Assistant Production Merchandiser - Apparels

Company Description

Saku is a fast growing startup in fashion apparel (Womenswear and Menswear). The products are sold through own offline retail stores and online channels. Based in Gurugram, Saku focuses on delivering the best shopping experience to its customers, blending offline and online retail seamlessly.

Role Description

This is a full-time on-site role for an Assistant Production Merchandiser at Saku in Sector 37, Gurugram (6 days working).

The assistant merchandiser will be responsible for managing product development, merchandising, sourcing, supplier management, logistics coordination etc.

You will be part of the Production Merchandising team and responsible for in-house production co-ordination as well as outsourced job workers and CMT / FOB vendor partners.

As a Production merchandiser, you will be responsible for:

Overall Responsibility

• Managing product development (Review of samples for the construction, fall, fit, drape and wash etc), from material sourcing to supplier negotiations and timely production as per design
• Ensure all raw materials (fabrics, trims & accessories), all job workers (print, dyeing, embroidery etc.), and internal and external production teams (Pattern Master, Tailors etc.) are aligned for timely delivery of production
• Identify, develop and maintain relationships with all partners and vendors (mills and traders for fabric & trims, labels & tags suppliers, job workers, fabricators, and garment manufacturers etc.)

Product Development

• Developing, evaluating, and presenting pre-development samples
• Monitoring and evaluating product performance in terms of fit, construction, and durability, making necessary adjustments

Costing

• Negotiating with suppliers and vendors on costing to achieve best costing
• Finding alternative solutions and suppliers to achieve best costing without compromising on quality and timelines

Production and Sourcing

• Making bill of material for bulk orders & production runs
• Aligning sourcing of all raw materials for bulk production
• Planning and aligning production resources (Patterns, Cutting Masters, Tailors, Embroideries and Adda work, Raw material etc.) for smooth production flows
• Sourcing, development of:
• Raw materials,
• Trims, and
• Accessories
• Job workers
• Ensuring all raw materials are planned, ordered and followed-up, stringently to ensure no timeline surprises
• Visit job workers and factories to track production on regular basis
• Managing all kinds of dispatches, coordination with courier partners, invoices and payments, across all vendors, working closely with the Finance team

Reporting and Coordination

• High level of coordination and collaboration with various teams (Design, production, procurement, category etc.)
• Making and maintaining daily detailed logs and updates for:
• Fabric, trims and accessories development and procurement
• Sampling & production status
• TNA update
• Job work sample and production development status
• Keep track of raw material consumption as per BOM
• Keep track of and update everything in ERP software
• Keeping production files up to date, containing fabric and trims swatches, specification sheet, all comments, wash standards, embroidery / print / dyeing swatches
• Maintaining library of all Lab-dip, accessories and trims
• Keep all master sheets for website updated from techpaks

Qualifications

• 1 - 2 years of PD, buying, merchandising and production experience in buying house, retail brands, export house etc.
• Experience of working directly with in-house production team is a plus
• Experience of working on bulk and custom production runs is a plus
• Experience of working in startups is an added advantage
• Excellent knowledge of fabrics, trims and accessories and the factory supplier base
• Strong communication and relationship building skills
• Strong organization skills
• Experience of working on ERP software is a plus
• Graduate or post graduate degree preferably in textile / apparel technology / fashion technology etc.