Commercialization Partner

at  Liberty Diversified International Inc

POSITION SUMMARY

The Commercialization Partner is a key part of our sales support team. This role leads new business account transitions, manages product development timelines / deliverables to ensure key milestones are met, and ensures accuracy of new item specs. This role leverages organizational tools, knowledge of products, applications, and techniques, and standard processes to effectively manager new items through the process of designing, estimating/pricing, routing, building specs, building tools and pre-production readiness/communication activities resulting in profitable, timely, and error-free new business launches. This role is responsible for driving margin/process improvement initiatives through an account review process. This full-time position will report to the Commercialization & Design Manager at our Liberty Packaging – Golden Valley, MN location.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Associate’s degree and 3+ years’ comparable business experience OR equivalent combination of education and experience
• 3+ years product development, commercialization, or customer-facing experience
• Prior experience working on complex, collaborative projects involving internal and external stakeholders
• Strong computer skills (Microsoft EXCEL, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, etc)
• Detail oriented, organized, and able to manage multiple projects

PREFERRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in business, management, marketing, or sales
• Project Management experience
• Previous pricing experience
• Manufacturing experience
• Proactive approach to work, takes initiative to deliver on customer experience and improve processes
• Strong time management skills, ability to deliver quality work on schedule
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Regular sitting, standing, and walking throughout the day to accomplish tasks
• Manual and finger dexterity used regularly with some repetitive finger motions
• Ability to work in front of a computer screen for long periods of time
• Specific vision abilities include close and distance vision; able to identify colors, small letters, and numbers; hand/eye coordination, depth perception and able to adjust focus
• Hearing and speaking
• Other conditions may include frequent reaching, stretching, pushing, pulling, pinching, grasping, and gripping.

about our company:
Comprised of multiple companies with headquarters in New Hope, Minnesota, Liberty Diversified International (LDI) is a privately held company employing more than 1,900 individuals across our manufacturing facilities, production facilities and core business operations in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, California, and Mexico. With deep roots in the corrugated box manufacturing industry, we operate in the core markets of paper, packaging, workplace products, corrugated plastics and building products.
Since 1918, our values – Caring, Innovation, Trust and Excellence – have guided our day-to-day activities. We believe that when our employees are aligned with these values, we create superior solutions and service for our customers. The LDI family of companies includes Liberty Packaging, Liberty Paper, Liberty Plastics (Custom Solutions and Quarrix Building Products) and Safco.
Liberty Diversified International is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, age, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, disability, or any other protected class

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead sales representatives and customer partners through definition and completion of project requirements and objectives (e.g. new customer onboarding, new product development, cost savings initiatives, existing product revision, etc.); develop project plans, timelines, and deliverables to ensure smooth project execution.
• Manage Workflow process by initiating new items, building specs, proofing, estimating costs, calculating pricing, and ordering tooling and other production supplies.
• Leverage systems and standard work procedures to generate build specifications for new corrugated products, considering customer requirements, technical feasibility, and manufacturing capabilities.
• Utilize product knowledge, manufacturing processes, and established tools to prepare detailed cost estimates and pricing for projects based on established pricing strategies and customer requirements. Balance pricing and estimating responsibilities with internal margin improvement initiatives Ensure alignment with Pricing function for atypical situations.
• Collaborate with suppliers to obtain quotes and place orders for tooling and materials as needed.
• Serve as the main point of contact for customers through the new item lifecycle: establish quotes, provide regular updates on project status and timelines, and resolve issues that arise.
• Coordinate with Design on structural optimization and art/graphics integrity as needed.
• Engage with Production and Scheduling teams as needed during box structure design and routing to machines, ensuring maximum efficiency of equipment and minimal waste.
• Collaborate with sales and customer service teams to ensure excellent customer satisfaction (e.g. ensuring accounts and items are set up timely and accurately, achieve successful transitions, ensuring alignment with customer agreements, etc.
• Own customer scorecard for assigned client groups. Ensure metrics (OTD, quality PPM, NCR, Credit spend, cost savings progress) are tracked and updated. Lead internal and external scorecard meetings to hold business accountable for delivery.
• Manage project flow and deliverables associated with cost savings commitments, ensure cost savings commitments remain on track and that all internal and external partners are included in status updates.
• Other duties, as assigned.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Regular sitting, standing, and walking throughout the day to accomplish tasks
• Manual and finger dexterity used regularly with some repetitive finger motions
• Ability to work in front of a computer screen for long periods of time
• Specific vision abilities include close and distance vision; able to identify colors, small letters, and numbers; hand/eye coordination, depth perception and able to adjust focus
• Hearing and speaking
• Other conditions may include frequent reaching, stretching, pushing, pulling, pinching, grasping, and gripping