The consumer products industry is widely dependent on its customers for its success, and this industry is all about delivering the products on time to the customers. If a certain company’s products are not available in the market on time, then the customers will choose an equivalent product from a different company, and that means a loss for the primary company. So this field is all about delivering products and services on time.
For this, the company needs a service delivery manager who takes care to maintain a log of the time all these products need to be circulated in the market. The consumer products industry is very time sensitive, and one has to be punctual by nature to meet the demands of this industry. There are several divisions within the industry like for example the consumer durable products, the consumer edible products or the FMCG industry, the consumer non durable products, home appliances and many more divisions.
One can find an opportunity in any of these divisions, as there are hundreds of companies in each of these areas. There is no industry specific education that qualifies a person to take up a job. Sometimes under graduates can find jobs as a service delivery manager, but their growth in the company can be limited to a manager but not more. In order to gain big positions and better pay, one has to get education like a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree.
Education
The service delivery manager should have a degree in accounting, because many of the job aspects involve dealing with various kinds of financial accounts of different dealers or company’s of the parent company. Usually they ask for relevant experience in the finance department before employing the person into the service delivery manager role. Experience counts a lot in this industry, more so than education, because an accounts job requires perfection, which is attained through practice and experience.
Also, the person should have good computer skills in order to be able to use different computer packages. There are several accountancy software packages used by various companies that assist the finance managers in their job. So a person should be good with computers in general to be able to use any software. A service delivery job is an extremely visible job, and involves a lot of interaction with customers and dealers.
The person should have good written and spoken English skills. The growth options are plenty in these roles, and one can also attain bigger positions quickly. The consumer products industry is very fast and dynamic, and the growth rate is also very fast. It is constantly changing, and constant enhancements are being made to the existing products.
Education required
Bachelor of Commerce, Undergraduate in Commerce
ACCA, CPA, CGA or equivalent
Accounting courses
Computer Skills
Skills
The service delivery manager should be good at accounting, and should be very knowledgeable in accounting. Usually, many companies prefer CPAs or the equivalent in these job roles, but usually it is open to everyone with experience and appropriate knowledge. The person in this job role should have very good industry knowledge, and usually it is preferred that they have experience in the same industry before changing jobs.
The consumer products industry requires industry specific knowledge if not education. The SDM will also be maintaining the customer relationships all the year around, and there is no break from that. The person should have marketing skills and PR skills to able to talk well. A person in this job role can have leadership role opportunities depending on the number of years spent in the industry performing their job roles.
Expected Salary
Beginner: $3000 or more
Mid Level: $4500- $5000
Expert: With experience: $8000 and more