Role and Responsibilities
● Work as a part of the Operations Team while actively coordinating with other internal teams.
● The primary job role would be operational coordination with internal and external parties to support the private label vertical of the company.
● Supplier Evaluation - You will receive clear documentation describing what kind of products we wish to procure for our private label vertical, along with a list of suppliers to contact. Your role would be to get in touch with all of them and compile data in the prescribed format.
● Product Sampling - Once you receive approvals on shortlisted suppliers, your role would be to coordinate product sampling. This will involve placing orders for product samples so that physical examination of the quality can happen.
● Packaging - You will also be required to build and maintain relationships with packaging suppliers and enable seamless communication between the packaging suppliers and internal branding and design teams.
● Purchase Paperwork - You will be responsible for managing the entire purchase paperwork, including preparation of requests for quotes or proposals, as well as complete ownership of all paperwork to complete the purchase transaction, including customs handling in case of international sourcing. You will have the support of legal and finance experts. You will be required to properly document all of this information so that other team members can access it easily.
● Goods Receiving and Inspection - You will be expected to oversee the transportation of goods to ensure timely delivery to our warehouses. You will be accountable for stock quality to be the same as approved samples and will be expected to personally be involved in the physical inspection of received shipments.
● Supplier Relationships - Building and managing supplier relationships is a key aspect of this role. At the same time, you would be expected to hold them accountable during any instances of delays or poor stock quality. You will be expected to drive solutions during such incidents.
● Inventory Management - You will be expected to manage stock levels by overseeing the updation of inventory and supervising related aspects of the stockroom. You would also be responsible for placing timely reorders, in consultation with marketing and sales teams.
● Accountability for Timelines - While dealing with external suppliers, you will be expected to ensure adherence to internally agreed timelines. You will also be expected to incrementally improve and optimise the process, introducing efficiencies and making new launches faster.
● Ownership of Solutions - While project managing the coordination between external suppliers and internal teams, you will be accountable for adherence to deadlines and goals. In case of any shortfalls or hiccups during the process, you will be expected to come up with solutions.
● This role will work as a part of a cross-functional squad for new private label launches and support other teams with day-to-day operations. Examples include working with branding experts for the implementation of packaging designs and product inserts, as well as working with the content team for verifying the factual accuracy of product descriptions to ensure that all features and attributes are covered and eliminate any probability of misinformation.
Desired Candidate Profile
● This is a hybrid position where the candidate would be allowed to work from home for the most part, but will be expected to report to our Mumbai office and warehouse regularly. This role will also involve occasional travel for attending trade shows or meeting suppliers.
● The ideal candidate is someone with 2-5 years of experience in product sourcing and buying for retail, D2C or ecommerce companies, preferably with a global exposure.
● The candidate should possess strong commercial awareness, good organisational skills, critical, analytical and maths skills, as well as basic IT skills for handling Excel, purchase and
inventory software etc.
● We are looking for someone with good communication and strong interpersonal skills, especially negotiation, to be able to source the best quality products at competitive prices. The candidate should be cognizant of their role inmaintaining positive unit economics and a healthy bottom-line.
● The candidate should have a natural flair for comparing quality while evaluating similar products from multiple vendors, giving us the confidence that your judgement can be trusted.
● Candidates who have worked in fast-paced environments like those of startups or new and growing business divisions would be preferred.
● The candidate should have excellent project management skills and be willing to take full ownership of adherence to timelines while handling external suppliers and other vendors.
● The candidate should share our mindset of working with incremental improvements and must be open to learn new things quickly. We are looking for someone who can work independently with a result-focus and is not afraid to experiment within accountability.
● The candidate should be solution-oriented with the ability to think clearly, logically and even laterally, when presented with a problem. We need someone who can communicate freely and fluently and can work efficiently in an environment of remote team members.