Senior Product Manager - Category Buy Side

Senior Product Manager — Category Buy Side

Department:ProductLocation:Mumbai, OnsiteReports to:Head of Storefront / Category StrategyLevel:L4 Product

About The Role

We are seeking a Senior Product Manager to lead product strategy and execution across thevendor-side platform— the unified interface through which brand partners, distributors, and suppliers manage their entire relationship with Purplle.

Your mandate is to transform the vendor experience from fragmented, support-heavy workflows into a self-serve, intelligence-driven ecosystem. You'll own a multi-layered product platform spanning operational workflows (catalog, pricing, supply chain), financial transparency (revenue reporting, reconciliation), and proactive intelligence (alerts, recommendations).

This is a strategic, high-leverage role that directly impacts vendor retention, operational efficiency, and platform revenue. You will balance operational hygiene with strategic innovation, working across product, engineering, design, operations, and vendor success teams.

Key Responsibilities

Product Vision & Strategy
Define the multi-year roadmap for vendor-side product, prioritizing layers that move from operational self-serve to intelligence and strategic insights.
Establish north star metrics: vendor adoption, time-to-live (TTL) for new SKUs, operational efficiency gains, and Net Promoter Score (NPS) among vendor partners.
Conduct ongoing vendor research and feedback loops — understand pain points, unblock bottlenecks, and identify opportunities for high-impact feature delivery.
Build the business case for each phase of the platform, quantifying impact on vendor growth, brand retention, and platform-wide efficiency gains.
Product Definition & Execution
Operational self-serve workflows:Lead PRD definition for catalog management (new SKU listing, product edits, bulk operations), pricing engines (state-level discounts, offer activation, scheduling), and supply chain tools (PO tracking, warehouse appointments, inventory visibility).
Financial transparency:Design and ship vendor-facing data dashboards covering revenue, inventory, PO lifecycle, reconciliation, and payment tracking — replacing manual email-driven processes.
Intelligence layer:Define and build proactive alerting systems (stockout predictions, pricing opportunities, listing health scores) powered by data analysis and automation.
Conduct rigorous GAP analysis on approval workflows, regulatory compliance, and negative paths. Ensure all edge cases are discovered and handled before launch.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Partner withEngineeringto break down complex multi-stage workflows into technical specifications, API contracts, and N8N automation blueprints.
Collaborate withDesignon vendor UX — simplify forms, reduce cognitive load, and create intuitive mental models for non-technical vendor users.
Work withData & Analyticsto define vendor-side metrics, set up automated dashboards, and establish feedback loops for continuous optimization.
Align withCategory Operations & KAM teamsto understand on-ground realities, pilot new workflows, and measure impact on operational productivity.
EnsureCompliance & Financesign-off on financial workflows, audit trails, and reconciliation logic.
Vendor Success & Retention
Monitor vendor health, NPS trends, and churn signals — understand why vendors leave and what keeps them engaged.
Build feedback loops with high-value vendors and new-to-platform brands — validate feature designs, prioritize requests, and communicate the product roadmap.
Partner with Vendor Success teams to identify operational friction points and deliver targeted solutions.
Metrics, Data & Accountability
Establish baseline metrics and OKRs for each product phase (e.g., "Reduce new SKU TTL from 14 days to 3 days"; "Achieve 60% daily active vendor rate").
Build automated dashboards that track adoption, usage, and business impact — eliminating reliance on manual reporting.
Run regular cohort analysis: new vs. returning vendors, category-level adoption patterns, feature usage funnels, and correlation with commercial outcomes.
Be hands-on with SQL, pivot tables, and data visualization — you should be able to answer your own questions without relying on analysts for every query.

Candidate Profile

Required Experience

Minimum 6+ years of product managementin B2B SaaS, marketplaces, or vendor/supply-side platforms.
Proven ownership of complex, multi-stakeholder platforms— you've built end-to-end vendor/seller experiences or backend operational workflows.
Hands-on with data:Fluent in SQL, pivot tables, and dashboards. You don't wait for analysts — you run your own queries and spot trends.
Familiarity with workflow automation tools(Zapier, IFTTT, N8N-like orchestration) and understanding of integration patterns (APIs, webhooks, event streams).
Track record of shipping products at scale:You've seen features through conception, launch, and iterative optimization — and you have metrics to show for it.

Ideal Background

Marketplace experience (Amazon, Flipkart, Shopify, Etsy, or similar) — you understand the complexity of balancing buyer and seller needs.
Experience in India's e-commerce or SaaS landscape — cultural familiarity with vendor dynamics, regulatory nuance, and operational rhythms.
Previous work on automation, workflow engines, or operational self-serve products.
Exposure to financial reconciliation, dispute resolution, or trust & safety workflows.

Core Competencies

Red Flags

Limited hands-on product ownership — someone who's been a "strategy consultant" without shipping.
Poor writing or communication skills — you need to write clear PRDs, articulate trade-offs, and influence without authority.
Aversion to data or operational details — if you believe product is only "vision" and ignore metrics, this role isn't for you.
Limited experience in B2B or marketplace contexts — B2C social/games background without B2B translation.

About Purplle & This Opportunity

Purplle is India's leading beauty e-commerce platform with 30M+ users and India's most diverse beauty catalog. We are building the operating system for beauty — connecting consumers, brands, and beauty professionals in one ecosystem.

The vendor platform is a foundational lever for our growth. Better vendor experience → higher-quality catalog → stronger consumer value proposition → network effects. You'll own a product that directly enables thousands of brands to reach millions of customers efficiently and profitably.

Why now?We've proven the marketplace model. Now we need to scale it without scaling KAM headcount. Your platform will be the operating leverage that lets us grow 3x vendor base while actually reducing operational load. That's the opportunity.

Equal Opportunity Statement:Purplle is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.