Description Witmer Public Safety Group, a 27- year old privately owned company based in Coatesville, PA, is a distributor and wholesaler of public safety supplies with six unique brands serving the fire, law enforcement and emergency medical markets. The Product Specialist will be the strategist behind optimizing inventory levels and sales strategies. They will evaluate and recommend innovative strategies and tactics that maximize the company's product investment. Leading the charge on new product placement and promotion of current lines, this role plays a crucial role in every stage of a product's lifecycle. The strategist will be on the front lines of vendor negotiations and setting strategic goals to drive success. Hybrid work (3 days in office, 2 days remote) is available for this position. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Evaluate inventory and sales levels on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
- Recommend strategies to improve inventory turn and maximize investment.
- Identify and manage opportunities to expand current product offerings from existing vendors.
- Identify deficiencies in current product line and source items from new vendors to fill the gaps.
- Oversee the creative development of new products, ensure existing product has up-to-date images, copy and website placement.
- Negotiate vendor agreements, product costs, exclusive deals, and entitlements (e.g., volume rebates, freight terms, freebies).
- Set or recommend mark-up rates, mark-down rates, and selling prices for merchandise.
- Establish new product sales forecasts and initial order recommendations based on sales records, industry trends, and economic conditions.
- Determine website placement and assign the website builds to the Ecommerce IT team for all new and existing products.
- Recommend showroom locations for all merchandise, new and existing.
- Collaborate with Marketing to establish launch plans for new merchandise and promotional plans for existing products.
- Evaluate stock status changes weekly, making updates based on sales volume, pricing and demand forecasts.
- Determine when and how to discontinue poor sellers.
- Review low-turning items and initiate product rebalances or returns when applicable.
- Monitor competitors' sales activities by following their websites, e-mail blasts, print ads, and other media.
- Oversea the demand plans through Blue Ridge software application. Recommend seasonal or event-based buy-ups when appropriate.
- Comply with all Witmer Public Safety Group Policies and Procedures.
- Perform any other duties or projects assigned by the management team.
RequirementsMINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES)
- Bachelor's Degree in Marketing or Business.
- 3+ years of experience in merchandising/selling with retail distributor companies.
- Expertise in Microsoft Excel
- Category specific public safety knowledge a must (fire, law enforcement, EMS)
- Creative thinking to identify, develop, design or create new products.
- Strong organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects concurrently.
- Develop constructive and cooperative working relationships with vendors and employees and maintain them over time.
- Ability to negotiate with outside vendors on the company's behalf.
- Ability to meet all required deadlines; ability to change priorities quickly as needed; ability to independently handle stress and maintain a mature problem-solving demeanor.
- Strong analytical skills to identify and exploit sales trends, problem solving skills to collect data from multiple sources.