New Pig- Associate Key Account Manager- Onsite- Tipton, PA 16684 +
Dept: Vehicle Fleet & Maintenance | Reports to: Director, Automotive Distribution
The Associate Key Account Manager supports, executes, and actively expands commercial sales across major Vehicle Fleet & Maintenance (VFM) accounts, automotive retail chains, and related retail channels. Key accounts include NAPA Auto Parts (Genuine Parts Company), AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, as well as cross-over retail opportunities in home improvement and farm/fleet networks such as The Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, and Tractor Supply Co.
Based full-time on-site at our Tipton, PA facility, this individual serves as both an operational linchpin and proactive communicator. The role requires an organized professional who can balance high-volume merchant communications with polished customer presentations, line reviews, and end-to-end corporate retail execution (SKU onboarding, planograms, promotional calendars, and customer acquisition).
Key Responsibilities
Account Management, Communication & New Customer Acquisition
- Partner with the Director, Automotive Distribution to manage corporate headquarters relationships across automotive and retail accounts, interfacing regularly with category managers, associate merchants, and replenishment analysts.
- Manage daily inbound and outbound communication channels, efficiently driving high-volume phone outreach and email workflows with merchant teams, distributor reps, and internal stakeholders.
- Proactively research, map, and pursue expansion into prospective retail, commercial distributor, and regional co-op accounts across the automotive, hardware, and farm/fleet sectors.
- Monitor vendor performance scorecards, ensuring adherence to on-time in-full (OTIF) targets, order fill rates, and customer routing guides to prevent operational deductions and chargebacks.
Presentation Development & Line Review Preparation
- Build compelling, customer-facing PowerPoint presentations for formal corporate line reviews, annual vendor planning sessions, merchant pitches, and quarterly business reviews (QBRs).
- Translate POS scan trends, category gaps, and product value propositions into visually engaging, data-backed slide decks that guide buyer decision-making.
- Coordinate physical line review materials, mock store planograms, product samples, and custom counter/endcap display concepts.
Item Setups & Master Data Governance
- Execute item setup packages within customer-specific vendor portals (e.g., NAPA Connect, retail supplier portals, EDI data catalogs).
- Coordinate and verify critical product master data: carton dimensions, product weights, pallet configurations, UPC/GTIN barcodes, pricing tiers, and safety/compliance documentation.
- Track product pipelines from initial corporate approval through DC staging to active retail store shelves.
Merchandising, Planograms & In-Store Execution
- Assist in developing and evaluating planograms (POGs), clip strips, endcaps, and counter assortments tailored to automotive commercial counters and retail sales floors.
- Collaborate with internal trade marketing to develop in-store signage, POP displays, and sell-sheets targeted at both professional mechanics (DIFM) and retail DIY shoppers.
Promotional Planning & Commercial Analytics
- Track national promotional schedules, circular insertions, store flyers, and seasonal marketing features across accounts.
- Analyze POS scan reports, sell-through velocity, inventory turn, and return rates to uncover category growth opportunities and address slow-moving inventory.
- Conduct margin, gross profit, and promotional allowance calculations to ensure commercial programs meet corporate profitability guidelines.
Candidate Qualifications
Required Experience & Skills
- Education: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Supply Chain, or related field (or equivalent practical professional experience).
- Work Experience: 3 to 5 years of professional B2B sales, account coordination, or category management experience with a manufacturer or distributor.
- Microsoft Office Mastery: Advanced proficiency across the Microsoft Office Suite, specifically:
- Microsoft PowerPoint: Strong ability to design professional, customer-ready presentations from scratch with clear narrative flow and graphic structure.
- Microsoft Excel: Demonstrated competency with formulas (XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP), Pivot Tables, and margin calculations to evaluate POS scan reports.
- Microsoft Outlook: Proven discipline in managing a demanding inbox and maintaining organized customer follow-up cadence.
- Communication & Workload Management: High phone and email stamina with the ability to manage high-touch merchant requests, multi-task across accounts, and maintain quick turnaround times.
- Corporate Retail Familiarity: Solid understanding of corporate retail mechanisms, including item setup sheets, vendor scorecards, EDI ordering flows, and line review calendars.
- Work Location & Travel: Full-time presence on-site at the Tipton, PA facility, with the ability to travel up to 25% for corporate customer visits, line reviews, and trade events.
Preferred Experience & Differentiators
- Direct experience interfacing with merchant or replenishment teams at automotive aftermarket headquarters (NAPA/GPC, AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts) or big-box/farm retailers (The Home Depot, Lowe's, Tractor Supply Co., Menards).
- Hands-on familiarity with space planning concepts, planograms (POGs), and retail shelf placement strategies.
- Working knowledge of both commercial automotive fleet distribution (DIFM) and consumer retail (DIY) merchandising.