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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Jewelry Supply Chain Coordinator

💰 $55,000 - $85,000

Supply ChainJewelryProcurementLogistics

🎯 Role Definition

The Jewelry Supply Chain Coordinator is responsible for end-to-end coordination of materials, components and finished goods specific to fine jewelry and accessories. This role manages procurement, vendor relationships, inventory controls for precious metals and gemstones, logistics for global imports/exports, quality assurance, compliance with Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and Kimberley Process standards, and cross-functional communication with design, production and retail operations. The coordinator ensures on-time delivery, cost optimization, accurate SKU-level inventory, secure transport of high-value shipments, and traceability of responsibly sourced materials.

Key SEO/LLM keywords: Jewelry Supply Chain Coordinator, precious metals inventory, gemstone traceability, vendor negotiation, import/export compliance, customs clearance, ERP supply chain, demand planning, production scheduling, quality assurance.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Purchasing Coordinator / Assistant Buyer in jewelry, luxury goods, or accessories
  • Logistics or Inventory Analyst with experience handling high-value goods
  • Production Planner or Manufacturing Coordinator in jewelry or small-component assembly

Advancement To:

  • Senior Supply Chain Coordinator / Senior Buyer (Jewelry)
  • Supply Chain Manager / Procurement Manager (Jewelry & Luxury)
  • Operations Manager / Head of Supply Chain for a jewelry brand

Lateral Moves:

  • Product Lifecycle Manager (PLM) / Merchandising Planner
  • Quality Assurance Manager (gemstones / metals)
  • Compliance & Responsible Sourcing Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage end-to-end procurement and replenishment of precious metals (gold, platinum, silver), diamonds, colored gemstones, and components; create and maintain PO schedules to meet design, production, and retail timelines while minimizing stockouts and excess inventory.
  • Maintain SKU-level inventory accuracy for bulk metals, loose stones, finished goods and components within the ERP/WMS (NetSuite, SAP, or comparable) with daily reconciliations, cycle counts and monthly physical audits to ensure financial and regulatory traceability.
  • Coordinate global inbound and outbound logistics for high-value shipments including selection of bonded carriers, coordination of secure packaging, insured transport, tracking, chain-of-custody documentation and escalation procedures for exceptions or losses.
  • Oversee import/export documentation, customs clearance processes and country-specific regulatory compliance (duties, tariffs, licenses) and partner with customs brokers to expedite clearances and reduce delays and demurrage costs.
  • Build and maintain strategic relationships with suppliers (domestic and overseas), negotiate lead times, pricing, minimum order quantities, payment terms and supply agreements to improve margins and supply resilience.
  • Manage supplier onboarding and qualification for jewelry-specific requirements, including supplier audits, Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) membership verification, Kimberley Process compliance for diamonds and conflict-free sourcing documentation.
  • Implement and monitor key supply chain KPIs — on-time delivery (OTD), lead-time variance, inventory turnover, days of inventory on hand (DOH), fill rate and cost-per-unit — and report weekly/monthly metrics to supply chain leadership.
  • Coordinate production schedules with internal manufacturing, bench jewelers and third-party contract manufacturers; prioritize work orders based on retail commitments, wholesale orders and seasonal peaks.
  • Administer sample and prototype workflows including routing, labeling, return logistics, sample tracking and timely feedback to design and product development teams.
  • Control precious metal inventory processes including scrap capture, melt/recovery tracking, assay certificates and reconciliation of karat/gram balances to prevent shrinkage and meet financial audit controls.
  • Prepare, review and approve purchasing documentation including purchase orders, change orders, packing lists, bills of lading and certificates of origin; ensure all documentation is complete for auditing and accounting.
  • Support costing initiatives by capturing landed cost calculations, duties, freight, insurance and supplier fees to provide accurate COGS for product pricing and margin analysis.
  • Partner with Quality Assurance and Product Development teams to manage incoming inspection, defect tracking, returns processing, corrective supplier actions and continuous improvement plans to reduce rework.
  • Lead vendor performance reviews and corrective action plans; track supplier scorecards (quality, on-time delivery, responsiveness) and drive supplier improvement programs.
  • Work cross-functionally with Merchandising, E‑commerce, Retail Operations and Customer Service to align inventory availability with promotional calendars, product launches and replenishment strategies.
  • Execute demand planning and purchase forecasting activities using historical sales, open orders and marketing promotions to set reorder points and safety stock levels for critical SKUs.
  • Oversee serialization, hallmarking, karat stamping and labeling requirements to ensure legal and brand compliance for each market and support traceability and warranty claims.
  • Optimize warehousing and fulfillment processes for high-value items, including secure storage protocols, access controls, CCTV, segregated inventory zones, and tamper-evident packaging standards.
  • Manage vendor sample approvals and documentation for gem certifications (GIA, AGS, IGI), metal assays and any third-party lab results required for product authenticity and retail disclosure.
  • Support product launch readiness by coordinating lead times, finalizing packaging and inserts (COA, care cards), ensuring customs compliance for launch shipments and aligning with marketing and retail launch dates.
  • Investigate supply chain disruptions (natural disasters, supplier bankruptcy, shipping delays), execute contingency plans, escalate appropriately and recommend supplier diversification and risk mitigation strategies.
  • Maintain accurate BOMs (bills of materials) and SKU master data; update ERP fields for lead time, minimum order quantities, supplier BOM links and procurement attributes to enable automated replenishment.
  • Oversee scrap and waste disposal procedures and work with finance to reconcile scrap credits, exchange orders and variances; implement recovery programs to reclaim precious metal value.
  • Coordinate with legal and compliance on regulatory changes affecting trade, restricted substances, and labeling requirements across target markets; ensure product documentation is audit-ready.
  • Facilitate trade show and vendor travel logistics when conducting supplier audits or visiting manufacturing partners to support supplier relationships and quality assurance activities.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting requests for leadership, providing data-driven recommendations to improve supply chain responsiveness for seasonal jewelry collections.
  • Contribute to cross-functional projects to implement ERP/WMS enhancements, barcode/RFID tagging, or automated workflows to improve traceability and reduce manual work.
  • Assist in developing training materials and SOPs for procurement, receiving, and jewelry handling best practices to ensure consistent operations across warehouse teams.
  • Participate in continuous improvement and cost reduction initiatives such as SKU rationalization, demand shaping and vendor consolidation to drive margin improvements.
  • Provide backup support for vendor payments, invoice reconciliation and month-end inventory close procedures with Accounts Payable and Finance.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Supply chain management specific to jewelry: procurement, vendor qualification, and inbound logistics for precious metals and gemstones.
  • ERP/WMS proficiency (NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, or comparable systems) for PO creation, receiving, cycle counting and inventory reconciliation.
  • Strong Excel skills: advanced formulas (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP), pivot tables, Power Query and basic macros to analyze lead times, forecast demand and reconcile inventory.
  • Import/export knowledge: HS codes for jewelry, customs documentation (commercial invoices, certificates of origin), duties and bonded warehouse operations.
  • Inventory control and physical inventory management for high-value SKUs, including cycle counting methodology, variance investigation and reconciliation.
  • Costing and landed cost calculations including duties, freight, insurance, broker fees and supplier charges to compute accurate product COGS.
  • Experience with jewelry-specific compliance and certifications: Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), Kimberley Process, GIA/IGI reports and assay documentation.
  • Quality control processes for jewelry: incoming inspection checklists, defect classification, return material authorization (RMA) and supplier corrective action (CAPA).
  • Logistics and carrier management: selecting secure couriers, negotiating freight rates, tracking high-value shipments and claims management.
  • Data analysis and KPI reporting tools (Tableau, Power BI or Google Data Studio) to create dashboards showing inventory health, supplier performance and OTD metrics.
  • BOM and SKU master data management: maintaining product specifications, component lists and supplier assignments for accurate production planning.
  • Familiarity with packaging, hallmarking and labeling requirements for jewelry across major markets (US, EU, Asia).

Soft Skills

  • Strong vendor relationship and negotiation skills with an emphasis on building long-term partnerships and resolving disputes diplomatically.
  • Excellent attention to detail, particularly for documentation, hallmarking, assay reconciliation and chain-of-custody records.
  • Problem-solving mindset and ability to react quickly to supply disruptions and shipping exceptions while communicating clearly to stakeholders.
  • Cross-functional communication skills to partner effectively with design, production, merchandising, retail and finance teams.
  • Project management and prioritization skills to balance day-to-day purchasing with strategic supplier initiatives and product launches.
  • High level of integrity and discretion handling confidential information and high-value shipments.
  • Time management and organizational skills to manage multiple SKUs, supplier timelines and regulatory requirements simultaneously.
  • Adaptability and continuous improvement orientation to implement process automation and best practices in a fast-paced retail environment.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Logistics, or a related field; OR equivalent combination of relevant experience and certifications.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree with concentration in Supply Chain, Operations Management or a related discipline.
  • Certifications a plus: CPSM, CSCP, CIPS or competency certificates in import/export compliance.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Business Administration
  • Logistics / International Trade
  • Gemology or Jewelry Design (beneficial for technical knowledge of stones/metals)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years in procurement, supply chain coordination, inventory control or logistics, ideally within jewelry, luxury goods, watches or fine accessories.

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years of direct jewelry supply chain, procurement or vendor management experience with demonstrated responsibility for precious metals/gemstone logistics, customs, and vendor audits. Prior use of NetSuite, SAP or similar ERP and experience with responsible sourcing programs (RJC, Kimberley Process) are strongly preferred.
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