UCD TXC Careers: Abercrombie & Fitch Sourcing Fabric Manager (New Albany, Ohio)

Position Title: Sourcing Fabric Manager

Reports to: Sr. Director, Sourcing

Location: Home Office - New Albany, OH

POSITION SUMMARY:

Maintain and develop vendor relationships to ensure key partnerships for future growth
Work with Merchandise Manager on sourcing strategy based on a 3-year plan
Continuous Fabric Research and Development in order to adhere to corporate calendar; identify appropriate mill base to work back to regional sourcing and identify fabric counter-sourcing needs.
Work with Technical Design team to understand factory challenges and streamline vendor submit/approval process

Sourcing Strategy:

Work closely with head merchant, design, and sourcing director to align vendors and mills based on global sourcing strategy.
Identify and establish desired lead times that will facilitate desired garment lead times per country origin.
Assist in fabric and garment cost negotiations to achieve seasonal cost objective. Global cost negotiations based on company wide annual denim buy.
Identify price challenges or opportunities in the market.
Explore and Set up new vendors which will contribute towards ANF sourcing strategy. On board new vendors.
Work with director to establish seasonal sourcing strategy.
Identify and negotiate vendor seasonal capacities to ensure on time delivery.
Work with QA to ensure that vendors meet and exceed garment quality requirements.

Fabric Management:

Work with merchant team and projections to ensure on time delivery of fabric to and garments by managing T&A's
Create and maintain a channel of communicate with mills on a weekly basis to inform mills of plan changes in order to maintain an appropriate level of inventory to respond to the market needs.
Negotiate and manage mill capacities and flows.
Ensure mills compliance to MTL testing as established by ANF QA / testing requirements.

Fabric R&D:

Responsible to manage fabric from pre- production thru adoption and adhere to seasonal calendar dates.
Work with design and mills to develop and identify innovative fabrics which meet each divisions design direction.
Work closely with design to select fabric which meets current cost parameters
Source key mills in line with current market trend and design needs. Ensure the mill compliments sourcing strategy.
Set up and maintain fabric specs and mills info into ANF Web PDM systems.
Visit key mills to asses capabilities, operating standards, and determine compatibility with ANF.
Maintain current organized inspirational fabric library.
Work with design and merchants following kick-off to establish A&F fabric strategy by season.
Correlate with sourcing director after kick-off to establish fabric pricing target.
Continually expand mill base to align with sourcing strategy and diversify overall mill base to support company growth.
Attend weekly cross-functional meetings with design, merchants and tech so that everyone is able to adhere to the corporate development calendar.
Maintain annual Denim R&D calendar.
Hindsight with sourcing director/merchant/design based on previous season mill performance and QA record.
Manage and coordinate all design wash trips, including ordering all sample yardage for wash development and wear test process.
Work closely with tech design and QA on all issues pertaining to fabric, resolve fabric issues presented from wear test and bulk yardage.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree or equivalent required
8-10 yrs experience in Production/Sourcing
Extensive travel throughout Asia/Subcontinent
Experience working with factories to validate WIP and assess potential delivery issues
Ability to evaluate a factory's capabilities/capacity to ensure successful long term growth
Ability to travel - 35%-40% of time
Experience interfacing with Merchant role and understanding of costing principles

Fabric

OH-Columbus

Full-time

Posted by Kris Iringan