RETAIL PRE-PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Global Merchandising Services; West Hollywood (CA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

Global Merchandises is seeking a Retail Pre-Production Coordinator in West Hollywood, CA to manage sampling workflows and coordinate with vendors, sales, and creative teams. You will track styles in sampling, set priorities, and ensure timely approvals while maintaining organized trackers and clear communication across internal and external partners.

The ideal candidate has strong Excel skills, excellent multitasking, and the ability to manage multiple projects with overlapping deadlines in a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred or equivalent work experience.
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong verbal and written communication with internal and external teams.
• Eye for design elements (color, proportion, balance); Pantone experience a plus.
• Self-management, leadership, and stress management skills.
• Experience in a similar role with licenses apparel knowledge a plus.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate sampling with Production Manager, sales, and creative teams to ensure timely execution.
• Create and maintain item set ups and assign style numbers on new items.
• Handle PO requests and organize art links and SEP files with trackers.
• Manage sample inventory and hit deadlines.
• Collaborate with manufacturers/vendors to resolve sample issues.
• Provide feedback and revisions to vendors and keep teams updated.
• Track sampling workflow and prioritize factory proto and pre-production sampling.
• Communicate approvals and corrections to internal/external channels.
• Coordinate shipment of samples to retailers.
• Brainstorm new processes to improve order ingestion; assist ad-hoc duties.

Skills

Multitasking

Communication

Time management

Leadership

Stress management

Teamwork

Critical thinking

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Job description

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.