Head Commercial and Supply Chain (Agri)

The role holder shall lead the Supply Chain and Procurement team and is responsible for formulating and implementing the Supply Chain & Procurement Strategy for the Pharma business. This will include building and improving policies and procedures related to procurement, logistics and ware house management, identifying and evaluating options for outsourcing identified activities, implementing process improvement initiatives and resolution of all escalated issues related to the function

• Formulate effective long term strategies for the Procurement and Supply Chain function, that supports and meets the Agri Input business strategy, performance objectives and customer expectations (viz. Vendor Empanelment’s & Development, Outsourcing Strategy, Logistics Planning, Total Cost of Operations )
• Collaborate with peers in other functions viz. Finance, Sales, Marketing, HR in providing inputs for the annual business plan & Budgets for the Agri Inputs Business.
• Develop / improve the key policies and procedures for the procurement and Supply Chain function in order to align the operations with changing business needs.
• Identify and implement process improvements in Supply Chain & Procurements processes and procedures ( e.g. Automation , Cost optimization, Efficiency improvements)
• Identify and track key metrics for measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the function.
• Build and nurture strategic partnerships with suppliers and vendors and ensure evaluation and empanelment of new suppliers / vendors, negotiation of rates, service level agreements and contract terms.

Procurement & Logistics Operations

• Drive effective demand forecasting and procurement planning processes, along with the procurement team and concerned internal stake holders like Operations, Sales, Marketing, IT, HR etc.
• Drive effective Supply Chain Planning processes along with Supply Chain Team and concerned internal stakeholders viz. Sales & Marketing, Operations.
• Review and ensure adherence to inventory control / JIT norms for all procurement, supply chain and ware house management processes.
• Drive adherence to policies and procedures for all Procurement and Supply Chain processes & organizational policies. (Safety, Health , Environment etc)
• Coordinate with IT to streamline ERP (SAP) for vendor and service provider management.

Operational Reviews

• Review implementation of operational plans through joint reviews with the team and concerned stakeholders, identify gaps in implementation and drive action plans for improvement.
• Track key vendor performance metrics and review vendor performance and quality, through joint reviews with team and vendors, identify gaps in implementation and drive action plans for improvement.

Complaints Resolution

• Drive resolution of quality issues / customer complaints related to procurement, supply chain and logistics in collaboration with the concerned stake holders as per specified procedures through appropriate root cause analysis.

Process Improvements

• Review and ensure effective implementation of identified strategic sourcing and vendor rationalization initiatives, in collaboration with the Procurement and Supply Chain teams

Audit

• Review non conformances as identified in internal / external audits (Quality / Financial Audits) and ensure implementation of action plans for closure of gaps identified.

MIS & Reporting

• Provide MIS reports to management on key performance metrics for the function as per specified timelines.Others

• Represent the Business in external forums and associations, as required
• Network effectively with industry peers / professional forums, to understand functional best practices and market trends.

• Review and ensure adherence to Budgets for Procurement & Supply Chain operations and drive implementation of corrective actions to minimize variances.
• Participate in critical price negotiations with vendors, to achieve the target cost savings.
• Identify and implement cost efficient sourcing opportunities (domestic and global), through scanning the market, tracking commodity prices , analysing the vendor pool and studying best practise in Commercial and Supply Chain
• Drive implementation of inventory projects, in collaboration with the concerned cross functional stake holders like Production, Despatch, Sales, etc.

• Ensure proper staffing of key positions in the dept.
• Develop succession plan of direct reportees.
• Review team and individual performance and provide feedback on strengths & development areas.
• Identify development areas for direct reportees and implement action plans for developing capability within the department.
• Mentor team members and provide support them in enhancing their performance.
• Coach team members and provide support in resolving professional and team concerns

• Graduate in any discipline
• Additional certifications in procurement / contracts management / supply chain management is desirable
• MBA in Operations / Supply Chain management, an added advantage.

• 15 plus years experience.
• Should have minimum of 5 years experience in heading the entire procurement and supply chain function for a large corporate.

• Pharma industry.