Product Manager

Core Responsibilities:

Working within the framework of the seasonal production cycles. Specified production duties relate to women’s and children’s handbags and shoes. Ultimately responsible for achieving seasonal on-time delivery, working with the wider team at various stages within the season to achieve this. Assist the Design team and manage the general day-to-day administration in relation to production, product development and technical files.

Key responsibilities:

PRODUCT / PRODUCTION / TECH:

Factory Allocation – leads sampling allocation for 1st proto allocation – KC more doing this now

Production Specifications – issuing of production specifications and tech packs, after hand over with Design team according to the PP schedule for production and keeping up to date through the season.

Fitting - Leads the general post sales campaign pre-production fit meetings and all pre-production sample fit meetings. Book models and log model invoices on spend tracker. Send out fit session calendar invites to all relevant team members. Ensure all samples are labelled and ready for the fit session with all previous supporting samples. Lead the fit session and tech pack compilation.

Range Plan - Produces seasonal production and vendor feedback as a contribution to range planning at the end of the Production season.

Line Sheets - Build and manage seasonal line sheets for all categories.

Reporting – Ultimately responsible for departmental reporting, (ie seasonal delivery analysis for vendors, seasonal margin analysis, seasonal punting analysis, Managing the faulty goods report, etc)

Production Budget - Manages the Production Budget and reports & highlights any concerns within the seasonal budget and trouble shoots where necessary.

Pricing - Meets at regular intervals in the development season and at SMS pricing stage providing analysis and insights to price breaks and minimums. At Production order placing stage discusses pricing with CEO, Sales/Merch & Product Development. Responsible for Margin reporting once book close and at end of the Production season.

Strategy – Responsible for working with the teamon the company sourcing strategy with a view to researching new sourcing opportunities

Counter Sourcing – Uses initiative and pro-actively leads strategy in exploring seasonal counter sourcing, working with the Directors and Product Developer to formulate. Prepares packs, tracks counter sampling and makes relevant recommendations.

Production Orders - Responsible for all consolidation of orders and subsequent analysis for moqs with Sales/Merch and presents internally with CEO for sign off. Uses initiative to renegotiate best possible price once final production quantities are analyzed. Oversees the issuing production orders post consolidation and once orders are raised on ERP. Manages the issuing of the production orders once approved and signed off, to the relevant factories and keeps accunts up to date to processed POs. Ultimately responsible for amending ERP with any updates to manufacturing or material prices post sales campaign and notifying the Sales/CEO team weekly of updates.

Monitoring the Production Cycle - Ultimately responsible for seasonal on-time delivery using the WIP overview spreadsheet to chase vendors and update the status of production runs. Liaise directly with manufacturers and supply them with relevant production spreadsheets.Provide regular internal updates to the Sales/Merch as required. Manage and update the seasonal production collection WIP. Ensures that timely QC’s are conducted and trouble shoots any issues that arise from this that negatively affect on time delivery.

Raw Material Orders - Manages forecasting estimates of pre-seasonal production fabric/skins/components working with the Sales/Merch. Processing of production orders of raw materials.Updates order details into the production WIP overview spreadsheet. Monitoring the delivery schedule in accordance with the production planning time line. Organizes the filing of Raw Materials and Components coming into the business. Prepping and allocation of raw materials, hardware, trims and labels to respective factories. Organize and track their subsequent transportation and distribution to the factories. Dispatch of materials (where applicable) to factories. Organize end of season recalls, archiving and storing of surplus materials, trims, hardware and components

Material QC - request, archive and check quality references for all production materials prior to commencement of production. Lab test where required.

Opening/Closing of Season – works to ensure season is opened and closed properly from an administrative business perspective.

Travel/Factory Visits/QC - Makes visit to factories as required to hand over production instructions and launch production orders as required. Develops a seasonal factory schedule for product QC, and participates in inspections as required.

Brand Label & Composition Label Placement - Oversees that the seasonal label placement manual for each individual maker is sent. Produces a seasonal PDF detailing all fibre composition and care symbols for care label printing and for use of web, sales and digital.

Testing

Help suppliers with any testing queries. Chase, analyse and approve chemical and physical testing in line with the Critical Path for the Mini range. Submit invoices to accounts for payment and all to season testing invoice tracker. Ensuring all our Raw materials suppliers have correct certification (LWG, REACH etc).

Faulty Goods – provides feedback support for Sales/Merch/Ecomms on returned goods and determines whether issues need to be escalated. Main point of contact for all faulty and repair queries from Ecom and Whsl teams. Logs and determines action on the faults and repairs (replace/repair at factory/repair internally), in a timely fashion. Manages actions and logistics of all faults and repairs, liaising with necessary teams, factories & suppliers

SAMPLES:

Sample Management

Track all samples from Suppliers in line with the relevant seasonal critical path. On receipt of packages all items to be labelled, logged and passed to the relevant team. Ensure all outgoing samples are sent to suppliers in line with SW shipping guidelines. Manage sample cupboard.

Pre-Production Samples – Responsible for the chasing and tracking of all pre-production samples via a tracking spreadsheet and creates priority lists depending on factory scheduling for the sealing process. Actions weekly internal catch up meeting. Uses clear understanding of patterns and pattern manipulation and implication (to cost) to realize best outcomes.

Wear & Grading trials

Order required wear and grading trial samples. Conduct trial process and communicate findings to suppliers.

Press sample orders

Place orders with relevant factories. Follow up with suppliers when ex-factory and log tracking. Communicate to comms/press teams, updating the sample tracker.

The ideal candidate will have several years solid experience in a luxury Footwear & Handbag Product Management role and have full understanding of the production process across women’s and children’s wear categories. Candidate must be able to work to critical path deadline and have a flexible approach to the role. Organization and clear communication is critical to the role. The candidate must be able to source skins, trims, components and the knowledge of how to source factories suitable for the business and must have knowledge of costing and pricing structures and bring the production orders into margin as well as experience of managing a team. Technical knowledge of footwear and handbag construction is required, and an understanding of children’s risk assessment and testing compliance is a benefit.

PLEASE NOTE: Whilst this role requires experience, we are open to seeing candidates who are taking their first step into a role of manager level as well as candidates who are experienced product managers. Whilst the tasks will remain similar at each level, the leadership and expectations of the candidates ownership of tasks will differ and that is why we have a wide salary banding for this role.