Kamal Rustagi

• Sourcing Lead for Men's, Kids and Women's-Sports/Active/Atheleisure, Circular Knits and Winterwear at Myntra, a part of Flipkart India, which is a subsidiary of the Walmart Group, located in Bangalore. This role has been held since April 2019 and continues to date.

Brands Managed:

Active/Sports/Atheleisure Brands: Prowl by Tiger Shroff, HRX by Hrithik Roshan(Offline), Slazenger, Adrenex, Flipkart Private Labels (Metronaut, M7, Billion, Dreambe, Herway)

Premium License Brands: Ducati, Nautica, French Connection, (Myntra & Flipkart)- Ofline and Online distribution

• Responsible for a Brand Portfolio of 600 Crore GMV for CY23, with a total of 6 million pieces in CY23 and aiming for 8 million pieces in CY24, achieving an impressive 81% BM.
• Oversee a team structure consisting of 8 team members at the headquarters and 2 regional team members.
• Successfully launched recent new license brands FCUK/French connection, Prowl, Slazenger and Nautica.

Key Responsibilities:

a) Vendor Management & Planning: Identify and cultivate key strategic vendor partnerships, focusing on enhancing their capacity to ensure timely deliveries.

b) Vendor Selection: Responsible for selecting new vendors in compliance with Walmart's social and responsible sourcing standards.

c) GTM Collaboration: Collaborate closely with the business and design teams to meet GTM deadlines and ensure timely order releases.

d) Product Cataloging

e) Cost Solutions: Provide cost-effective solutions to the design and business teams by optimizing relevant components to meet cost targets.

g) Readiness Reporting: Share monthly readiness updates with the business team for OTB and inbound requests.

h) Sales Tracking: Monitor sales regularly to ensure timely placement of repeat orders to meet business targets.

i) NOS Management: Focus on Never Out of Stock (NOS) strategies to maintain optimal inventory levels and boost sales.

j) Vendor Performance Assessment: Evaluate vendor performance based on criteria such as rejection rates, quality improvements, on-time delivery, and credit terms.

k) Supplier Onboarding: Responsible for onboarding new suppliers and creating Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documentation.

l) Cost Optimization: Collaborate closely with vendors and the design team to achieve desired product costs. m) Issue Resolution: Address vendor-related issues, including payment and Goods Received (GRN) discrepancies.

o) Capacity Management: Work with vendors on capacity blocking modules to ensure timely and deviation-free deliveries.

p) Inventory Availability: Ensure continuous availability of core and replenishment merchandise within the respective category through efficient order follow-up with vendors and regional sourcing teams to meet On Time In Full (OTIF) targets.

q) Cost Negotiation

During my tenure, I played a pivotal role in the successful launch and management for Brand "2BME, in February 2017 (Spencer's own Private label.

This endeavor resulted in a total business of 150cr in 2 years, and i played major role in establishing the Knits and Woven product line for them across all 3 categories.

My key responsibilities in this role included:

• Vendor Management and Planning: Strategically managed vendor relationships and
• New Range Development: Collaborated with vendors on the development of new ranges for upcoming seasons, organizing meetings with vendors alongside the stock fabric collection to meet option plans effectively.
• New Supplier Onboarding
• Timely Product Delivery: Ensured the on-time delivery of products by managing all required options as per launch requirements.
• Quality and Production Tracking
• Order Status Reporting: Maintained an updated Excel sheet on the shared drive, providing insights into Fit, Pre-Production (PP), fabric, production, and dispatch statuses to keep management informed.
• Merchandise Availability
• Cost Negotiation
• Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement

Sourcing & Product Development for Knits in Women's Western Wear at Pantaloons, part of Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail.

My tenure During this time, I was responsible for overseeing the Women's Wear Private Brands business, which amounted to 650 cr GMV per year. I made a significant contribution, accounting for 50% of the Private Women's Wear Brands and 20% of Pantaloons' overall business. Notably, I achieved a remarkable 50% growth in one major category, the Honey Power Tee. Additionally, I successfully reduced costs by 13% across all categories from the previous season and achieved a 20% reduction in the cost of Look to Launch (L2L) products.

Brands I managed included Ajile Essentials, Honey, Ajile, SF, and Annabelle. The product range encompassed women's tops, dresses, tunics, bottoms, outerwear, skirts, and more.

My role covered both product development and Sourcing

Key Responsibilities:

• Conducted in-depth supplier analysis and assessed potential vendors based on product quality and delivery standards, addressing deviations and overseeing sample order follow-up.
• Collaborated with vendors on the development of new product ranges for upcoming seasons.
• Managed the onboarding of new suppliers and maintained Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documentation.

Order Allocation:

• Assisted in planning fabric and trim requirements.
• Oversaw factories for activities such as lab dip, strike-off, sample submissions, and approvals.
• Maintained the internal portal (Aadhar) with updates on Fit, Pre-Production (PP), fabric, production, and dispatch status to keep management informed about order progress.
• Ensured that vendors updated the "nishchint" (assured) status for Time and Action (TNA) and Detailed Production Report (DPR).

Product Availability:

• Ensured the continuous availability of core and replenishment merchandise within the respective category, actively following up on orders, issues, and deliveries with vendors and regional sourcing teams to meet On Time In Full (OTIF) targets.

Costing negotiations

Buyer Engagement - Ann Taylor LOFT Outlet Store (LOS) & Factory Stores (ATFS) in the US Market

Key Responsibilities:

❖ Took charge of sample development, overseeing the entire process from prototype (proto) to Pre-Production (PP) samples.

❖ Delved into garment cost analysis and skillfully negotiated prices with buyers, tailoring the approach to match order quantities.

❖ Implemented Time and Action (TNA) plans and maintained meticulous order tracking to ensure the timely execution of both samples and production orders.

❖ Diligently managed Work in Progress (WIP), order statuses, lab dip tracker, fit tracker, and fabric chart, ensuring accurate order tracking.

❖ Worked collaboratively with fit technicians to assess fit samples, internally verifying sample quality, proper fall and drape of garments, and ensuring that all changes required by the buyer were seamlessly integrated into the pattern.

❖ Led the sourcing efforts for fabrics and trims, monitoring the status of all materials earmarked for production, and granting approval for bulk production.

❖ Vigilantly monitored all merchandising and production activities.

❖ Thoroughly documented all relevant information in the ERP system to maintain a comprehensive and organized record of all materials.

• Brand Managed-Super dry, Paul smith, Products- Men’s’ non denim bottoms, jackets, shirts etc
• Product category-Women’s Tops, jackets and bottoms
• Job description-Cost effective sourcing for all the categories Sourcing of raw materials including fabric, trims at best price & quality Product development/ New Sampling, Update buying house with the production status and shipment advice Sampling & production follow up
• Maintain Monthly & Weekly reports Correspondence with Buying Offices