Lorraine Reid

In this role, I enabled manufacturing and on-time delivery of best-fit products to wholesale partners and the DTC business by collaborating with cross-functional teams and, doing so improved process visibility for internal and offshore business partners. I also standardized processes for domestic and overseas vendors for unit variance, quality, pre-production, top-of-production sample expectations, and handover guidelines by rolling out a best practices document. Select Accomplishments: - Improved receipt visibility and lowered late orders by 20% by generating reports using Shopify, NetSuite, and Looker data. - Set up streamlined standard rates for fit, top-of-production, and pre-production samples to facilitate cost negotiation.

During my tenure, I transformed supply chain operations, including purchasing, sourcing, shipping, category management, assortment planning and building practices, to boost sales revenue. I did so by leading offshore teams across India, Bali, and China. I also collaborated with sales, marketing, and content development teams to develop product positioning, pricing, branding, and promotional strategies. My biggest success here involved launching four private label brands and corresponding segmented product categories. I also adopted a high-value product sourcing strategy. Through these efforts, I turned around and grew the sales of a previously underperforming brand by 86%. I successfully directed the development and launch of apparel, accessory, and handbag categories by selecting best-fit factories after conducting feasibility analysis and developing financial strategies. The key to my success involved ensuring the seamless performance of offshore teams and partners by tracking KPIs, including shipment and quality targets. Additionally, I ensured high-quality product development by the sourcing teams through regular site visits. Select Accomplishments: - Aligned line plan and assortment with customer demands by training teams on the latest fashion and seasonal trends. - Cut purchase costs and enhanced product quality by 10% by initiating bulk purchasing from high-performing vendors. - Developed an Excel-based dashboard to streamline risk analysis, open-to-buy planning, revenue forecasting, and sales improvement.

I secured successive promotions from Assistant Buyer – Missy Apparel, Allocation Analyst – Intimate Apparel & Sleepwear, and Assistant Buyer – Young Men’s Apparel. I adjusted the inventory level and margin goals at this retail company after analyzing seasonal demand trends and sales by collaborating with the planning team. I also forecasted and negotiated markdown strategies according to the end-of-quarter sales performance. I succeeded in this role by ensuring the product line met customer demand across 800 stores. For example, I substituted low-performing products from retail display tables with seasonal favorites. I also negotiated margin increases with vendors to improve markdown. As a result, I reduced inventory by 30%. Furthermore, I grew sleepwear sales by replacing markdown-driven fleece with profit-generating cotton sleep sets. Select Accomplishments: - Trained four executives on purchasing SOPs, MicroStrategy usage, and weekly report generation. - Improved inventory and sales tracking to optimize the margin of seasonal sleepwear by leveraging Ladder Plan. - Secured a longer selling period in December by consolidating low- and high-performing inventory.

In this role, I drove profitability growth by forecasting seasonal selling and aligning good allocation with the locality and demand. As a result, I grew sales across 850 stores. Furthermore, I conducted merchandising analysis region-wide to plan the BOP inventory targets for all stores. I also identified new business opportunities by working closely with the store planner.