RETAIL PRE-PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

JOB SUMMARY:

The Retail Pre-Production Coordinator is an integral part of Global Merchandises’ supply chain. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in organization, multi-tasking, self-management, and strong communication skills. This role is to ensure that Global can efficiently track & monitor all styles in sampling while setting manageable priorities with our vendors & internal team to push for timely approvals. Exceptional critical thinking with the ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple projects with overlapping deadlines is essential for this role. A substantial working knowledge of Microsoft Excel is necessary. The ability to take instruction is paramount, along with the timely management of a varied workload, with pressing deadlines and priorities. This individual must be highly efficient, dedicated to the task at hand and must be able to communicate effectively, have the tenacity to problem-solve and work as a team player. This individual submits samples to our licensors for alignment and approval. This is a critical part of our licensed merchandise process and must be handled quickly and effectively to ensure targets are met. The Pre-Production Coordinator is responsible for all new development that goes into sampling. Pre-Production Coordinator must keep track of and communicate any foreseeable production challenges to respective teams and offer solutions.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Work closely with Production Manager, along with sales & creative, to ensure all samples are executed correctly & in a timely fashion. Create & maintain all item set ups when sales team requests new items to assign style numbers. Handle Purchase Order Form (POF) requests from sales team & coordinate with creative team to collect art links/SEP files. Push and set priorities internally with creative team for art links/SEP files. Information needs to be organized in the creative tracker & sample tracker. Manage sample inventory, tracking product & hitting deadlines. Working with manufacturers/vendors to resolve issues during the sample process. Provide feedback and continued liaison for required revisions/re-samples with vendors, keeping sales managers & production team updated throughout process. Maintain & update sample tracker WIP to keep all sampling organized and follow up with vendors in a timely fashion. Manages workflow, prioritizing consistent follow through with factories on proto and pre-production sampling. Set sampling priorities with vendors based on PO’s and desired deliveries. Send out weekly WIPS to vendors to push for all updates on sample ETA’s (Estimated time of Arrival) and DDD’s (Drop Dead Date – for approval). Share art links/SEP files with allocated vendor after creative distributes to team. Collect all sample images from vendors and send off for brand manager/licensor approval upon receipt (time sensitive) after creative signs off. Communicate approval comments and corrections to internal and external channels; trackers, factories/vendors, and partners as applicable. Coordinate all sample tracking from vendors and ship physical samples to retailers. Review sample requests and identify any sampling/production concerns and provide possible solutions. Communicate necessary information to respective teams. Brainstorm new processes that promote efficiencies with order ingestion. Handle ad-hoc duties as they arise & assist with other projects as needed.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

Bachelor’s Degree (Preferred) or equivalent work experience Must have the ability to multi-task and prioritize in a fast-paced, time-pressured environment. Outstanding verbal & written communications skills and able to liaise internally with various teams such as production/sales/brand mgmt. and externally with manufacturers/vendors/customers. Trained eye for the elements of design: ie. color, proportion, and balance as well as aesthetic detail. Pantone color experience is a plus. Ability to self-manage/work independently, demonstrable leadership and stress management skills. Multitask, highly motivated, positive, and strong work and team ethics. Critical thinking with the ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple projects with overlapping deadlines. Excellent time management and organizational skills, along with the ability to prioritize and possess a sense of urgency when appropriate. Basic knowledge of license apparel a plus. Demonstrable experience in a similar role. #J-18808-Ljbffr Global Merchandising Services