Quality Assurance and Defective Inventory Management (Apparel Retail Brand)

Job Title: Manager Quality Assurance & Defective Inventory Management (Apparel Retail Brand)

Location: Gurgaon

Experience: 6-10 year in Apparel retail Brand

Salary: 15-20 LPA

Industry: Fashion/Retail

Qualification: Graduate / Postgraduate in Supply Chain, Operations, Textile Management, or related field.

 

Strong understanding of garment handling, packaging, quality control, and refurbishment processes

Experience working with SAP WMS, inventory systems, and data analytics tools preferred

 

 

Job Purpose:

·         To establish end-to-end governance and processes for product condition, classification, and defective inventory management across the Marks & Spencer supply chain in India.

·         This role will ensure that every product reaching the customer—whether through stores or online—meets our standards of quality, presentation, and brand experience.

·         The incumbent will design and institutionalize robust inspection, classification, refurbishment, and disposal mechanisms to minimize margin losses, improve operational efficiency, and elevate the customer experience.

·         By acting as the central owner of the defective inventory lifecycle, the role will drive timely refurbishment, reclassification, and liquidation

Key Deliverables (Essential functions & Responsibilities of the Job):

1. Product Condition Governance

·         Define and standardize product condition categories (e.g., saleable, refurbishable, non-saleable, scrap) across all business flows.

·         Develop clear classification guidelines for common defects such as wrinkles, stains, missing tags, soiled garments, damaged packaging, etc.

·         Act as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for product condition assessment and classification.

·         Drive adoption of these standards across Imports, DCs, Stores, Online Fulfilments, and Returns operations.

 

2. Process & SOP Development

·         Create and implement SOPs for product inspection, handling, and classification at each supply chain node.

·         Define inspection checkpoints – at inbound (imports/local), during storage, before dispatch, and at returns receiving.

·         Build standard packaging guidelines and develop innovative packaging solutions for first-mile, mid-mile and last-mile.

·         Integrate condition capture into WMS/SAP to track condition-based inventory.

·         Work with sourcing team to improve product packaging and mitigate packaging related handling damages.

 

3. Audits & Compliance

·         Conduct regular quality and condition audits at DCs and stores.

·         Track and report compliance scores for inspection and handling standards.

·         Identify recurring causes of damages or poor condition and initiate corrective actions with vendors, logistics, or store teams.

 

4. Defective Inventory Management

·         Own the entire defective/non-saleable inventory lifecycle — identification, classification, segregation, refurbishment, and final

·         disposal.

·         Maintain visibility and tracking dashboards for defective stock ageing and movement.

·         Coordinate with Finance, Buying, Merchandising, and Commercial teams for timely provisioning and liquidation decisions.

·         d. Define turnaround time (TAT) targets for refurbishment and liquidation.

 

5. Refurbishment & Recovery

·         Lead refurbishment initiatives (ironing, re-tagging, minor stitching, packaging restoration).

·         Develop a network of service partners (laundry, alteration, packing vendors) for repair/rework activities.

·         Track refurbishment cost vs recovery and optimize the reprocessing pipeline.

·         Build standard rework packs / kits for store-level quick fixes.

 

6. Analytics & Reporting

·         Monitor inventory health metrics: % defective, ageing profile, rework yield, write-off trends.

·         Provide monthly dashboards and root-cause insights to Supply Chain and Commercial teams.

·         Highlight potential salvage opportunities and propose actions for clearance or donation.

 

7. Stakeholder Collaboration

·         Liaise with Buying, Sourcing, DC Operations, Transportation, Stores, and E-commerce teams for end-to-end defect resolution.

·         Partner with Sustainability and CSR teams for responsible disposal or donation of unsalvageable stock.

 

Key Deliverables / KPIs

·         Reduction in % of defective/non-saleable inventory

·         Improvement in refurbishment recovery rate (%)

·         Reduction in defect ageing at DCs (e.g., >90 days stock)

·         Improved classification accuracy (audit compliance %)

·         Reduction in product condition complaints (store/customer feedback)

 

 

Mail updated resume with salary details:

Email: etalenthire@gmail.com

Satish: 88O2749743

 

Website: www.glansolutions.com

 

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