Location: Remote — periodic weekly calls

Reports to: Chief Operations Officer

Cross‑functional partners: Operations Manager; Compliance & Risk Analyst

Overview: Lead end‑to‑end wholesale sourcing and supplier conversion for marketplace channels (primarily Amazon FBA; roadmap to Walmart, eBay). Build repeatable, audit‑ready onboarding and commercialization playbooks that expand assortment, secure authorized supply, protect Buy Box, and drive margin and revenue growth. Founder‑led, hands‑on role: design SOPs, own execution, and hand off scalable processes.

Core responsibilities

Market intelligence & assortment planning

●      Run SKU/category scans (SmartScout, Keepa, Helium 10 or equivalents) to identify high‑velocity, high‑margin opportunities and seasonality windows.

●      Produce prioritized assortment roadmaps and SKU entry/exit rules with margin and lead‑time assumptions.

●      Maintain a live opportunity backlog with go/no‑go criteria.

Strategic sourcing & supplier ecosystem

●      Source, qualify, and convert authorized wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers for FBA; manage outreach via Apollo/Hunter and CRM.

●      Design supplier tiering, dual‑source strategies, and negotiated commercial terms (pricing tiers, MAP protections, lead times, minimums).

●      Negotiate initial POs, payment terms, and replenishment cadence focused on repeatability and low operational risk.

Supplier authorization, onboarding & compliance

●      Own supplier authorization pack and onboarding checklist: authorization letters, MAP, resale certificates, itemized invoices, COA/SDS as required.

●      Maintain a live supplier authorization tracker and ensure audit‑ready documentation for active SKUs.

●      Enforce credential control and inbound readiness (Seller Central practices, 2FA, FBA labeling/inbound standards).

Commercialization & launch‑to‑scale playbooks

●      Create and operationalize playbooks: listing optimization, pricing cadence, PPC sync, inventory buffers, and promotion coordination.

●      Define SKU lifecycle rules: reorder points, safety stock, promotion triggers, and rationalization criteria.

●      Coordinate execution with Inventory & Marketplace teams to accelerate scale and protect Buy Box.

Outreach, relationship management & performance

●      Run targeted outreach cadences, secure samples and QC flows, and convert prospects to repeatable supply relationships.

●      Maintain supplier scorecards; run periodic reviews and escalate strategic issues.

●      Manage supplier communications for promotions, recalls, and compliance updates.

Analytics, SOPs & continuous improvement

●      Deliver weekly sourcing pipeline updates and monthly dashboards (margin impact, Buy Box health, OTIF, SKU velocity).

●      Build and iterate SOPs, outreach templates, and KPI trackers to reduce manual work and increase throughput.

●      Lead post‑launch reviews and fold lessons into playbooks and onboarding.

Tools, process ownership & metrics

Tools and systems

●      SmartScout, Keepa, Helium 10, Apollo, Hunter, CRM, Sheets/Airtable, Seller Central. Process ownership

●      Supplier authorization tracker, assortment roadmap, launch‑to‑scale playbooks, supplier scorecards, SOP library. Key metrics (targets)

●      Time to first authorized supplier for top 10 SKUs ≤ 45 days.

●      ≥ 60% of sourced SKUs reach profitable scale within 120 days.

●      Buy Box protection rate for prioritized SKUs ≥ 90%.

●      Supplier pipeline: 12–25 qualified leads per month.

●      Supplier OTIF ≥ 95% and reduced single‑source exposure.

Qualifications & demonstrated strengths

●      4+ years Amazon wholesale FBA sourcing, marketplace strategy, or e‑commerce merchandising.

●      Practical mastery of market intelligence tools and outreach/CRM flows.

●      Proven negotiator who converts cold outreach into authorized, repeatable supply.

●      Strong analytical skills (Excel/Airtable/Sheets) and disciplined project management.

●      Operator mindset: builds MVP SOPs, executes hands‑on, and scales repeatable processes.

Preferred

●      Seller Central/MWS API or EDI familiarity; PPC coordination experience; product compliance/import logistics exposure.

Career progression path

●      Current: Product Researcher II — own sourcing, authorization, and playbook library.

●      Next step: Manager, Strategic Sourcing — hire and manage Sourcing Specialists and an Onboarding Coordinator; own supplier performance and operational KPIs.

●      Next step: Director, Supplier Partnerships— lead cross‑channel sourcing strategy (Amazon, Walmart, eBay), own supplier P&L contributions, and manage multiple teams (Sourcing and Compliance liaison).