Nicole M. Fedele

• Drive product development and serve as the main interface between design teams and international vendors

• Prioritize and manage multiple projects and milestones in various stages to execute development and delivery within tight deadlines

• Maintain the product roadmap and assure milestones are met

• Build strong cross-functional partnerships with Design, Pre-Production, Production, vendors and overseas teams

• Increased brand's gross profit by $3M from 2014-2016 by conducting all cost negotiations with vendors, value

engineering product to increase margins, staying within budgets, and introducing market driven designs

• Cross-functional collaboration to create seamless and transparent communication

• Liaison and partner with international vendors to direct and oversee the execution of projects effectively and efficiently

• Guide new vendors with company procedures, corporate responsibility requirements and compliance

• Troubleshoot and resolve any complications, risks, or QA within the development process as they arise

• Communicate and input specifications of cosmetic and engineering details in company system for purchase order

placement and manufacturing guidelines

• Perform competitive analysis and market research seasonally

• Analyze selling reports to identify trends and successes

• Partner with marketing department to develop brand identity, photography and advertising initiatives, and to assure

accurate information and brand story is represented in marketing material

• Managed projects throughout the product development lifecycle for Fossil watches

• Closely collaborated with design, production, and sales teams to develop trend and brand appropriate product

• Allocated new design developments and projects to appropriate factories based on vendor abilities

• Meticulously reviewed technical designs to help assure consistent specifications were given

• Clearly communicated design revisions to vendors and followed up to assure corrections were executed

• Negotiated all costing with vendors to achieve and exceed internal margins while maintaining visual integrity of designs

• Performed component cost analysis to assure vendor quotes were competitive

• Managed molding and tooling costs to assure budget was not exceeded

• Resolved quality issues with factories to assure improvements were made and helped reduce QA rejections by 10%

• Inputted detailed style specification setup into SAP system to allow production orders to be placed

• Trained and monitored new vendors to learn processes, systems, and best practices

• Managed and supported one direct report

• Managed sourcing and pre-production development for jewelry licenses

• Extensive cross functional communication between overseas vendors, internal design, merchandising, and production

• Reviewed design specifications prior to allocation to assure construction and material requests were possible

• Implemented tight calendar delivery dates of multiple sample cycles leading to final approval for production

• Competitive cost negotiation to meet or exceed company margins

• Responsible for ensuring product was properly tested at international labs to meet safety regulation laws

• Troubleshot issues with factories regarding materials, quality assurance, and timelines, to avoid affecting delivery dates

• Provided quality assurance inspection of product to guarantee strong construction and functionality

• Partnered with and supported additional Account Managers for sourcing and product resolution for their brands

• Managed product sourcing and development of mass market jewelry brands for Kohl's and JCPenny's

• Allocated developments according to individual vendor strengths and capabilities

• Liaison between design, merchandising, and production teams to deliver cost efficient and trend driven product

• Negotiated costs with vendors to achieve and maximize required internal financial plans and retail price points

• Daily correspondence with manufacturing vendors in China, Hong Kong, The Philippines, and India

• Developed and maintained cost sheets, product material specification sheets, and packaging information

• Monitored development calendar to track global sample deliveries and allow proper lead-time for production

• Resolved all product issues determined by quality control team

• Guided and informed new vendors on all procedures, compliance, and company regulations

• Handled all external account relations to develop product for their needs

• Created and maintained purchase orders for all account sales

• Planned and monitored development cycle with factory to allow proper lead times for prototype and production

• Negotiated pricing, approvals, and cycle times with domestic customer

• Coordinated packing/shipping of goods with warehouse and client's shipping department

• Performed inventory control and order processing

• Managed data entry administrative tasks