- Ensure compliance with customer-specific quality requirements and internal Integrated Management System (IMS) protocols.
Qualifications
Required
- Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Logistics, Marketing, Communications, or related field — or equivalent practical experience.
- Intermediate Microsoft Office skills; especially Microsoft Excel (data sorting, basic formulas, tracking sheets) and Outlook.
- Clear, professional written and verbal English communication for external clients and shop-floor stakeholders.
- Analytical aptitude: comfortable working with numbers, dispatch reports, shipment variances, and unit-level tracking.
- High initiative, strong attention to detail, and commitment to a long-term career in commercial operations.
Preferred
- Internship or 1–2 years experience in customer service, sales support, order entry, or administrative operations.
- Experience in automotive, manufacturing, or distribution environments.
- Familiarity with ERP platforms (e.g., SAP), EDI order systems, or supplier/customer portals.
Working Conditions & Physical Requirements
- Environment: Professional office located inside an active manufacturing plant.
- Activity: Frequent sitting at a computer workstation, occasional walking through production areas, and daily collaboration across departments.
Compensation
- Estimated annual pay: $47,961 (per source). Actual compensation offered by Confidential Client may vary based on experience and internal pay practices.
Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency
Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.
If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.
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