Category Manager

Job Description

Category Manager – Purchasing, Supply Chain & Logistics

Location: Livingston, TN

Employment Type: Full-Time

Reports to: VP Sales & Marketing

Position Overview

We are seeking an analytical, commercially minded Category Manager to oversee purchasing, inventory planning, supplier management, supply chain, and logistics across our entire pet product portfolio . This hands-on role is responsible for having the right products, in the right quantities, at the right cost, and at the right time—while controlling stockouts, excess inventory, freight costs, and supply-chain risk. The Category Manager will own inventory and purchasing across all products and SKUs and work closely with suppliers, Operations, Sales & Marketing, and Finance to support availability, margin, and growth.

Core Ownership

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• Own purchasing and replenishment across the entire product portfolio .
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• Maintain appropriate inventory levels across all SKUs and suppliers.
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• Develop purchasing plans using sales forecasts, velocity, lead times, seasonality, promotions, and growth.
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• Monitor inventory, inbound shipments, open POs, and future requirements.
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• Proactively identify and address stockouts, overstock, and supply risks .
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• Manage supplier relationships, pricing, terms, MOQs, lead times, and performance.
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• Coordinate domestic and international freight and inbound logistics .
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• Improve product and landed costs, turns, availability, and capital efficiency.
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• Support sourcing, new products, packaging changes, and assortment expansion.
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• Serve as the primary owner of the company's purchasing, inventory planning, and product supply pipeline .
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Sales, Marketing & Merchandising

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• Partner with Sales and Marketing to align inventory with promotions, customer opportunities, seasonal demand, and growth plans .
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• Analyze sales by SKU, category, channel, and customer to identify opportunities and trends (CRO, pricing).
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• Identify high-potential products and recommend opportunities to increase inventory and drive sales .
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• Forecast inventory needs for key accounts, wholesale, private label, and new customer launches .
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• Ensure inventory supports promotions, campaigns, trade shows, and events .
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• Identify overstock and slow-moving inventory for promotional opportunities.
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• Data driven recommendations: bundles, multipacks, sizes, assortment changes.
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• Evaluate products based on sales, margin, inventory turns, and contribution .
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• Identify assortment gaps and new product opportunities w/Sales and Marketing.
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• Support pricing & promos with accurate cost, margin, inventory, and supply data .
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• Manage product lifecycle recommendations, including when to expand, reposition, reduce, or discontinue SKUs .
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• Plan inventory for new product launches .
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• Communicate supply constraints and cost changes that could impact sales, pricing, promotions, or customers .
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• Help prioritize products with strong inventory, margins, and reliable supply .
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• Identify opportunities to improve product mix, AOV, gross margin, and inventory productivity .
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Systems & Analytical Skills

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• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, conditional formatting, and large datasets.
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• Build and maintain inventory, purchasing, forecasting, and supplier reports .
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• Strong SKU-level analysis skills for identifying sales trends, stockout risks, overstock, and purchasing needs .
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• Experience with ERP, inventory management, purchasing, and/or WMS systems .
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• Strong understanding of reorder points, safety stock, lead times, days of supply, inventory turns, forecasting, and SKU velocity .
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• Evaluate and improve forecasts & purchasing recommendation systems .
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• Maintain accurate item, supplier, cost, lead-time, and purchasing data.
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• Reconcile data across systems: inventory/warehouse, sales, purchasing & finance .
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• Experience with ERP/WMS integrations, e-commerce, or BI/AI reporting tools . 
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Experience & Qualifications

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• 5+ years of experience in purchasing, procurement, inventory management, supply chain, category management, or a related field.
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• 2+ years directly responsible for purchasing and inventory planning in a product-based business.
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• Experience managing a large, multi-SKU portfolio and multiple suppliers.
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• Experience making purchasing decisions based on sales, forecasts, inventory, lead times, and demand .
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• Proven supplier negotiation and relationship-management experience.
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• Experience with domestic and international supply chains and inbound freight .
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• Experience in e-commerce, wholesale, retail, or multi-channel distribution .
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• Strong hands-on experience with Excel and inventory/ERP systems .
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• Track record of improving availability, inventory levels, purchasing and freight costs .
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• Experience partnering with Sales and Marketing on forecasting, promotions, launches, and assortment planning.
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• Pet products, consumer products, food/treats, importing, or high-volume distribution experience .
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• Private label, contract manufacturing, or international sourcing experience.
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• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Finance, or a related field preferred; equivalent hands-on experience will be considered .
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