FREELANCE PRODUCT DEVELOPER

Engineering & Production

Sportswear and footwear industry professional with extensive experience in:
-Product Development
-Product Line Management
-Communication and Management of Overseas and Domestic vendors
-Inventory and systems management
-Purchase Order Management

- Art separations and size downs
- Tech Pack Building
-  Vendor introductions and set ups


-Work with and source viable factories to elevate product line.
-Travel Internationally to inspect quality and keep development time lines for Decks, Wheels, Backpacks, Clocks, and other misc. items.
- Approval all art with design team in timely manner.
-Work with production team on all bulk product buys, build product costs, and delivery timelines.

HARDGOODS/ACCESSORIES PRODUCT DEVELOPER

-Maintain project timelines to ensure on time and quality sample delivery.
-Work closely with TOMS' global teams to find product solutions that respect the product development calendar.
-Assure footwear meets TOMS' brand, quality, cost, and functionality standards.
-Proactively find creative solutions to problems that arise during the product development process.
-Prepare detailed product specifications.
-Manage development projects to ensure correct and on-time prototype delivery.
-Work with TOMS' Asia office team to trouble shoot development issues.
-Ensure that project maintains TOMS' quality, cost, brand direction, etc.

FREELANCE SR PRODUCT DEVELOPER

-Work hand in hand with customer Merchants from top California footwear companies with regards to order placement and product development.
-Build all interim tech packs for shoes for customers including Steve Madden, Chinese Laundry, Skechers and Toms. Follow all sample T&A for on time delivery for customer presentations.
-Merchandise and apply all customer needs to new product design offerings as well as development attributes from concept to completion. Build style matrix packages for customers.
- Discuss difficulties as well as sample progress with factory each evening as well as via email daily to represent to customers locally.

FOOTWEAR PRODUCT DEVELOPER

- Customer and product management, effectively source and find new and better product providers. Order and follow through management of all product orders. Visit all vendor facilities domestic and overseas to ensure quality, product completion timing and negotiate pricing as well as final product development and all approvals.
- Conduct regular factory visits training and managing in-line, final audits, and inspection standards.
- Product life cycle management from development and tech pack building, to order completion including all approvals working with customers and providing excellent customer service.
- Maintain and manage Work In Progress and prioritize work flow based upon customer's expectations and needs.
- Import documentation and freight paperwork for all international shipments including COO's, NAFTA Cert., and commercial invoicing.

PRODUCT DEVELOPER

- Run daily and weekly sales and inventory reports to monitor order cancel deadlines versus production schedule as well as inventory management for purchasing purposes. Salesman sample PO issuance and development, time and action calendar follow through for on time sample delivery.
- Product planning and inventory analysis. Full Circle stylemaster system set up including style number assignment and style features (COO, Content, Etc.), and entire system ERP management. Certificate of Compliance Issuance and product CPSIA and Cal Prop 65 testing management. TOP sample approval. Pre-production material approvals.
- SMU (Major Accounts) order processing- style number set up, customer detail confirmations, production order placement and follow through as well as sample approvals.

PRODUCTION MANAGER

-Work hand in hand with sales, design and development team on all categories to approve deliveries, design elements and functions for all bulk order garments as well as develop sellable programs for major accounts such as COSTCO, Pac Sun, Marmaxx, etc. Maintain time and action calendar to meet product development and production deadlines.
-Sourcing and price negotiation of all footwear and special make up items for Men, Women and Kids product categories meeting strict company target margins. Manage, track and follow through all import production bulk purchase orders. Overseas and domestic factory visits for pricing negotiation and bulk order management including regions such as Mexico, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China.
-Manage all garment and accessory approvals from PROTO through TOP stages including fabric approvals, lab dip approvals, fit approvals, and all accessory and trim approvals. Update all design sheets with comments and changes.

SOURCING AND PRODUCTION MANAGER

Find out detailed information about Lauren Lepo, FREELANCE PRODUCT DEVELOPER 

Lauren Lepo: FREELANCE PRODUCT DEVELOPER

Lauren Lepo

The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising

Vanguard University of Southern California