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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Order Desk Coordinator

💰 $40,000 - $60,000

OperationsCustomer ServiceLogisticsOrder ManagementSales Support

🎯 Role Definition

The Order Desk Coordinator supports the order-to-cash cycle by handling order entry, order validation, customer communications, and logistics coordination. This role ensures accurate, timely processing of sales orders, proactive issue resolution, and cross-functional collaboration with sales, warehouse, billing, and shipping teams. The Order Desk Coordinator is the central point of contact for internal stakeholders and customers regarding order status, cancellations, returns, and special order requirements.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Customer Service Representative
  • Sales Support Specialist
  • Warehouse/Logistics Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Senior Order Desk Coordinator / Order Management Lead
  • Order Management Supervisor
  • Inside Sales Representative / Account Manager
  • Supply Chain Analyst

Lateral Moves:

  • Logistics Coordinator
  • Billing & Collections Specialist
  • Inventory Planner

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Receive, review and accurately enter customer purchase orders into the company ERP/Order Management System (e.g., SAP, NetSuite, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics), ensuring correct part numbers, pricing, billing addresses, and ship-to locations to minimize order fulfillment errors.
  • Validate orders for stock availability and lead times, coordinating with inventory control and warehouse teams to confirm allocation and ETA for backorders and special orders.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for customers and internal sales representatives for order status inquiries, proactively communicating changes in availability, ship dates, partial shipments, and freight exceptions.
  • Review customer contracts, pricing agreements, promotions and account terms to apply correct pricing, discounts, minimum order quantities and freight terms during order entry.
  • Manage order acknowledgements and confirmations—generate and distribute accurate order acknowledgements to customers and internal stakeholders within SLA guidelines.
  • Create and manage sales order modifications: process order cancellations, changes, rush orders, split shipments, and returns (RMA), ensuring appropriate approvals and documentation are captured.
  • Coordinate with shipping/warehouse teams to schedule pick-up, prepare bills of lading, generate packing lists, and ensure compliance with carrier and customer routing requirements.
  • Prepare shipping documentation for domestic and international orders, including commercial invoices, export declarations, and customs paperwork for cross-border shipments.
  • Monitor and resolve billing and invoicing discrepancies by collaborating with Accounts Receivable and Billing teams to ensure invoices reflect shipped quantities, special charges and agreed-upon pricing.
  • Manage EDI transactions (850/855/856/810) and alerts: troubleshoot EDI errors, liaise with IT/EDI support and trading partners, and maintain mapping documentation for customer-specific EDI flows.
  • Track orders through the fulfillment lifecycle; maintain order status reports and dashboards to provide timely updates to customers, sales, and management.
  • Escalate and resolve exceptions—inventory shortages, credit holds, pricing disputes, and compliance issues—by coordinating with credit, procurement, legal and sales teams to minimize service impact.
  • Process and document returns and warranty claims, coordinating inspections, credit approvals and dispositions with Quality Assurance and Returns Processing teams.
  • Maintain and update customer master data in CRM/ERP (billing/shipping addresses, tax IDs, payment terms, contact information) to ensure system accuracy and reduce billing and shipping mistakes.
  • Generate and analyze order history, fill rate, and backorder reports to identify trends, recommend process improvements and support continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Support sales quoting and order configuration for complex or custom product orders, collaborating with Product Specialists and Engineering as required to ensure manufacturability and correct lead times.
  • Enforce compliance with export controls, hazardous material regulations and customer-specific compliance requirements during order processing and shipping.
  • Coordinate with Procurement for special buys, vendor-managed inventory orders, and drop-ship arrangements, ensuring PO flow and confirmation match outbound sales orders.
  • Maintain accurate records of communications with customers and internal teams in CRM or order management systems to provide a clear audit trail for order decisions and changes.
  • Train and mentor new order desk staff on system procedures, order entry best practices, and customer service expectations to maintain consistent performance across the team.
  • Participate in cross-functional continuous improvement projects to streamline order processing workflows, reduce order cycle time, and improve order accuracy KPIs.
  • Manage prioritized queues, ensuring high-value and expedited orders receive immediate attention and all orders meet defined SLAs for entry and acknowledgement.
  • Assist with month-end and quarter-end order reconciliation activities, working with Finance to ensure revenue recognition and shipped order documentation are aligned.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of product catalog, pricing updates, promotional programs, and policy changes to accurately reflect these in order processing activities.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting requests for sales, inventory and operations teams to inform replenishment and sales planning.
  • Participate in cross-functional demand-planning and sales-forecasting meetings to provide order desk insights on customer ordering patterns and constraints.
  • Assist IT and business analysts with testing new ERP/CRM functionality, integrations, and EDI mappings prior to deployment.
  • Document standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions, and order processing checklists to support operational excellence and new-hire training.
  • Maintain and audit order desk metrics (order accuracy, days to process, fill rate, on-time shipment rate) and propose action plans for KPI improvement.
  • Provide backup support for order desk-related functions during peak periods or when team members are unavailable.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficient order entry and order management with ERP systems such as SAP, NetSuite, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or AS/400.
  • Strong Microsoft Excel skills (VLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, pivot tables, data validation) for reporting and inventory reconciliation.
  • Experience with CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot) to maintain customer records and communication logs.
  • Familiarity with EDI processes and common transaction sets (850/855/856/810) and experience troubleshooting EDI errors.
  • Knowledge of order-to-cash (O2C) processes, billing, invoicing and credit hold procedures.
  • Understanding of international shipping documentation (commercial invoice, export declaration, HS codes) and Incoterms.
  • Ability to use shipping platforms and freight management tools (UPS WorldShip, FedEx Ship Manager, third-party TMS).
  • Experience with returns management (RMA), warranty processing and reverse logistics procedures.
  • Basic data analysis and reporting skills using BI tools or spreadsheets to create order performance dashboards.
  • Familiarity with inventory management concepts (safety stock, backorder management, allocation logic) and warehouse operations.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills for clear customer interactions and internal collaboration.
  • Strong attention to detail and accuracy when entering orders and verifying pricing/part numbers.
  • Problem-solving mindset with ability to triage issues, escalate appropriately, and drive resolution.
  • Customer-focused orientation and empathy for resolving order-related problems with professionalism.
  • Prioritization and time-management skills to manage multiple orders, deadlines and urgent requests.
  • Collaborative team player who partners effectively across sales, operations, finance and logistics.
  • Adaptability to process changes, new systems and fluctuating order volumes.
  • Analytical thinker with ability to interpret order trends and make recommendations for process improvements.
  • Resilience under pressure and ability to maintain accuracy during peak cycles.
  • Conflict resolution and negotiation skills when managing customer expectations and internal trade-offs.

(Combined total skills listed: 20+ specific technical and soft skills for clarity and search optimization.)

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED required.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Operations, or related field preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Logistics and Transportation
  • Business Administration
  • Operations Management
  • Finance or Accounting (helpful for billing and invoicing coordination)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–5 years of experience in order entry, customer service, sales support, or logistics coordination.

Preferred:

  • 2+ years of direct order desk/order management experience in manufacturing, distribution, or B2B environments.
  • Demonstrated experience with ERP systems, EDI, and international/domestic shipping processes.
  • Prior exposure to order-to-cash workflows, billing reconciliation, and cross-functional coordination across Sales, Warehouse and Finance teams.
  • Experience meeting SLA-driven KPIs (order accuracy, on-time order acknowledgement, fill rate) and participating in continuous improvement initiatives.
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