Customer Service Manager
United Arab Shipping Company
Total years of experience :21 years, 9 Months
Formed in 1976, the company is a Arab shipping conglomerate. It offers value added cargo services to over 200 destinations worldwide through its extensive shipping lines that extend across the ME and other locations across the world.
Designation Chronology:
• Jun '11 - Present: Customer Service Manager, Egypt
• Sep '10 - Jun '11: Senior Commercial Executive, Egypt
• July ’07 - June ’10 Transshipment Team Leader
• May '05 - Jul '07: Assistant Documentation Manager, UAE
• Jan '03 - May '05: Operation Assistant, UAE
Achievements:
• Serving as the Customer Ambassador for the Egypt office.
• Reduced the charges waiver percentage as being the authorized person to make recommendations for charges waiving to the principal by applying proactive actions to deal & minimize the root causes of waivers requests.
• Contributed to various process improvement and grievance mitigation initiatives in the realm of customer service.
• Established follow up procedure & action plan that reduced over 100 days overdue between 35 - 40 %.
• Achieved highest e-commerce penetration percentage for Egypt office among the countries on Mediterranean cluster & one of the highest e-commerce penetration among UASC agents around the globe (average for 1st six months in 2014 in 90%)
• Initiated decentralization in the procedures for import between our different offices that had impact in handling the doubled import volume with same manpower.
• Redesigned the customer survey to cover independent variables that effect our customers’ satisfaction to enhance the efficiency of action plans taken to increase the customer satisfaction.
Responsibilities:
• Agreeing upon KPIs for the performance of Customer Service functions with the Commercial Manager and monitoring performance to ensure they are being achieved.
• Providing support for key clients and ensuring that customers get services and solutions tailored to their specific needs.
• Ensuring that all processes pertinent to the customer service lifecycle are in place and properly documented in collaboration between respective departments.
• Supporting the sales team with regard to back office operations and following an efficient bookings and processing system to ensure that the sale is completed swiftly.
• Managing the allocation of customer service resources between the various customer sales teams, ensuring adequate support resources are provided and adjusting them as required on different accounts from time to time.
• Monitoring the processing of documentation between customers, customer service and documentation department, ensuring the loop is closed and promptly resolving any issues that arise.
• Following-up with customers for payments and ensuring timely invoices are sent to credit customers import and export transactions.
• Addressing all issues associated with transport and commercial documentation, intimating customers about new/changed services, changes in surcharges and issues affecting individual shipments.
• Spearheading personal development initiatives for staff, pioneering the appraisal system, providing the required support and training in addition to making employment decisions.
• Coaching the Customer Service Team and consistently achieved high performance results.
Achievement:
• Conducted market research for the rock phosphate export business from Egypt which had helped to increase UASC’s share from this business significantly.
Responsibilities:
• Supported commercial activities by providing required studies about commodities and trade avenues between ports served by the line.
• Augmented sales activities by working with Sales Manager to identify targeted customers and worked on an assigned customer list to generate volume.
• Communicated and interacted with other agencies to create opportunities for inbound / outbound business to maximize profit as well as generating sales leads and gathering information about trade sectors.
• Handled the out of gauge shipments with the operation team and terminal staff to ensure smooth handling and to eliminate any cost discrepancies charges may be incurred.
• Coordinated all aspects of the stuffing plan with the customer, operation team and terminal to ensure execution of efficient stuffing operation at minimum cost.
• Managed customers free time detention/demurrage waiver requests and supported the sales team by handling issues with customers or other agencies that required technical input.
• Attended sales meetings when required and prepared quotes for existing and potential customers in addition to replying to their sales inquiries.
• Handled special rate request for customer as requested by the Commercial Manager and updated the customer database on the TRUST Commercial module.
Achievements:
• Participated in transshipment module design in UASC ERP system “Trust”. Team Leader to attend SVM premises in Chennai to review the module before going live.
• Started applying the DG cargo segregation for the rework shipments for the first time to ensure safe transportation.
Responsibilities:
• Arranged with 3rd party feeder operators to load transshipment cargo that served by 3rd parties who have a slot agreement with the company.
• Collaborated with the trade operation manager to ensure efficient and optimized connections were made available for transshipment cargo.
• Ensured that terminals requirements (Jebel Ali port & Khorfakkan port) are fulfilled.
• Managed the rework activities in Khorfakkan port for the consolidated cargo loaded from Asia & Europe.
• Worked with the trade office and the port of loading to manage the VIP customers’ shipments.
• Handled full containers stock of polymers producers shipments in the hub port (Khorfakkan) to support supply chain activities of producers by having their shipments on hold in the hub port and loaded those shipments as per the producers instructions in addition to calculating the detention charges for loaded shipments.
• Ensured availability of manifest for discharge transshipment cargo and worked with the port of loading to ascertain if any missing docs existed and sought trade office involvement when required.
• Provided feedback for port of loading inquires and customers inquires about the planned connection for their shipments.
• Prioritized loading in case of space / weight constrains according to the guidelines identified by the trade office.
• Worked with the customer service and export departments for the re-export by handling the operation side for the process.
• Liaised with import department for transshipment cargo for any of UAE ports that may require trucking if no connections were available (mainly Fujairah & Sharjah)
• Recommended hiring and firing of team members to DGM - Logistics & Operations.
• Delegated tasks and responsibilities to team members corresponding to the talent, skills, knowledge and experience of the individual.
Achievements:
• UASC had started transformational projects at the agencies level “Model Agency” from 2005 till 2007. Selected to be partially allocated on 2 major projects related to documentation and the agency.
Projects Scope and Functions:
Project 1: Centralized Manifest System and Tradeship Implementation
• Served as the focal point in the Dubai office documentation department for the new centralized manifest system and the AS400 application “Tradeship”
• Represented the documentation department for the coordination between documentation department, IT department and implementation team to ensure smooth migration of data and integration of the new system
Project 2: Model Agency Project
Responsibilities:
• Served as assistant to the appointed external Management Consultant on the "Participate in improvement project"
• Adhered to project objectives aimed at implementing principles of Six Sigma and Lean Enterprise methodologies.
• Ascertained the most effective organization processes hierarchy according to nature of the business.
• Described the current situation AS-IS, listed all the ongoing procedures and reports on all departments, prepared WBS for all procedures and reports with unique IDs and explained the same to the system development team.
• Formulated a list for procedures encompassing "Next Step Customer" and report recipients.
• Identified the unused and redundant reports and procedures, intimated the development team of the same and devised strategies to make the new system more user friendly and resource efficient.
• Devised AS-IS high level process map for department interaction, made a detailed map of the department's processes and opportunities for improvements in addition to collaborating with the VOC to set targets.
• Broke down all processes into sectional levels of data ownership so that each user knew what to do and their respective limits of authority.
Responsibilities:
• Ensured that responsibilities for documentation are executed accurately and to the agreed timescales
• Maintained the necessary expertise to address all issues associated with transport and commercial documentation, and to provide support/assistance to customers as needed
• Oversaw the processing of documentation between customers, customer services and the documents and resolved any issues which arose.
Responsibilities:
• Handled the loading and discharging of particular assigned services.
• Prepared the loading and discharge list for the vessels in the sector assigned, checked the operation list against the Baplie file to make sure that all containers on board are mentioned in the list.
• Cross checked the IMO containers in the Baplie file to ensure that all IMO shipments are properly declared.
• Checked that all DGPC for containers planned to be loaded are received from POL and cross checked the reefer containers settings fed in the system with the manifest to ensure that all settings are accurate.
• In charge of consolidating the re-worked containers to be loaded on vessels within the sector under purview.
Formed in 1993, the company is part of a group involved in turnkey development, general contracting, construction management and project management across Egypt.
Responsibilities:
• Managed all the manpower at site and the subcontractor workforce, performed daily progress monitoring and reporting of the works at site as per the approved drawings and method statements.
• Studied, prepared and submitted workshop drawings, undertook computerized project planning for all areas including formulation of work progress plans, resource allocation, materials management and forecasting.
• Performed cost control exercises, drew up estimates, arrived at pricing and participated in the bid and tender process from time to time as required.
• Comprehended the intricacies involved in contractual agreements and followed up on progress of fulfillment of contractual obligations based on contractual conditions and technical specifications.
• Prepared, finalized and submitted interim payments, assigned work to and dealt with sub-contractors on related agreements, spearheaded negotiations and sought ratification on approvals with consultants.