Stephanie Higginson
Stockport,Greater Manchester
Summary
Customer Operations Manager with 25+ years’ experience in B2B customer service, end-to-end order management and supply chain operations within a manufacturing environment. Experienced in managing customer orders from receipt through fulfilment and distribution, including daily coordination with a third-party logistics (3PL) provider responsible for product storage and distribution.
Consistently achieved 98% OTIF against a 94% target through effective order prioritisation, forward planning and close coordination across Sales, Customer Service, Production, Warehouse, 3PL, Logistics and Finance. Strong experience in forecasting, inventory planning, back orders, urgent orders, customer escalations, invoicing and export documentation for the Republic of Ireland.
Experienced people leader managing a team of 11, with strengths in coaching, process improvement, SOPs, KPI performance, governance and internal controls. Advanced SAP and Excel user with a proactive approach to identifying supply and fulfilment risks.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
Work History
Customer Operations Manager
AKZO NOBEL POWDER COATINGS LTD T/A CROMADEX
02.2000 - Current
- Own the end-to-end customer order process from order receipt through fulfilment and delivery, ensuring orders are accurately processed, prioritised and released within agreed service requirements.
- Work directly with a 3PL provider responsible for product storage and distribution, coordinating daily order releases against agreed cut-off times, customer requirements and service expectations.
- Maintain visibility of the order book, product availability, warehouse stock and supply constraints, proactively identifying and resolving risks to customer delivery performance.
- Consistently achieved 98% OTIF against a 94% target through effective order prioritisation, forward planning and cross-functional coordination.
- Manage urgent orders, back orders and changing customer requirements, coordinating solutions across Sales, Production, Warehouse, Logistics and the 3PL.
- Act as a key operational interface between Sales, Customer Service, Manufacturing, Warehouse, 3PL, Logistics and Finance.
- Coordinate production, warehouse and distribution activity to align stock availability and manufacturing priorities with customer delivery requirements.
- Optimise production sequencing to reduce clean-down times and contamination risks while protecting customer commitments.
- Successfully maintained zero slow-moving or obsolete powder stock (SLOB) on site through effective inventory monitoring and planning.
- Work closely with Sales to understand customer demand, ordering patterns and anticipated requirements, translating commercial information into operational supply requirements.
- Provide Sales and Customer Service with accurate information on product availability, production schedules, stock, potential delays and supply risks.
- Analyse demand, supplier lead times and minimum order quantities to support inventory and replenishment decisions.
- Manage customer accounts across operational, commercial and financial activities, including pricing, invoicing, credit control and order-to-cash.
- Prepare export documentation for customers in the Republic of Ireland, ensuring accurate documentation to support deliveries.
- Provide technical product knowledge and operational guidance to Sales Managers to support customer requirements and commercial discussions.
- Advanced user of SAP and Excel, using operational, stock and pricing data to improve customer service and decision-making.
- Created an Excel stock and pricing tool using VLOOKUP, linking SAP data with customer-specific pricing information; implemented across UK Customer Service desks and Sales.
- Developed a comprehensive UK and European powder product stock list tailored to UK market requirements.
- Developed and distributed a daily production update for Sales and Customer Service, improving visibility of production status, supply risks and customer-impacting issues.
- Managed pilot testing and implementation of new procedures and systems, including Master Data Governance (MDG), Adyen payment systems and Case Management tools.
- Act as a recognised problem-solving resource for Order-to-Cash and Invoice-to-Pay teams, resolving complex operational issues and supporting process improvements.
- Manage and develop a team of 11, providing leadership, coaching, training and performance support while building capability, accountability and engagement.
- Recruit, onboard and develop employees and create targeted training programmes in response to operational and compliance requirements.
- Lead internal ROCK Risk & Internal Control audits covering customer returns, billing, credit notes, customer consignment and pricing.
- Achieved 100% accuracy in the Q4 2023 ROCK audit cycle.
- Ensure operational processes meet audit and quality requirements, including ISO 9001 standards.
Interpon Express Supervisor
Akzo Nobel Powder Coatings Ltd / Cromadex
06.1998 - 02.2000
- Supervised customer order processing and operational activities, supporting customer service, order fulfilment and coordination between internal teams.
- SYSTEMS & DIGITAL SKILLS
- SAP | Microsoft Excel – Advanced Functions, VLOOKUP, Data Analysis & Reporting | Microsoft 365 – Word, PowerPoint, Teams & SharePoint | MFG/PRO | Master Data Governance (MDG) | CRM & Case Management Systems | Adyen
Education
BSc (Hons) - Environmental Science
Skills
- Order Management & Order-to-Cash B2B Customer Service 3PL & Warehouse Coordination Order Release & Cut-Off Management OTIF & KPI Management Forecasting & Demand Planning Inventory & Stock Management Sales & Operations Coordination Customer Escalations Team Leadership Export Documentation SAP & Advanced Excel Pricing, Invoicing & Credit Control Process Improvement SOPs & Governance Audit & Internal Controls
- SAP Microsoft Excel – Advanced Functions, VLOOKUP, Data Analysis & Reporting Microsoft 365 – Word, PowerPoint, Teams & SharePoint MFG/PRO Master Data Governance (MDG) CRM & Case Management Systems Adyen
Timeline
Customer Operations Manager
AKZO NOBEL POWDER COATINGS LTD T/A CROMADEX
02.2000 - Current
Interpon Express Supervisor
Akzo Nobel Powder Coatings Ltd / Cromadex
06.1998 - 02.2000