Category Specialist, Apparel

Tecovas was founded with the simple goal of making the world’s best western boots, apparel and leather goods - and selling them at a fair price. We are a brand revolutionizing a category and welcoming first-time boot buyers and western enthusiasts alike. 

Tecovas is looking for a Category Specialist to directly support the growth and expansion of our business. As a Category Specialist at Tecovas, you will play a vital role in actively optimizing our supply chain for the Apparel category, ensuring efficient product flow from concept to customer. You will be responsible for identifying and collaborating with suppliers to enhance lead times, profit margins, and commercial terms. You will act as the focal point in the communication and relationship building and management with our selected manufacturing partners. 

This role is required to be based in Austin, TX. Candidates must either be currently located in or willing to relocate to Austin, TX.

What you’ll do:

•    Category Calendar Management:
•  Efficiently manage the category's calendar, ensuring timely communication to product development, production, and delivery.
• Set and adjust critical milestones to align with market demands and internal needs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to maintain a streamlined production schedule.
• Supplier Performance and Factory Scorecard Management:
• Actively monitor and enhance supplier performance by maintaining scorecards and KPIs.
• Regularly assess supplier performance against key indicators.
• Address performance issues by developing improvement plans and collaborating with suppliers to ensure continuous quality and efficiency enhancements.
• Efficiently manage the factory scorecard system to monitor and improve performance, making data-driven decisions to enhance the supply chain.
•  Supplier Sourcing and Evaluation:
• Identify and evaluate potential suppliers to improve lead times, cost-effectiveness, and commercial terms.
• Negotiate and implement favorable terms to improve cost efficiency.
• Continuously assess supplier capabilities and reliability to ensure smooth operations.
• Product Shipments:
•  Communicate XF dates to the product development team, ensuring alignment with production schedules.
• Oversee ship dates, monitor shipping procedures, and maintain compliance with all labeling, documentation, and systems requirements.
• Ensure purchase orders (POs) accurately reflect actual shipping details.
• Contracting::
• Work with the legal department to manage supplier contracts and agreements.
• Review and revise contracts to ensure alignment with changing business needs.
• Environmental, social, and corporate governance:
• Measure and report the level of compliance with ethical sourcing policies among suppliers.
• Collaborate with suppliers to ensure adherence to ethical sourcing guidelines.
• Identify and rectify any non-compliance issues with proactive solutions.
• Quality Oversight:
• Collaborate with third-party quality inspectors to ensure the best products are available to customers.
• Manage the performance of third-party quality inspectors and provide guidance for improvement.
• Ensure products meet quality standards and make necessary recommendations for enhancements.
• Continuous Enhancement:
• Have a growth mindset day in and day out.
• Seek opportunities for process improvement, cost reduction, and product quality enhancement.
• Analyze existing processes to identify inefficiencies and suggest improvements.
• Look for cost-saving initiatives, such as material alternatives or process optimizations.
• Collaborate closely with the product development team to enhance product quality.
• Act like an owner:
• Act as an advocate for the business within the supplier network, representing our interests.
• Engage with suppliers to ensure their understanding of our business needs.
• Identify opportunities for collaboration and mutual growth.
• Convey business objectives and expectations to suppliers in a clear and professional manner.

Experience we’re looking for:

• Bachelor’s Degree in supply chain management, business, or a related field and 3+ years of experience in Apparel supply chain and production, preferably within a top-tier Apparel brand or private label Apparel Company.
• Prior experience as an analyst or senior analyst in supply chain, procurement, or sourcing.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Analytical mindset with an ability to identify non only cost-saving oppor