Assistant Manager - Product Management

• Educational Qualification:
  

MBA (mandatory) & Engineering (preferred)

• Years/type of experience:
  

6~7 years of manufacturing industry experience with at least 3~4 years of marketing and category management experience

• Technical Skills/Knowledge:
  

Experience in NPD & stage gate process
Understanding of the building material and/or sanitary market segmentsProven track record in managing a product portfolio and category planningBusiness acumen combined with technical knowledgeExcellent oral and written communication and presentation skills, plus a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office SuiteAbility to build relationshipsResponsible for end-to-end management of products and services in assigned portfolio: range management (no. of SKU’s, extensions), packaging, inputs on pricing, technical product literature preparation etc.Track sales and margin growth trends of category and propose corrective actionsDefine value propositions of the category dependent on the end usersBuild a category plan, including an innovation roadmap, translating customer needs into requirements for innovation (products & services)Conduct market assessment to confirm market potential and develop business cases (integrated product definition, financials) for new productsWork closely together with R&D and production to prepare product launch strategy (introduction pricing, roll out pilots, follow up with supply chain, production issues) and implement the same going forwardDevise promotional strategies for products in own category and ensure execution through close collaboration with the sales and branding teams, covering areas of merchandising, POS Communication, Technical documentation for catalogues/ websites, exhibition participation etc.Gather information on market trends and competitor product range / sale prices / distribution channels / market shares, assess competitor strategies for existing products and identify potential opportunities & threats within own category , prepare periodical reports for comparisonCarry out market visits to attain a better understanding of the current product positioning and perception , customer satisfaction levels, identify latent customer needs and competitive environmentActively participate in trade conferences and exhibitions to stay abreast of industry trendsRecommend new geographies, collaborations & channels in the category to achieve sustainable profitable growthDesign and deliver training programmes training both internally, to ensure that sales team is technically equipped, and externally, to ensure that external stakeholders are well-versed for the assigned category