Manager, Product Operations

Position Summary

The Product Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring the integrity, governance, and operational effectiveness of Petmate's product master data across all systems, channels, and customers. This role serves as the owner of product data standards, SKU lifecycle governance, item setup processes, and product hierarchy management while ensuring accurate syndication of product information to internal systems, customers, retailers, and external data partners.

This position leads the execution and continuous improvement of product data processes, oversees the annual SKU Rationalization program, participates as a key contributor to the monthly Inventory Optimization process, and manages the Master Data Specialist. The Product Operations Manager plays a critical role in ensuring product, pricing, and customer data structures are aligned across Oracle and related business systems to support operational execution, reporting accuracy, forecasting, inventory management, and commercial success.

Key Responsibilities

Product Master Data Governance

• Own enterprise product master data governance policies, standards, and procedures.
• Ensure product data accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness across Oracle and connected business systems.
• Establish and maintain product data management processes, controls, and audits.
• Govern product hierarchy, brand hierarchy, item status, and attribute standards.
• Serve as the business owner for product data integrity and lifecycle management.
• Partner with IT and business stakeholders to identify and resolve master data issues and drive continuous process improvements.

Product Data Syndication & Customer Data Management

• Ensure product data is successfully syndicated and maintained across internal systems, retailers, distributors, marketplaces, customer portals, reporting tools, and data-sharing platforms.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, and IT teams to ensure customer-facing product information remains accurate and current.
• Develop processes to improve the speed and accuracy of product information flow between Petmate and external customers.
• Lead initiatives to improve data quality and minimize product setup errors impacting customer ordering, product listings, inventory planning, and reporting.

SKU Lifecycle & Annual SKU Rationalization

• Own and lead the enterprise Annual SKU Rationalization process from analysis through implementation.
• Coordinate cross-functional participation from Product, Commercial, Finance, Supply Chain, Planning, and Operations teams.
• Drive SKU classification decisions, implementation timelines, system updates, and organizational communication.
• Monitor execution of transition, use-up, and obsolete inventory strategies.
• Ensure rationalization decisions are reflected appropriately within Oracle and related reporting systems.
• Deliver portfolio health metrics and recommendations to leadership.

Inventory Optimization Leadership

• Serve as a core member of the monthly Inventory Optimization process.
• Partner with Planning, Sourcing, Supply Chain, Commercial, and Product teams to review inventory risks and SKU lifecycle status with objective to move flagged inventory to obsolete status.
• Ensure item statuses, transition codes, and inventory actions remain synchronized across systems.
• Support inventory reduction initiatives and E&O management through accurate product data and lifecycle governance.

Pricing & System Governance

• Act as the Product team's lead business partner for item and pricing data structures within Oracle.
• Partner with Product, Finance, IT, and Commercial teams to ensure item master data supports pricing execution and customer pricing requirements.
• Drive governance of product attributes that impact list pricing, wholesale pricing, direct-import pricing, customer-specific pricing, reporting, and profitability analysis.
• Provide recommendations on system enhancements, data structures, and process improvements that enable efficient pricing administration.
• Support future-state integration between product master data, costing, pricing, and customer-specific pricing structures.

Team Leadership

• Directly manage and develop the Master Data Specialist.
• Establish workload priorities, performance objectives, and development plans.
• Create scalable processes, documentation, SOPs, and training materials.
• Foster a culture of accuracy, accountability, process discipline, and continuous improvement.

Cross-Functional Product Operations

• Serve as the operational backbone supporting Product Management, Project Management, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, and Marketing.
• Identify opportunities to streamline data, reporting, and product lifecycle processes.
• Lead special projects related to system enhancements, product governance, and operational excellence.
• Develop KPIs and dashboards that measure data quality, item setup performance, SKU portfolio health, and process effectiveness.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, Information Systems, Finance, Marketing, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in Product Operations, Master Data Management, Product Management Operations, Supply Chain Operations, or ERP Administration.
• Experience with ERP systems, preferably Oracle.
• Strong understanding of product lifecycle management, master data governance, inventory management, and pricing operations.
• Advanced Excel and data analysis skills.
• Demonstrated project management and cross-functional leadership experience.

Preferred

• Experience with SKU rationalization, portfolio management, or inventory optimization processes.
• Experience managing direct reports.
• Familiarity with customer item setup, retailer product data requirements, and data syndication platforms.
• Experience working with reporting and analytics tools.

Success Measures

• Product master data accuracy and completeness.
• Reduction in item setup and data-related errors.
• Successful execution of annual SKU Rationalization initiatives.
• Improved inventory quality and lifecycle management outcomes.
• Timely and accurate product data syndication to customers and systems.
• Pricing and customer data integrity across Oracle and connected platforms.
• Process efficiency gains and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Development and performance of the Master Data Specialist.