Customer Quality Manager APAC

Customer Quality Manager APAC

Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2022, Continental generated sales of €39.4 billion and currently employs around 200,000 people in 57 countries and markets.

Customer Complaints Management

• Lead customer complaint handling from issue notification through closure.

• Act as the primary quality contact for OEM and Tier-1 customers.

• Ensure timely containment, root cause analysis, and implementation of corrective actions.

• Drive structured problem-solving methodologies with 8D/A3/PDCA/5 Why/Ishikawa Analysis etc tools.

• Verify effectiveness of corrective actions and ensure recurrence prevention.

• Coordinate customer plant visit, audit, and issue review related to customer quality problems.

KPI: Complaint closure lead time/8D on-time submission rate/Customer PPM reduction

Customer Escalation & Crisis Management

• Lead quality escalations for critical customer issues.

• Coordinate cross-functional teams actions needed.

• Establish containment strategies and recovery plans.

• Provide regular status updates to senior management and customers.

KPI: Number of escalations/Escalation closure timing/NCC2

Customer Satisfaction Performance Management

• Monitor and analyze customer scorecards and customer satisfaction metrics

• Develop improvement plans to achieve customer targets.

• Lead scorecard recovery actions for underperforming accounts.

KPI: Customer scorecard rating/PPM performance/Customer satisfaction level

Customer-Specific Requirements (CSR) Management

• Ensure compliance with: IATF 16949 / VDA requirements /OEM Customer-Specific Requirements

• Review and negotiate customer quality agreements.

• Manage requirements related to: Defect catalogues /Appearance standards /Traceability/Warranty obligations/Delivery quality expectations

KPI: CSR compliance/Audit findings related to customer requirements

Warranty & Field Quality Management

• Monitor field claims and warranty returns.

• Analyze warranty trends and identify systemic issues.

• Coordinate return material investigations.

• Drive lessons learned into:  Product development /Process engineering/Material development

KPI: Warranty cost reduction/Repeat failure reduction

New Project Support

• Support APQP activities for new programs.

• Review customer quality requirements during quotation and launch phases.

• Participate in:  APQP reviews/FMEA reviews/Control Plan reviews/PPAP approvals

• Ensure customer concerns are integrated into project risk assessments.

KPI: Launch quality performance/Customer approval rate

Continuous Improvement

• Lead customer satisfaction improvement programs.

• Analyze recurring complaint trends.

• Implement preventive actions across plants.

• Facilitate knowledge sharing and lessons learned.

KPI: Customer complaint reduction/Repeat issue elimination

Qualifications

• University degree or above (Technical or scientific);
• Advanced Knowledge in Quality Management Systems (ISO/TS 16949 / IATF 16949, VDA, customer requirements) and Q-Methods (APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, SPC, Six Sigma).
• Expert in Customer Complaint Management and tools (8D , A3, PDCA, Yokoten…)
• Experience in the QM functions of Automotive > 5 years, Experience in customer quality function > 3 years, prefer experience with surface materials (production, processing, testing, application)
• Leadership Experience with team member > 5
• Project experience in problem solving and process improvement
• Experience with matrix organization
• Good communication and negotiation skill