Associate Vendor Manager

Build Your Career with Ashley Furniture - Where Innovation Meets Comfort

Who We Are

At Ashley, inspiring the love of home is at the heart of everything we do. As the world's largest manufacturer of home furnishings, we're more than a business - we're a family driven by innovation, competitiveness, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. We persevere through challenges, push beyond the status quo, and constantly seek better ways to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

If you're ready to grow, you've come to the right place. With a true Growth Mindset, Ashley invests in developing future leaders and helps every team member learn from the best in the business.

Position Title

Associate Vendor Manager (AVM) - eCommerce

Position Overview

The Associate Vendor Manager (AVM) is an eCommerce‑focused associate buyer responsible for driving revenue growth across an assigned portfolio of third‑party (3P) vendors and product categories on AshleyFurniture.com (Ashcomm), while balancing profitability and customer value.

The AVM develops and executes category‑level business strategies and partners with vendors to build assortments that support the overall Ashcomm merchandising strategy. This role owns an assigned portfolio of vendors and categories in support of the Vendor Management organization. Specific category assignments may change based on business needs.

Key Responsibilities

Vendor Relationship Management

• Own relationships with an assigned portion of the 3P vendor base.
• Collaborate regularly with vendor sales counterparts to drive performance.
• Source strategic product selection aligned with Ashcomm's merchandising strategy.
• Monitor vendor performance and help resolve operational issues as needed.

Assortment Planning & Product Setup

• Review vendor product proposals and select products that support curated online assortments.
• Coordinate product setup with offshore and cross‑functional partners.
• Ensure accurate and timely execution of item setup, attributes, and content.

Business Analysis & Performance Management

• Contribute to Weekly Business Reviews.
• Evaluate week‑over‑week, year‑over‑year, and seasonal performance trends.
• Translate multiple data sources into clear recommendations and actions that improve results.
• Support revenue, profitability, and customer value goals for assigned categories and vendors.

Promotional Planning & Funding

• Source vendor funding for Ashley promotional events and digital campaigns.
• Document vendor commitments and ensure support is collected in a timely manner.
• Partner with internal teams to execute promotions and measure impact.

Vendor Negotiations & Commercial Terms

• Own contract and commercial negotiations for assigned vendors.
• Negotiate and maintain terms including initial marketing, damage, and payment conditions.
• Manage ongoing agreement maintenance and renegotiation as the business evolves.

Market Preparation & Travel

• Support preparation for major home furnishings and furniture markets attended by the Vendor Management team.
• Attend markets approximately 4 to 6 times annually to review assortments, meet vendors, and support buying decisions.

Cross‑Functional Execution

• Partner with Site Merchandising, Product Enablement, Operations, Finance, Marketing, and other teams to:
• Launch new products and categories
• Resolve operational or content issues
• Deliver category and vendor plans
• Ensure alignment between vendor strategies and Ashcomm site experience.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to simplify work and improve processes.
• Strengthen vendor self‑service tools and enable appropriate automation.
• Maintain ownership of required manual work while driving efficiency and scalability.

Success Profile

The ideal AVM is a persistent self‑starter who works effectively with a high degree of autonomy. This person:

• Demonstrates strong ownership and follows through on commitments.
• Is comfortable handling both strategic and detailed work.
• Actively looks for better ways to deliver results and improve processes.
• Thrives in a fast‑paced, highly collaborative environment.

Required & Preferred Qualifications

Required

• 3 to 5 years of experience in vendor management, category management, merchandising, retail buying, or a related role.
• Strong attention to detail and consistent follow‑through.
• Ability to synthesize distinct analyses and data sources into actionable business insights.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work in a highly collaborative, cross‑functional environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Excel.
• Ability to travel approximately 4 to 6 times annually.

Preferred

• Experience in eCommerce.
• Bachelor's degree in business administration, merchandising, marketing, or a related field.

Our Core Values

• Honesty & Integrity: Acts with transparency, discretion, and ethical judgment.
• Dirty Fingernail: Takes full accountability for outcomes, not just tasks; inspects details and ensures accuracy.
• Continuous Improvement: Actively seeks better ways to improve tools, processes, and results.
• Growth & Results Focus: Understands how vendor and category strategies drive growth, cost reduction, and profitability.
• Culture of Leadership: Leads through influence, reliability, and example; builds trust across functions.
• Customer‑Centric & Boundaryless: Works across silos for the greater good of the organization and our customers.
• Operational Excellence: Demonstrates strong organizational discipline and the ability to translate ambiguity into clear, executable plans.

Employment Eligibility

Please note this position is not eligible for current or future employment sponsorship. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or at any time in the future.

If you are a current Ashley employee, please log into your UKG account and apply using the internal job board.