Head - Operations (10-20 yrs)
Role Purpose
The Head of Operations will own end-to-end operational excellence across Supply Chain, Production, CFC/Fulfilment, Retail (COCO & Dark Stores), and overall Operations. This role is accountable for ensuring seamless execution from procurement to last-mile readiness, especially during high-volume seasonal peaks.
The role requires a hands-on operator and builder who can scale operations, drive cost efficiency, manage perishables, and lead large multi-city teams while balancing speed, quality, and customer promise.
Key Responsibilities
- End-to-End Operations Ownership
- Own complete operations lifecycle: Procurement Production Warehousing, CFC/Fulfilment Retail/Dark Stores
- Act as the single point of accountability for operational performance, SLAs, and execution discipline
- Ensure alignment between Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Retail, and Production
- Supply Chain & Warehousing
- Oversee inbound logistics, vendor management, inventory planning, and line-haul movement
- Drive inventory accuracy, ageing control, shrinkage reduction, and cost optimization
- Build scalable warehouse and distribution models to support growth and peak volumes
- Production & Central Kitchens
- Own production planning for flowers, gifting, personalization, and allied categories
- Manage perishables handling, yield improvement, wastage reduction, and quality control
- Ensure production capacity planning aligned with demand forecasts and peak requirements
- CFC / Fulfilment Operations
- Ensure CFC readiness across cities for pick-pack-dispatch SLAs
- Drive OTIF, order cycle time reduction, manpower productivity, and dispatch accuracy
- Lead peak-day fulfilment strategy including cut-offs, batching, buffers, and contingencies
- Retail Operations (COCO & Dark Stores)
- Oversee COCO stores and dark store operations ensuring customer readiness
- Drive SOP standardization, manpower planning, training, and compliance
- Ensure strong linkage between retail promise and backend fulfilment capability
- Peak Planning & Seasonal Execution (Critical)
- Own end-to-end planning for seasonal spikes (Valentine s Day, Mother s Day, Rakhi, Diwali, etc.)
- Lead demand forecasting, capacity ramp-up, manpower planning, and risk mitigation
- Ensure zero-surprise execution during peak business periods
- Process, Cost & Metrics
- Define and track KPIs: OTIF, cost per order, wastage %, inventory turns, fulfilment TAT
- Drive SOPs, automation, and continuous process improvement
- Own operational budgets, cost controls, and productivity improvements
- Leadership & Team Management
- Lead and develop senior leaders across Supply Chain, Production, Fulfilment, Retail, and Ops
- Manage large multi-city teams (blue-collar + white-collar)
- Drive performance culture, accountability, and cross-functional collaboration
Must-Have Skills
Key Skills & Competencies:
- Strong end-to-end operations leadership experience
- Deep understanding of perishables, time-sensitive fulfilment, and peak-driven businesses
- Excellent data-driven decision-making and financial acumen
- Proven experience in multi-city, multi-format operations
- Strong stakeholder management and execution discipline
Preferred Skills
- Experience with omni-channel retail or quick-commerce models
- Exposure to automation, WMS, OMS, and fulfilment tech platforms
- Ability to scale operations in fast-growing, high-pressure environments
Ideal Candidate Profile
- Experience: 10 - 18 years in Operations / Supply Chain / Fulfilment
- Background: Gifting, Flowers, Food-tech, Q-commerce, Omni-channel Retail
- Proven track record of managing large teams (100 500+) and multi-city operations
(ref:iimjobs.com)
