MD Buyer - MD Section, Rakuten24 Business Department (C&M)

Job Description:

Department Overview
The FMCG MD Department directly manages shops on Rakuten Ichiba that handle FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) as a 1st party business for the Rakuten Group.
Starting with Rakuten24, we operate multiple shops such as Babykan (Baby Shop), Petkan (Pet Shop), and Drinkkan (Drink Shop).
We have one of the largest sales volumes within Rakuten Ichiba.
Because we primarily handle FMCG products, the market scale is large, and this business is considered one of the most important points of contact with customers on Rakuten Ichiba.

Position:
Why We Hire
Benchmarking against e-commerce retailers like Amazon, and with the aim of closing the significant gap that still exists, we have a mission to substantially increase our current annual GMS (Gross Merchandise Sales) of over 120 billion yen. To achieve this, we need to strengthen our organizational structure.

Position Details
We select products, determine the quantity to purchase, manage inventory, and sell the products to customers. In addition to this, we also conduct sales promotions, taking into account profit indicators such as contribution margin.
We formulate medium- to long-term category strategies to improve sales and profits, and execute them in collaboration with our business partners.
Since each category manager has discretion over ordering, they work with the logistics team to optimize the supply chain and manage inventory.
Our top business partners often include major national manufacturers. In addition to daily communication with sales representatives, we also have regular opportunities to negotiate with executives and other members of the management teams of these companies.
We are undertaking initiatives called Joint Business Planning (JBP) with top manufacturers, requiring us to develop comprehensive sales strategies.
Due to the nature of JBP initiatives, we also collaborate with departments such as advertising media and sales promotion on planning, resulting in communication within the marketing domain.
To develop new business partners (manufacturers), we participate in large trade shows hosted by wholesalers and conduct business negotiations aimed at opening accounts.

Work Environment
The MD department is divided into 10 categories by product category, and consists of a total of 35 buyers.
The organization is mainly made up of young people in their late 20s to early 30s.
The staff is roughly half new graduates and half mid-career hires (whose previous jobs span a wide range of fields, including manufacturing, wholesale, and retail in other industries).

Mandatory Qualifications:
- Those with at least 2 years of work experience
- Those with strong negotiation and communication skills with people inside and outside the company
- No matter what industry your previous job was in

Desired Qualifications:
- People with retail experience, manufacturing experience, or wholesale experience are welcome

Others Information:
Additional information on Location
Rakuten Crimson House

Additional information on English Qualification
TOEIC Score exceeding 800 (or similar level of English ability) or a University Degree earned in an English-speaking country
If no evidence is available to prove the qualifications denoted above, taking an IP test, organized by Rakuten, during selection process is required.

#business #consultingsales #commerce #Rakuten24