Merck - Senior Manager - Customer Excellence - Order-to-Invoice Process

Your Role:

- The Senior Manager - Customer Excellence is responsible for overseeing the entire Order-to-Invoice process, ensuring operational excellence and continuous improvement within a global framework.

- This role demands deep expertise in SAP, particularly in the SD module, along with strong data analytics capabilities and proven people management skills.

- The incumbent will lead initiatives that optimize business processes, enhance systems efficiency, ensure compliance, and improve customer satisfaction.

- Leveraging technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), this leader will drive continuous improvement while maintaining high standards of operational compliance and audit readiness.

Key Responsibilities:

Ensure Seamless Customer Experience:

- Oversee a seamless B2B customer experience across the Order-to-Invoice process, ensuring timely, accurate, and efficient operations through effective leadership of customer service teams.

Own the Order-to-Invoice End-to-End Process:

- Manage the Order-to-Invoice process from order creation to invoicing, coordinating across functions such as Global Commercial Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Trade Compliance, Legal, and IT.

- Identify, prioritize, and execute improvement projects that enhance business value, with a focus on leveraging data insights to drive decisions.

Data-Driven Process Improvement & Innovation:

- Utilize data analytics to assess current workflows, identify areas for enhancement, and implement global best practices that improve operational efficiency.

- Collaborate with IT to introduce automation, including RPA and AI solutions, to streamline the Order-to-Invoice process and enhance data-driven decision-making.

Compliance & Audit Readiness:

- Ensure all OTC processes adhere to internal policies, external regulations, and industry standards.

- Maintain strong data integrity and compliance documentation to support internal and external audits.

- Take proactive action based on audit findings, ensuring that corrective measures are implemented promptly.

Cross-Functional Leadership & People Management:

- Lead cross-functional teams including Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Global Process Owners (GPOs), and Business Process Owners (BPOs) to maintain a high-performing OTC process.

- Demonstrate strong people management skills by fostering a collaborative team environment, developing talent, and driving engagement across the customer service function.

- Guide the implementation and optimization of SAP (SD module), SFDC, Tableau, and other enterprise systems, ensuring data integrity and system reliability.

Performance Monitoring & Reporting:

- Develop and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs) that provide actionable insights into the health of the OTC process, using data analytics to inform decision-making.

- Create and utilize dashboards to track performance, generate reports for executive leadership, and support strategic decision-making.

- Collaborate in Sales and Operations (S&OP) weekly reviews, aligning commercial, supply chain, and marketing teams to meet short-term revenue and operational targets.

Process Documentation & Education:

- Ensure all OTC-related processes are properly documented, maintained, and shared across the organization.

- Lead knowledge-sharing initiatives and training programs, especially during periods of personnel transition, to ensure continuous organizational support for OTC processes.

Executive Communication & Stakeholder Management:

- Provide key insights and recommendations to executive leadership, based on strong data analysis, that align with Merck's strategic and financial objectives.

- Lead cross-functional reviews and collaborate with process leaders to optimize business performance, organizational design, and compliance.

Who You Are:

Education:

- Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Finance, Science or a related field; MBA is preferred.

- PMP certification is a plus.

Experience:

- 15+ years of progressive experience in Order-to-Cash, Commercial Operations, or Finance, covering areas such as order management, billing, dispute management, and revenue forecasting.

- 10+ years in a global management role with full end-to-end process accountability, preferably with a background in SAP SD module implementation and optimization.

- Proven ability to leverage data analytics for process improvement and decision-making.

- Strong experience in managing compliance and successfully passing internal and external audits.

- Demonstrated excellence in people management, leading diverse teams, and fostering a high-performance culture.

Skills:

- Expertise in SAP, particularly in the SD module, and working knowledge in other enterprise systems like SFDC, Tableau, PowerBI, and CRM tools.

- Strong data analytics skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and use it to inform business decisions.

- Deep knowledge of Process Excellence, LEAN principles, and global process optimization.

- Exceptional organizational, time management, and leadership skills.

- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, complex, and dynamic environment.