Job description: Assistant Manager – Purchase
The Assistant Manager – Purchase is responsible for the uninterrupted, cost-effective, and compliant sourcing of all Raw Materials (RM) and Packaging Materials (PM) required for the fruit juice manufacturing plant. This role specializes in managing high-risk, time-sensitive supply chains where material shelf-life, volatile agricultural markets, cold chain logistics, and strict food safety regulations directly impact plant profitability.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic & Tactical Sourcing
- Portfolio Sourcing: Procure temperature-sensitive raw materials, fresh agricultural commodities, fruit & vegetable pulps, flavourings, and specialized food-grade packaging.
- Supplier Development: Identify, onboard, and evaluate specialized RM/PM vendors capable of meeting strict food safety criteria.
- Contract Management: Execute and monitor service level agreements (SLAs) with suppliers to secure volume discounts and stable pricing.
- Supply Chain & Shelf-Life Management
- Cold Chain Logistics: Monitor inbound cold chain transportation to guarantee strict temperature compliance during transit and prevent raw material spoilage.
- Inventory Optimization: Minimize working capital lock-up while ensuring zero production downtime due to stock-outs.
- Waste Mitigation: Enforce strict First Expired, First Out (FEFO) purchasing guidelines to completely eliminate factory material write-offs.
- Compliance & Food Safety
- Regulatory Compliance: Audit suppliers alongside the Quality Assurance (QA) team to ensure 100% alignment with FSSAI, FDA, and global food safety standards.
- Traceability Maintenance: Ensure immediate batch and lot traceability for all inbound direct materials to mitigate product recall risks.
- Risk Management: Adapt procurement schedules rapidly to handle seasonal crop fluctuations, yield variances, and sudden demand spikes.
- Management Systems & Reporting
- Data Management: Manage Material Masters, Purchase Info Records, Source Lists, and Shelf-Life Expiration Date (SLED) tracking.
- MIS Reporting: Generate weekly and monthly procurement cost saving, vendor performance, and inventory variance reports for management review.
Candidate Profile & Qualifications
- Educational Background: Bachelor's degree (B.Tech / B.Sc) in Food Technology, Agricultural Sciences, Chemical Engineering, or Supply Chain Management. An MBA or Post Graduate Diploma in Materials Management is highly preferred.
- Professional Experience: 3 to 5 years of progressive procurement experience directly within food manufacturing, beverage plants, or F&B sectors.
- Core Competencies: Expert fruit cycle forecasting, cold storage vendor vetting, sensory evaluation awareness, rapid inventory turnover strategies, and elite contract negotiation skills.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Material Availability (OOS): Achieve 0% production line stoppages due to raw material stock-outs.
Purchase Price Variance (PPV): Meet or exceed annual cost-saving and price-mitigation targets against market indices.
Inventory Spoilage Rate: Maintain direct material write-offs and aging expiration stock below
Supplier OTIF (On-Time In-Full): Maintain a vendor delivery compliance rate of 98%.
Quality SLA Adherence: Zero critical non-compliance reports (NCRs) from QA during inbound material audits.
