Our background and your main purpose...
Ruroc make badass helmets. At Ruroc, we have one guiding mission. To re-engineer protection. Building the perfect balance between design and engineering, our innovative products save lives, look epic and set us apart from the competition. In 2019, we had our first $1m turnover day and in 2020 we had our first $1m turnover hour. Ruroc has grown from $1m rev to a $30m+ revenue Action / Motorsports helmet brand selling into over 90 countries globally from our single distribution centre in Gloucester and we are primed ready to dominate an industry that has been stagnant for too long!
Ruroc, recently backed by VC firm BGF with £7m, is completely D2C. All sales take place through our eCommerce store www.ruroc.com giving us a direct connection with our customers that legacy / competitor brands do not possess. This close connection to the end rider has given us the ability to reduce the feedback loop and rapidly innovate and enhance our gear at a rate never seen before in the Global helmet industry.
We control our destiny; we manage everything end-to-end to deliver our promise to customers and fulfil the potential of the Ruroc brand. We are building world-class teams across the board and in 2021 we are investing in enhancing our supply chain with our own Ruroc Factory to keep up with our ever-snowballing demand.
To build on the brilliance of the Ruroc team we are searching for an outstanding individual capable of heading up our team of Supply Chain, Logistics and Operational experts. The COO role in the Ruroc team will be responsible for the end to end delivery of all Ruroc products to Ruroc customers. Working closely with our Product Director it will be the mission of the COO to ensure a smooth transfer of all NPD into the Ruroc factory / supply chain. Prior experience with Far East supply and Assembly/Production management is essential in this role as our biggest challenge has been, and for the foreseeable future will be, keeping up with Ruroc’s ever increasing demand whilst innovating and changing the product range every single year. The helmet world is filled with complex manufacturing processes, challenging material tolerances, stringent certification requirements and to top it off there is a desire from the customer for the products to be ever evolving in an “iPhone-esque” manner.
As a brand Ruroc’s goal is to always be seen as a business that focuses on Product Leadership. The challenge of being a Product Leader is that there requires a high degree of Operational Excellence in order for our NPD efforts to appear effortless and truly market-leading. The right person for this role will have experience building and navigating flexible supplier relationships, whilst being able to assess and evaluate when it is right for the business to own / internalize certain aspects of the supply chain whether for cost, quality or speed.
The world of helmet manufacture is in dire need of an upgrade and so prior experience of working alongside Engineering teams to enhance manufacturing processes and drive efficiencies would be a huge plus.
At Ruroc all distribution is handled from a single DC in Gloucester. Managing and enhancing the efficiency of the current DC, whilst continually assessing and analysing whether a better service / cost could be achieved through having multiple DC’s or strategic partnerships with 3PL’s is essential in the role of COO. Conceptually in our D2C model GP margins are strong, however, due to the complexity of the supply chain and the fast-paced nature of the business these margins are a challenge to maintain right the way through to the bottom line. Through the elimination of production delays and cost inefficiencies in the product development timeline the Ruroc COO should be aiming to maintain premium gross margins whilst ensuring “on time / on promise” deliveries to all Ruroc customers. The ultimate goal is to completely eliminate Ruroc’s reliance on high-cost air freight to ensure complete protection of the margin.
Through close work with the CFO and Technology Director the COO will aim to build on the incumbent ERP / MRP systems whilst delivering a brand new WMS, to allow full product/component traceability in our UK DC and our own factory in China. Prior experience with spec’ing, managing and implementing robust systems architecture is key.
Over the course of the first 18 months the success of the appointed Ruroc COO will be gauged by their success in these four core areas:
1) Maximisation and optimisation of manufacturing/assembly efficiencies in the Ruroc Factory.
2) Enhancement of full supply chain to ensure minimal wastage and demand-appropriate level of component stock carry.
3) On-Time production start of all new product development activities to ensure launch demand is satisfied quickly and efficiently.
4) Structured review of your top team to ensure that you have the best talent, structured in the best way, so as to achieve the goals and milestones.
5) DC review (and possible restructure) with full WMS implementation whilst ensuring no disruption to end-customer deliveries.
Ruroc is extremely fast-paced, and as such a high degree of personal flexibility is key. We are problem-solvers and we love a challenge. The role of the COO will be to maintain the incredible culture we have in one of the most difficult and diverse areas of the business.
We are always on the look out for new Chaos Pilots to join our team. Chaos pilots are people who can creatively lead a project through uncertainty. They have the ability to create structure within chaos and take action. Leaders who are chaos pilots are able to drive a team forward on a project even as the environment around them fluctuates.
Your Direct Reports...
- B&M Director
- Operations Manager
- Production Director (currently being recruited)
At the start of the role it is likely that the structure will require a high degree of hands-on management while you re-build your org chart, this will mean that at the beginning there are likely to be more ‘direct reports’ than the 3 listed above.
Secondary and Tertiary reports will include: Purchasing Manager, 2 Buying Execs, Merchandising Manager, Returns Manager, Stock Manager, Shipping / Logistics Co-ordinator (in-bound), Shipping Manager (Outbound), Shipping Execs, Quality Assurance Manager, QC Team circa 14 staff, Picking / Packing / Goods-in/out circa 6 staff.
Head count expected to scale beyond 50 within the first 12 months.
Key Interfaces...
- CFO
- CEO
- CMO
- Product Director
- Tech Director
Main Accountabilities...
- Oversee the full supply chain including the existing owned factory in China.
- Assess, present and make the decision on all key strategic "make vs buy" decisions.
- Define all KPI's for the 3 teams that fall under the COO role: Purchasing, Production and Logistics.
- Full P&L ownership of "GP1" (Ruroc's product margin).
- On time delivery of Ruroc products to Ruroc customers.
- Build and Lead a team capable of manufacturing high quality, innovative and ever evolving products.
- Drive operational efficiencies across Purchasing, Production and Logistics.
- Reduce unnecessary stock carry, and shorten the lead time to the customer.
- Continually evaluate and assess the best possible mix of self-owned distribution in a single location versus self owned or third party distribution in multiple locations.
- Ensure Ruroc meets its growth targets.
- Assess the importance of cost versus speed throughout the supply chain, and ensure that Ruroc remains a "First to market" Product Leader.
- Create a best in class returns process, at the same time as minimising reverse flows.
Requirements
Key Skills
- People manager - you will be responsible for the largest part of Ruroc's headcount demonstrating empathetic but firm leadership
- Managing international teams
- Excellent planning and forecasting
- Project management (e.g. new factory)
- Procurement
- Operational optimisation / continuous improvement / lean
- Strategy
Experience
You have...
- Offshore manufacturing (esp China)
- Technical product
- QC in a technical environment
- Complex supply chain
- Demand planning and resourcing
- Large, diverse teams, inc international
- Warehousing and distribution
You might have...
- Branded or FMCG products
- ERP implementation
Successful people at Ruroc...
STAY FOCUSED
Stick to the playbook, don't go rogue.
MOVE FAST
Stay ahead of the competition.
BE READY FOR ANYTHING.
Be prepared and be flexible. Discipline equals Freedom.
WE ARE GUERRILLAS.
Exploit opportunities. Be creative. Flank the enemy.
WORK SMART.
We focus on the 20% that makes the 80% happen.
THINK LIKE A CUSTOMER - EVERY DAY.
Understand our target audience better, delight them.
Benefits
The Offer
- Competitive salary plus an industry leading bonus scheme.
- Brand new on-site gym with Personal Trainer.
- Employee of the quarter and year awards.
- Private Health Insurance with Vitality.
- Brand new office refit.
- Casual dress
- On-site parking
- Company events & social hours