Joumana Karam

 Product, Inventory, Brand Management and P& L for Africa for All Acer / Packard Bell products - Notebook / Netbook / Desktop / Monitor / Projector / Tablets
 Manage a team of Product Managers & Specialists
 Coordinate with regional sales managers to enhance P& L.
 Develop market plan for each product line, forecast demand and manage product through its life to achieve the assigned metrics and business objectives.
 Develop Tools, design tactics and strategies to achieve the set Revenue, Margin, Market share and brand targets.
 Equip and train sales/channel on periodical basis product knowledge, product comparatives, road maps, industry/market/channel trends.
 Gather and maintain competition data regularly in all the markets
 Take proactive action with regard to configuration, pricing, special offers, channel incentives, product pricing, channel pricelist, special pricing for tenders, etc..
 Forecast, monitor and take timely action to maintain the assigned inventory levels in coordination with partners
 Regular visits & meetings & channel events. Daily communication by telephone, e-mail, fax, ….

Responsible for all Acer Group Products for Africa & Levant regions. Products are Notebooks, Netbooks, Desktops, Monitors, LCD TV & Projectors.
Main responsibilities:
- Generate Target revenue, Gross Margin and Market share for each product line in the various countries Through channel partners, SMB, Retail and corporate accounts
- Liaison with the sales force in country to plan and manage the various product lines
- Provide product information, product update to sales team and partners
- Collate and report data for material forecast and product planning for each product line
- Liaison with Customer Service, Logistics, Finance
- Trainings, Events ....

Responsible for the Notebook Product:
- Forecasting
- Planning per region (Middle East - GCC - CIS - Pakistan-AFrica - KSA)
- Inventory control
- Pricing
- Product Training
- Technology updates
- Preparation of Tenders proposals
- Support the Sales team
- Liaise with Logistics/ Warehouse/ Finance
- Control GP
- Reports and Analyses

@Distributor Channel Management & Coordination for Middle East & Africa Territory (14 distributors ) for HDD, SCSI, external drives:
 Provide all information to distributors on Maxtor channel network policies & services, Product range and pricing offers => all the sales administration support to the sales manager.
 Manage the supply chain, inventory control, brand visibility, sales team training
 Implement the marketing strategies by :
 Managing the COOP budget accounts & Communicating the Maxtor guidelines
 Support the distributors and help them with their marketing plan
 Controlling the activities request, completion, updates
 Communicate, control and support the marketing programs for retailers.
 Involved in Road-Shows, exhibitions, Ads, etc…
 Gather market information regarding pricing, competitors, promotions, activities, new products, ….
 Responsible for their sales performance by provide support to any of their orders / invoicing / accounting / communications and pushing them to achieve their targets ….
 Regular visits & meetings to the back-office. Daily communication by telephone, e-mail, fax, ….

@Sales & Marketing Executive
1/ Retail Channel Coordination & Management for VAIO Laptops in UAE (9 retailers/18 Showrooms ) from Aug 03 till date:
Involved in the distribution strategy, product strategy and pricing strategy, marketing strategies by being involved in the promotions, exhibitions, seminars, hands-Ons, Road-shows.
Gather market information regarding pricing, competitors, promotions, activities, new products, ….
Responsible for their sales performance by handling their orders / invoicing / accounting / communications/inventory control/sales team training..
Achieved a growth of 75%
2/Laptop Category In charge from Oct04 till Jan 05 (in the absence of concerned person) achieved sales record per month first in 4 years:
Involved in liaisoning with HQ in Japan, pricing strategy, product positioning, promotions, distribution.
Jointly re-defined distribution coverage and market volume contribution, product and price strategy.
3/Area Marketing In Charge for Laptops responsible for GCC & Levant countries (5 distributors) from Feb 04 till April 05:
Streamline the operation in each country based on its own market and demand.
Responsible for their sales performance, brand visibility, training sales team and back office, market updates, sell-through figures. Handling all the ordering / invoicing / accounting / communication.
Achieved a growth of 30 % to 150 % per country.
4/Handheld CLIE Category In Charge (Marketing / Sales):
 set-up the new category, define distribution channel, product and pricing strategy from Aug 2003 till March 2004.
Laisonning with HQ on product positioning, price structure, promotions and category P& L.
@ Webmaster of the company official website (6 months)
Handle the webmaster e-mail account and reply to customers with directions and guidance.
Monitor the popularity and weaknesses by checking the hit rate, nb of visits, time of each visit...
Coordinate with marketing team to update the website for new models.

 Manage the information system (hardware & software): 20 pcs and 5 servers with different platforms (Novell / Ms windows / AS400) + standard applications and home-made applications. Maintain, solve pbs, offer solutions, do the backup, cleanup, ….
 Set-up of the direct lines bet leb branch and HQ in dubai (Leased Line + X25 line).
 Plan and execute the transfer of the whole office equipements / lines when the office location changed with a cut-out of 1 day.
 Monitor and improve the Sony Service Network in Lebanon: 3 authorized service centers + setup a new service center (SONY electronics products range from TVs, video, hi-fi, camera, …)
 Set-up the helpdesk center for VAIO laptops.
 Provide feedback to the main office in UAE for corrective actions and coordinate between both parties for the benefit of all.
 Support and solve any After Sales Inquiry / Request / Problem.

 Set-up the Call center for the company to manage Hotline after sales support and handle call volumes.
 Oversee staffing and scheduling for customers on sites services by managing 15 technicians and engineers.
 Maintain accurate statistics of the technical department production.
 Grew the customer satisfaction database from 500 permanent customers to 2500 accounts (home and business).

 Hardware assembly /software installation (pc).
 Train the end-user on the basics of pc + Ms office softwares

 Stock management and inventory control for all the mechanical and electrical equipments.
 Prepare the orders from Germany for all the generators ( 75 KVA ~ 600 KVA) and their electrical boards.