Sourcing Manager - Wovens

Abercrombie & Fitch is the most successful specialty retailer in operation today.  Our casual, classic, all-American lifestyle brand of clothing is synonymous with quality.  Based in Columbus, Ohio, the Abercrombie & Fitch brands have never been more powerful or more profitable. The A&F culture is one-of-a-kind.  We design, merchandise, market and live the Abercrombie & Fitch brand.  We are our best customer. A&F's brand-powered momentum is fueled by additional lifestyle reinforcement.  Every aspect of our stores - the music, the marketing and photos, and overall aesthetic - has made the in-store experience more potent than ever.  Our website, abercrombie.com, receives more than 1 million hits per month.  Through the website, e-commerce has expanded the A&F experience beyond our stores and gives customers access to the brand from anywhere at any time. With the additions of abercrombie (the lifestyle for kids 7-14), Hollister Co. (a west-coast inspired line of clothing for high school kids 14-18), Ruehl (a New York Greenwich Village based brand for the late 20s shopper), and most recently, Gilly Hicks (the cheeky cousin of A&F that sells underwear, not lingere) our brand has never been stronger. Sourcing Manager is responsible for the following: *Actively partner and coordinator product development from the start of the calendar season - driving fabric development, timing and action, tailoring samplesm proto samples, etc. *Work with QA to ensure the vendor base is prepared for bulk production*Engage with our supply chain (trim, fabric, agents, vendors and mills) on a daily basis*Cross communicate between all areas of the business and support our end goal*Self-sufficient with the INITIATIVE to be a self-driving professional who has the ability to manage their business, while reporting to their director*Keep the department on the global corporate calendar, and proactively manage it*Along with merchants, identify issues that need to be resolved, and the correct cross-functional teams that can help bring resolution*Manage style allocations to vendor and near-term projections from merchants to identify possible capacity concerns

*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

*Interact with merchant team in an advisory role; mentor and coach merchants through costing and time and action calendar

*Visit factory base to assess capability and capacity to work on A&F product standards and line planning/set up

*Weekly Work in Progress (WIP) evaluation to determine/troubleshoot production backlogs; assist merchant team in identifying red flag issues

*Work with Fabric Research & Development team in order to adhere to corporate calendar; identify appropriate mill base to work back to regional sourcing strategy and identify fabric counter-sourcing needs

*Work with Technical Design team to understand factory challenges and streamline vendor submit/approval process

*8-10 yrs experience in Production/Sourcing

*Must have traveled extensively throughout Asia/Subcontinent

*Must have 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