Product Director

Do you enjoy being part of a leadership team that is pivotal to the success of the organization? Are you interested in working for an industry leader? If working for one of the most reputable product leaders in their field, read on If you have a passion for woodworking, even better If working for one of the most reputable product leaders in their field, read on

Our client is looking for a Director of Product for their corporate headquarters in Bellingham, WA. You will focus on the overall product strategy of the company, partnering with business lines leaders to develop new products, source new products as well as their existing multiple product categories. Our client has one of the largest product skus with $100-120M in inventory turns. You will also evaluate 100-200 potential new products a year. There are 14 people on your team. This is the most senior person in Product Management.

It's critical the process moves forward. Therefore, you will be vetting factories, ensuring they can meet the demands, agreements and production levels. They use 3rd party factories so you will work with the inspectors to ensure they are executing properly as well as meeting with the factory owners. The factories are in China and Taiwan.

You are part of the Executive Team, partnering with other business lines leaders on procurement plans to enable business strategies. This includes mitigating the Supply Chain risk through supplier qualification, development and diversification. You will maintain knowledge of the industry including pricing and fair cost of goods. You will develop the risk management procedures to mitigate losses in the event of product shortages.

Another critical piece of the success of this role is partnering with Marketing to merchandise the product accurately. This includes ensuring products have the proper descriptive context, it translates to marketing and working with their buyers. There are a lot of moving pieces so having the right content to market the products appropriately is key. You will also be working with suppliers to maintain the Purchase Orders.

Fast forward a year, what will you be doing?

The strategy is set in place. This includes accurate forecasting and analytics. You have made adjustments to the Supply Chain process. You have perfected the forecasting; what products, when, and how much, to ensure the right amount of products are in stock. You have created the right tools to track this. You have a great relationship with the production factories. You have traveled to the facilities in China & Taiwan. You have a strong, great relationship with Marketing. Therefore, youre working hand in hand with them. You have visibility with all the purchase orders. You own that process. You are working with your suppliers. You are working successfully across all lines of business. You are a transparent, open communicator. Therefore, you have an excellent relationship with your team. You have challenged the status quo to uplevel the teams skills as well as the supply chain process. You have been instrumental in bringing new products to market. You have made continuous improvements to the quality and enhancement of their products. You are communicating with the CEO, President and Executive Team regularly regarding the flow of goods and services affecting production. You have developed risk management procedures to mitigate losses in the event of product shortages. The day to day operational policies and procedures are established, implemented, and run smoothly. You are respected, happy, and proud of your work.

OK, how will you get there?

30 days:

• with the business line leaders as well as your team
• to learn the business & the various functions
• into the procurement & onboarding process, generating context

90 days:

• the Supply Chain Process
• team is assessed & you know their competencies
• to build out the dashboard for the data
• key KPIs for product performance
• the factories & their processes
• in the weeks with the data

6 months

• visibility in all areas of operations for the products
• relationships are built with the factories
• data supports the process
• the product pipeline, where they are in the process
• closely with your product managers

What you will need:

• grown and run a production team with high volume sku
• analytical skills
• and implemented forecasting plans with analytics to support your plans
• new products to market
• the Supply Chain process
• communication & written skills
• to work positively across all lines of business
• and fun attitude

Our client has the largest selection of woodworking and metal machinery under one brand in the world and remains the only direct-to-consumer industrial machinery company in the United States. Privately owned, the founder taught himself to fix machines. He then bought and repaired used machines. Over the next 40 years, the founder successfully built Our client from a 1 employee operation to the 1st tool and machinery company with its own website to a large business with nine-figure sales, and employing more than 300 people with multiple showrooms and warehouses in the U.S. They also have offices in Taiwan and China.