Key Responsibilities
1. Procurement Strategy & Leadership
- Develop and execute the overall procurement strategy aligned with business and growth objectives.
- Build a robust and scalable procurement organisation, processes and governance framework.
- Lead procurement planning across business functions and locations.
- Establish procurement policies, SOPs, approval matrices and compliance mechanisms.
- Drive centralisation and standardisation of procurement wherever commercially viable.
2. Strategic Sourcing & Cost Optimisation
- Lead strategic sourcing initiatives across key categories and spend areas.
- Identify opportunities for cost savings, value engineering, alternate sourcing and supplier consolidation.
- Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, payment terms, rebates, contracts and SLAs with suppliers.
- Develop should-cost/benchmarking mechanisms and ensure competitive sourcing.
- Drive annualised savings and procurement-led productivity improvements.
3. Vendor Management
- Develop and maintain a strong and competitive supplier ecosystem.
- Lead vendor identification, evaluation, onboarding, negotiation and performance management.
- Establish supplier scorecards covering cost, quality, service levels, delivery and compliance.
- Develop alternate suppliers and contingency plans for critical categories.
- Manage strategic supplier relationships and resolve major commercial or service escalations.
4. Direct & Indirect Procurement
- Oversee procurement of raw materials, packaging, consumables, merchandise, food ingredients and other business-critical materials, wherever applicable.
- Manage indirect procurement across categories such as services, logistics-related requirements, office/admin requirements, technology-related procurement and other operating expenses.
- Partner with business teams to understand demand and ensure timely availability.
5. Procurement Planning & Supply Continuity
- Work closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Category and Business teams to ensure uninterrupted availability of materials and services.
- Develop procurement plans based on business forecasts, seasonality and demand trends.
- Identify supply risks and proactively develop mitigation plans.
- Improve procurement lead times and supplier fulfilment performance.
6. Contracts & Commercial Governance
- Lead commercial negotiations and ensure appropriate contractual arrangements with strategic vendors.
- Ensure adherence to agreed pricing, payment terms, SLAs and contractual obligations.
- Work closely with Finance and Legal on vendor contracts, commercial terms and risk management.
- Strengthen controls around purchase orders, vendor onboarding and procurement approvals.
7. Data, Analytics & Technology
- Establish procurement dashboards and MIS covering spend, savings, vendor performance, purchase cycle time and compliance.
- Develop spend visibility and category-wise procurement analytics.
- Leverage technology, automation and procurement platforms to improve efficiency and transparency.
- Identify opportunities for process digitisation and AI-led procurement analytics/automation.
8. Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with COO, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Category, Technology, Marketing and other business teams.
- Act as a strategic business partner rather than a transactional procurement function.
- Ensure procurement decisions balance cost, quality, availability, customer experience and business requirements.
Key Performance Indicators
- Procurement savings and cost optimisation
- Spend under procurement control
- Supplier availability and fulfilment
- Vendor performance and SLA adherence
- Procurement cycle time
- Supplier consolidation and alternate sourcing
- Contract and process compliance
- Working capital/payment-term optimisation
- Procurement process automation and digitisation
- Reduction in supply disruptions and procurement-related escalations
Candidate Profile
- 12–18 years of relevant experience in procurement/sourcing, with significant experience leading a procurement function.
- Strong experience in strategic sourcing, category management, negotiations and vendor management.
- Experience managing both direct and indirect procurement.
- Proven track record of delivering measurable cost savings and commercial improvements.
- Strong understanding of procurement processes, contracts, supplier governance and compliance.
- Experience working in a fast-paced, multi-location and high-volume business environment.
- Strong analytical, negotiation, stakeholder management and leadership skills.
- Ability to build and manage a high-performing procurement team.
- Strong commercial orientation with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
Preferred Experience
Candidates from FMCG, Retail, E-commerce, Food & Beverage, QSR, Hospitality or other consumer-facing, high-volume businesses will be preferred.
