1. CL RAMACHANDRAN
E-Mail: ramachandrancl@gmail.com/ Contact: +91-9029902351
SENIOR MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL – GARMENT INDUSTRY
 Global Sourcing  Strategic Vendor Development Merchandising & Category Management 
B.Com. with a Retail Management Course from IIM, Bangalore offering 29 years of rich experience in Global Sourcing, Business
Development & Vendor Management functions while working with leading organisations in the Garment & Retail Industry
Presently associated with Trent Limited (Westside Stores) as Sr. Sourcing Manager; designing strategies for sourcing & vendor
development for each season and guiding a team of Regional Managers & Sourcing Executives to ensure deliverables as per the plan
PROFILE SUMMARY
In-depth knowledge of Sourcing for Garments, Fabrics & Hard goods from different markets across the globe; acquired relevant
international experience by visiting Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Far East Countries like China & Hong Kong: expertise entails:
- Strategic Planning - Global Sourcing / Purchase - Vendor Management/Negotiations
- Buyer Coordination/ Merchandising - Exports / Imports - ERP Support/ General Administration
- Quality Assurance/ Cost Control - Client Relationship Management - Team Management / Trainings
 Excels in cost –effective Sourcing of Apparel & Non-Apparel Products like Kids, Men’s, Indian Ethnic ,Women Wear, Accessories &
Home – Hard Lines & Soft Lines; skills in product development & merchandising in coordination with Buying Teams by
understanding future/ seasonal trends
 Effectively ensured On-Time Delivery, Cost Negotiations, Active Order Management & Fabric Consolidation (Wovens & Denims) to
give a competitive edge to organisation; enhanced business growth in the Region from 32% to 40% & core business by 10% at
Westside
 Provided relevant support to both the organisation & suppliers from product development to final execution of Core & High
Fashioned Garments/ Accessories & Home-ware while ensuring adherence to brand’s standards, conducting audits to ensure
deliverables as per seasonal requirments
 Skills in vendor identification, development & assessment for meeting of quality, cost & time norms; successfully developed a strong
supplier/ vendor base to cover all product needs, drive cost reduction & increase margins
 Presented a Paper on Indian Textile Industry at Shinsung Tonsang Co. Ltd. (Part of the Daewoo Group), Korea in 1998 and delivered
a Lecture on Merchandising & Quality Management in the Apparel Industry at NIFT, Delhi
 Pivotal in the successful implementation of ERP software in the organisation & driving numerous cost saving initiatives to achieve
substantial reduction in expenditures and work within the budget with key focus on profitability; recognized with an Appreciation
Award for successful implementation of the ERP in 2008
 Customer-centric Leader with strong analytical, team- building,negotiation & problem solvingskills;promoted to senior positions on
account of excellent performance and recognized with the Best Regional Manager Award in 2010
 Worked as Key Member in implementation of Theory of Constraints (TOC) for core lines and fast repeats of fashion lines
WORK EXPERIENCE
Since Jul’03: Trent Limited (Westside Stores), Mumbai as Senior Sourcing Manager
Key Result Areas:
 Managing Global Sourcing Operations and ensuring achievement of targets through strong marketing approach
 Identifying & developing cost-effective new vendors as per requirements of the Category for new or niche products after thorough
scientific evaluation of the vendors
 Reviewing /assessing vendor’s performance on criterions such as On-time deliveries in Full, Pricing, Quality & Customer Returns
 Supervising the Team of Regional Managers & Asst. Sourcing Managers in following-up on orders from the time they are placed till
delivery and assisting in fabric consolidation; managing the escalations in delivery process as and when required
 Visiting the production centers for new developments as an initiative for large product offering
 Undertaking Costing & Cost Analysis to improve margins with optimum resource utilization
 Handling the additional charge of monitoring the Imports of Apparel & Non-Apparel products and Not for Sale Merchandise with a 4
member team for Westside and Landmark stores.
 Creating & sustaining a dynamic environment that motivates high performance amongst team member
 Imparting continuous on-job training to workforce for accomplishing operational efficiency
Highlights:
As Senior Sourcing Manager (Mumbai) May’13 – Till Date

2.  Worked as per critical path and ensured product availability on-time; successfully consolidated the vendor base as per vendor
strategy to ensure product availability and consistent delivery as per range plan
 Proactively identified potential areas for sourcing new categories, ensured consistency in on-time fill rate of orders placed as per
targets and facilitated Fabric Consolidation for Wovens & Denims; recorded key milestones like:
o Achieved aLike for Like growth in the business of the Categories by 12%
o Attained a Margin increase in the business of the categories and consistent on-time performance in deliveries of 93%
As Senior Regional Sourcing Manager (North), Delhi Feb’11 - Apr’13
 Deputed to Delhi Office which contributed to 34% of Westside business and enhanced revenue growth from 34% to 40% and the
core business by 10%; also efficiently managed the Star Bazaar business and Fashion Yatra Business
 Led a team of 15 Sourcing Officers spread across Delhi, Jaipur & Ludhiana Regional Offices and monitored & reviewed their
performance on an annual basis; restructured the Sourcing Teams by giving them clearly defined roles and responsibilities
 Successfully streamlined the process of Fabric Ordering & Designing for Indian wear which resulted in ensuring consistent on-time
performance in this main category
 Managed 60 vendors across Delhi, Jaipur & Ludhiana entailing vendor selection, assessment, development & cost negotiations;
identified new vendors in major categories like Women’s, Indian Ethnic and Kids Wear; played a key role in:
o Delivering best practices in discussion of issues with buyers & vendors by giving clear deliverables
o Attaining Cost reduction in core products through proper planning to vendors
o Achieved and On -time performance of 85-90% in deliveries
 Worked across all the product categories like Men’s, Ladies & Kids Apparel and Non-apparels within Westside as Head of the
Northern Region Sourcing Office; coordinated with the Buying Team for Apparel & Non-Apparel Products
As Senior Regional Sourcing Manager (West) Apr’07 - Feb’11
 Managed the complete Sri Lankan operations, opened an office there with the Country Head reporting to me; sourced apparels like
Ladies Top-wear, Men and Kids Bottom-wear, Lingerie and Home-ware from the region
 Led the Sourcing across categories for Westside, Star Bazaar and Fashion Yatra which were the lifestyle & value formats of the
company with a team of 2 Asst Sourcing Managers,10 Sourcing Officers and pivotal in:
o Enhancing business growth for Mumbai region from 24% to 33% and from Sri Lanka by 5%
o Achieving the Highest Sourcing Contribution to the Value Chain Business of 39%
 Directed vendor selection & evaluation as per range requirements and ensured consistent availability; identified new vendors in
Bottom Wear range to fill the gaps and improve the top to bottom ratio
 Drove efforts for alignment between Sourcing & QA Teams on common goals by giving clear directions and deliverable targets
 Played a key role in the development of Satellite Sourcing Areas such as Vapi & Ahmedabad on niche products
 Proactively identified talent available in team and promoted the same to different areas of the business
As Regional Sourcing Manager, Mumbai Apr’04 - Mar’07
 Led a team of 6 Sourcing Officers for managing sourcing & selection of vendors as per range requirements including functions like:
o Vendor selection, assessment & development and coordination with Buying Team for Apparel & Non-Apparel products
o Supply chain & vendor management, cost negotiations and regular vendor visits for follow-up on production
 Effectively managed the requirements of relatively new business of hyper market & value chain and recorded milestones like:
o Improved business growth for the Mumbai region from 20% to 24%
o Attained Consolidation and on-time delivery of 85%
As Asst. Regional Sourcing Manager (West) Jul’03 – Mar’04
 Contributed in vendor selection, order management and cost negotiations; visited vendors for regular follow-up on production
 Proactively understood the needs of Buying Office and ensured better co-ordination between cross-functional teams; achieved on-
time order fulfilment by 70%
Mar’02 to Jun’03: Trinity Services, Mumbai as Product Manager
Key Result Areas:
 Worked for the Company which was a Buying Agency for customers from Germany such as C&A and Dimensioni from Italy
 Liaised with Buyers & Export Houses to ensure sampling and production delivery as per scheduled timelines
 Contributed in Identifying new vendors as per product requirements from the customers
Highlights:
 Successfully managed the Dhaka operations of the company; covered Men’s, Ladies and Kids product categories
 Played a key role in the achieving a business growth from 2% to 10%, especially in bottom wear
Aug’96 to Feb’02: Salora Shingsung Textile Co. Ltd., Mumbai as Merchandising Manager
Key Result Areas:
 Managed complete functions related to Exports and Local Retail Marketing of Readymade Garments and Socks
 Formulated annual profitability & projected expense budgets for the total division and ensured adherence to the same

3.  Prepared all costsheets for order negotiations and finalizations as well as monthly MIS reports for providinginformation on Overseas
and Retail Markets to the Management and suggesting appropriate measures
Highlights:
 Proactively identified new markets by developing marketing strategies based on market research and updated fashion trends to
existing and new customers; effectively co-ordinated with Production & Documentation Departments for timely order execution
PREVIOUS WORK EXPERIENCE
Dec’92 to Jul’96: West Coast Industries, Mumbai as Junior Merchandising Manager
Key Result Areas: Updated In-House Design Dept. on latest trends as received from International Buyers. Coordinated with Sampling
Dept. on sampling requirements, with Production Dept. to ensure timely delivery of merchandise and with Shipping Dept. for sh ipments,
quotas & documentation and communicated the information to Buyers. Managed clients like Kaufhoff, Metro Group, Adler, H&M
(Europe).
Dec’90 to Nov’92: Indexco International (Buying Agency for C&A), Mumbai as Merchandiser
Key Result Areas: Liaised with Buyers & leading Export Houses to ensure on time deliveries, updated the exporters on trends received
from the buyers, including new styling & fabric information for the coming season. Coordinated with the QC department on quality being
produced and gave guidance to the vendors on upgrading their quality levels as per buyer’s expectations. Informed management on the
performance of the exporters and identified alternate vendors where required.
Aug’87 to Nov’90: Rallis India Limited, Mumbai as Garments Assistant
Key Result Areas: Contributed in purchaseof Fabric & Accessories and exportingFabric to Bangladesh;visited millsto follow -up on fabric
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Commerce from Mumbai University in 1987
COURSES
 Management Course in Retail from IIM Bangalore
 Negotiation and Presentation Skills
 Tata Business Excellence Model Assessment Course from Tata Quality Management System
PERSONAL DETAILS
Date of Birth : 29th August 1967
Address : B 1103, Joy Homes CHS, Behind Dena Bank, Off LBS Marg, Bhandup (West), Mumbai – 400078
Languages Known : English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati