Ishan Oka

Ecommerce category management and retail operations professional with 5+ years of experience across FMCG, ecommerce marketplaces, and consumer retail. Managed 50,000+ SKUs at ASDA (UK) across Health & Beauty, Toiletries, Household, Pet Care, and Baby categories, acting as the primary coordination point between ASDA, NIQ Brandbank, and global FMCG brands including Unilever, P&G, Reckitt, L'Oréal, Haleon, and Nestlé Purina. Proven record of delivering 99% on-time launch execution, driving double-digit sales uplift through assortment and merchandising initiatives, and reducing operational losses through disciplined inventory and vendor management.

Strong cross-functional collaborator across commercial, supply chain, content, and IT teams, with hands-on fluency in Excel, Power BI, SAP Stibo PIM, and Salesforce.

Head of Operations - Oak-Sathe Synergy Solutions - Thane, India

(2025-09)

• Led end-to-end procurement and vendor management across 15+ simultaneous projects, improving gross margins by 12% through structured cost controls and strategic supplier negotiations.
• Deployed a cloud-based ERP synchronising procurement, logistics, and field operations, cutting project lead times by 3 weeks.
• Managed a cross-functional contractor and vendor network across 8+ concurrent projects, maintaining full compliance documentation across state, national, and vendor portals.

eCommerce Product Content Controller - Non-Food - ASDA - Leeds, UK

(2025-02 - 2025-09)

• Managed ecommerce category operations across 50,000+ SKUs (Health & Beauty, Toiletries, Household, Pet Care, Baby) as the primary liaison between ASDA, NIQ Brandbank, and global FMCG leaders including Unilever, P&G, Reckitt, L'Oréal, Haleon, SC Johnson, Mars Petcare, and Nestlé Purina, ensuring content accuracy, compliance, and launch-readiness.
• Delivered 99% on-time weekly launch execution across 5-10 ranges (100-300 SKUs each) per week by coordinating simultaneously with commercial, trading, supply chain, campaigns, store, and IT teams.
• Owned retailer-side NPD coordination, acting as the critical link between brand partners and internal teams to ensure new ranges were fully ranged, content-compliant, and live before launch windows opened.
• Drove 35-40% week-on-week sales uplift through tactical basket-based bundling and visibility initiatives across key sub-categories.
• Redesigned the post-launch validation process with IT, reducing a 2-3 person full-day task to a one-person, 15-minute task, freeing significant weekly team capacity.
• Supported PIM migration (Walmart's Agatha → SAP Stibo), training team members, developing transition shortcuts, and flagging critical UAT gaps ahead of go-live.
• Recognised as Colleague of the Week 4 times and nominated for Colleague of the Month.

Retail Operations Specialist - Timpson Ltd. - Leeds, UK

(2023-10 - 2025-02)

• Oversaw sales performance and operational execution across 30+ retail locations, setting workflow standards and consistently driving daily revenue of more than £1,000 per site.
• Owned category-level inventory planning using POS data, tracking sell-through trends and optimising replenishment, reducing wastage by 99% and lost sales by 77%.
• Executed localised promotional campaigns autonomously, identifying seasonal demand signals and deploying targeted in-store visibility initiatives to drive incremental footfall and revenue.
• Personally coordinated service delivery as an authorised partner for global luxury brands including Rolex, TAG Heuer, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin, upholding strict brand quality standards across the network.

Operations & Procurement Executive - Oak-Sathe Synergy Solutions - Thane, India

(2022-09 - 2023-10)

• Managed vendor sourcing and evaluation, issuing RFQs, comparing pricing and quality, and building a reliable supply partner base for the growing EPC business.
• Prepared BOQs and optimised multi-stop logistics routes across simultaneous projects, consolidating bulk orders to reduce transport costs and fuel spend.
• Supported business development through referral networks and industry events, contributing to expansion from residential into commercial client segments.

Channel Development & Operations Executive - WhyNot Advertising Agency - Thane, India

(2022-03 - 2022-09)

• Conceptualised and executed a low-cost retail channel strategy for a books-based ecommerce brand, closing a multi-location partnership with Samvene (The Bagel Café) across 4 locations, leading in-store display design, QR-based buying setup, and commission model.
• Drafted partnership contracts with support from legal and accounting; led product procurement and supplier negotiations for a fashion accessories subsidiary; managed CRM workflows via HubSpot.

Retail & Category Operations Executive (Part-time) - HSB Enterprises Pvt Ltd - Thane, India

(2020-08 - 2022-03)

• Oversaw franchise operations for a multi-category retail fragrance brand, using POS data to monitor sell-through trends, optimise product mix, and deepen category breadth through complementary brand partnerships.
• Drove ~200% sales growth through targeted pop-up retail activations by identifying the right seasonal demand window and executing end-to-end in-store visibility.

Summer Intern - Founder's Office - Xeno Co-lab - Pune, India

(2019-05 - 2019-07)

• Supported founder-level operations, conducted market research to refine service design and value proposition, and created marketing content to drive brand visibility.

MSc. - International Business & Strategic Management - University of York (2023)

BSc. - Economics - Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics, NMIMS (2022)