Category Manager - Private Brand

Company Summary

Zoro.com is a leading eCommerce platform offering nearly 12 million tools, parts and supplies for our business customers. Launched in 2011, we brought a B2C-like experience to the B2B industry, and continue to be at the forefront of digital innovation at the intersection of technology and distribution. We have rapidly grown to over $1 billion in annual revenue and we’re just getting started!

Primary Function: 

At Zoro, we desire to have every product for every business need. Category Managers are key contributors to our growth in both sales and category expansion. The Category Management team is responsible for defining strategies for our key categories and then finding and managing supplier relationships that allow us to add products and drive growth in those categories.

A Private Brand Category Manager’s success will be defined by unlocking the full potential for Zoro’s wide portfolio of private branded products. This will revolve around ensuring competitiveness and growing sales for existing private brand assortment by identifying opportunities for product expansion, improving customer repeat rates and analyzing strategic areas of growth through category reviews. In order to be successful, a Category Manager will need to partner with key existing suppliers while facilitating development with new suppliers. We expect our Category Managers to be thought leaders, able to think big and create a scalable vision, and be able to solve problems unique to their categories to be successful. The Category Manager is responsible for suppliers and categories but in addition you will be hands-on in general management of your brands and you’ll touch many areas within Zoro and Grainger. As such, you’ll need strong internal influence skills to build and maintain relationships and understand many of the inner workings of our business. Being an e-commerce company we have vast amounts of data that you’ll need to be able to digest and turn into actionable plans to manage your business. A successful candidate will be able to be an effective communicator, highly influential, have strong business acumen and lead with curiosity. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Understand vertical market segments, what it takes to be successful and evaluate if/how Zoro is able to participate in the segment.
• Demonstrate solid data analytics skills to be able to mine data, understand the drivers of your business, and create appropriate strategies.
• Understand customer needs and be an advocate for them to make sure their experience is excellent when they buy from Zoro.
• Understand how and why customers use certain products including various technologies and brand differences. 
• Prospect, contact, and sell the Zoro model to new suppliers to encourage them to come on board.
• Negotiate contracts with suppliers to achieve a fast launch to market with the highest level of success while managing within operational capabilities and profitability.
• Manage supplier relationships and be able to operationalize suppliers on our platform and drive sales and profitability.
• Drive your business with a high sense of urgency.
• Demonstrate ability to lead complex projects and initiatives while ensuring alignment with key business partners and stakeholders.
• Learn and manage all the sales levers within Zoro to engage the right ones at the right time to achieve the growth we need to achieve.
• Demonstrate Zoro Values and contribute to the positive development of the culture within our team.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required. MBA or equivalent a plus
• 7-10 years of experience in a related field is required
• Experience managing a private brand portfolio a plus
• Experience in MRO distribution, online marketplaces, wholesale, and E-Commerce preferred
• Expertise in negotiating contracts and establishing new supplier relationships required
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, agile environment
• Strong financial acumen and ability to communicate complex deal terms in a clear and compelling manner 
• Superior written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills  
• Computer skills include building presentations, analyzing data, communicating information, and internet search techniques 

Total Rewards

Zoro’s total compensation plan includes our Zoro Incentive Plan (ZIP) that is designed to foster and reward our team members for strong performance. Total compensation will be highly competitive.

In addition to competitive compensation, Zoro offers comprehensive benefits and perks including:

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverag