Tech Application Supp Specialist

About RS Group

Across the industrial design, manufacturing and maintenance worlds, we’re the digital destination for product and service solutions to help our customers with the maintenance, repair and operation of their businesses. We provide global access to an unrivalled range of over 750,000 stocked industrial products. Each day our team of experts deliver solutions to resolve our customer’s challenges across design, procurement, inventory and maintenance. We consistently strive to deliver the best possible service to all of our customers and challenge ourselves to provide a seamless procurement experience.

We are one team. We deliver brilliantly. We do the right thing. We make every day better. These are our values. They unite our c.9,000 global colleagues and differentiate us from our competition. They are a mix of how we work today and how we must step up for the future. Most importantly, it is one set of values shaped by our people, for our people.

Together, we can make great things happen. Aim for amazing and beyond.

About the Role

As a member of the Services & Solutions Team, this role plays a key part in the delivery of Technical Solutions in the Americas.  It supports regional and global objectives to establish RS as the first-choice technical destination for customers and strategic supplier partners, while liaising closely with adjacent Solutions teams across Custom Order Solutions, Procurement Solutions, and Supply Solutions.

Our customers include industrial manufacturing plants, machine builders, & system integrators.

Technical Solutions supports our customers throughout the lifecycle of their projects, with both self-help and live support.  Our services range from basic product selection, to consultation, and design. Through close collaboration with Product and Supplier Management, the team also contributes to stronger supplier relationships by establishing confidence in RS’s technical competence and solution capability.

Role Purpose

The primary function of the Technical Application Support Specialist is to assist our salespeople & customers with questions they have relating to products we offer.  This typically includes product selection, material list creation, and providing product information.  The Specialist will mainly support Mechanical & Fluid Power (MFP) including pneumatic and mechanical motion components but will also support industrial automation & controls. 

Responsibilities

• Product applications & support

• • Provide product specific answers to questions escalated to Technical Support through a variety of channels including the ticketing system, customer support, phone, email, chat, etc

• • • Product selection based on specifications
    • Competitive cross-reference
    • Product questions

• • For pneumatic and mechanical components, the Specialist may need to perform sizing calculations using digital sizing tools and/or excel.
  • Seek to understand the customer’s application and investigate opportunities to provide a solution rather than a single part
  • Ensure support cases are properly documented in the Service Desk applications

• KPIs, Continuous Improvement, & Operational Efficiency

• • Monitor personal performance metrics including case volumes, SLA, revenue attribution, and customer engagement. Focus on continuous improvement.
  • Assist with the development & adoption of tools that improve operational efficiency
  • Identify & document self-help resources that can be utilized by salespeople & customers

• Training & Development

• • Participate in a training & development program, including basic and advanced supplier training
  • Assist with training sales teams and other personnel.

• Collaboration:  Region / Group / Cross-department

• • Collaborate with Technical Product Support Specialists, Application Engineers, Customer Service teams, Product & Supplier Management, & sales teams to ensure customer satisfaction
  • Collaborate with global peer teams on customer issues & best practices

• Job may require infrequent travel for meetings & training (less than 5%)

How I make a difference in this role

Technical Solutions is a resource to our customers & sales teams, and enabler in our supplier relationships, and a market differentiator for RS. 

• The Specialist needs to be passionate about customer service and commercially focused on driving value with our customers, strategic suppliers, and internal teams.
• Leveraging technology, AI, and digital tools is critical to improving efficiency and meeting customer’s evolving expectations for support. 
• Collaboration is key as Tech Solutions is an enabler to other solutions, a partner to the Sales and Product & Supplier teams, and a peer to our global counterparts

Candidate Requirements

Qualifications and Skills:

• Two-year technical or 4-year college degree preferred, or 5+ years equivalent industry work experience related technical or sales position
• Knowledge of selecting & sizing fluid power components.  Includes components of cylinders, valves, air preparation, fittings, and accessories.  Familiar with calculations for cylinder force, cylinder air consumption, cylinder speed, flow.
• Knowledge of mechanical motion components including servo motors, gearboxes, encoders, pulleys & belts, chains & sprockets, bearings, couplings, etc.  Familiar with how to size and select components based on technical application requirements.
• Ability to read pneumatic & mechanical schematics. 
• Familiar with industrial electrical controls & electronic components
• Intermediate level mathematical skills including the use of formulas and performing calculations
• Ability to understand customer needs, research answers, and present a solution that is best for the customer and RS
• Passionate about helping customers find solutions to their challenges
• Strong interpersonal, written, & verbal communication skills
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, etc)

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Experience selecting & applying technical products in RS’s line card including pneumatics, mechanical transmission, automation & control, board-level electronics, connectors, power products, test & measurement, etc
• Prior experience in technical sales, industrial distribution, or application engineering
• Prior hands-on experience with pneumatic & mechanical motion components in a maintenance role
• Ability to read pneumatic, & mechanical schematics. 

Equal Employment Opportunity

RS Americas is an equal opportunity employer and maintains policies and practices that are designed to prevent and prohibit unlawful discrimination against any qualified employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, military/veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other unlawful classification to the extent protected by law. This policy of non-discrimination applies to all employment practices, including hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, training and termination. Employees who engage in unlawful discrimination will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

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