Every month we would like to introduce you to a department at JustBats.com. Each department around here plays a key role in making sure everything runs smoothly and you get your bats in a timely manner, while having a great experience shopping with us. Meet the Product Management team, this department is responsible for getting all of the awesome bats you see on JustBats.com, so now you can finally put a face to JustBats.com!
1. Tell us a little bit about Product Management.
Tradionally, the term product management is used in production environments and refers to a group of people who manage the development of their products, be it software, nuts and bolts, cars, etc… Since we are a retail company the Product Management team is responsible for the purchasing, pricing, maintaining relationships with our vendors, and communicating with everyone at JustBats.com.
2. What kind of responsibilities does each person in Product Management take on everyday?
Like I mentioned above, purchasing is a daily process performed by all but one member of the team. Pricing is also a daily exercise, we strive to offer our customers the best products at the best prices and we check out the market daily to make sure we stay competitive. Kris Gramlich is in charge of making sure the communication happens between the Product Management department and the Marketing, Customer Experience, and Distribution Center teams and he is relaying new product info, ship dates, and any other relevant info.
3. Are there any major challenges you and the Product Management team face daily, weekly or even monthly?
The major challenge we face all the time is keeping everything in stock. We are constantly looking for ways to keep products on the web site when our competition cannot. We have been through multiple classes and training sessions to learn how to become better at this and our currently piecing all of our knowledge together with the goal of having everything but not investing too much money in to inventory.
4. What would you say you look for the most in someone wanting to become a part of the team?
To steal a phrase from one of our consultants, a passionate curiosity. If you want to know more about the supply chain and the strategies we use to keep products on the site, and are willing to put the time in to educate yourself, you are well on your way to being part of the team.
5. We all know with work there has to be some play, tell us about some of the perks of being a part of the PM at JustBats.com.
One of the biggest perks is maintaining the relationships with our vendors. All of the people are awesome and usually old ball players that have tons of stories. We get a ton of opportunities to interact with them. We also get to play some golf, go to multiple sporting events, and travel to quite a few places I would have never been otherwise.
6. What are some of the ways you think JustBats.com and the PM go above and beyond to keep our customers happy?
Like I said before, we have used countless hours and dollars to educate ourselves in supply chain practices. We will use these concepts and our knowledge of the market and our business to make sure that we have the best stock of bats and negotiate the best prices for our customers.
