Job Title: Director / Associate Director - Procurement.

Location: Bangalore.

Position Summary:

- The Director / Associate Director of Procurement will lead strategic sourcing, vendor management, and procurement operations for core and indirect categories.

- You will develop sourcing strategies for high-volume industrial SKUs, ensure supplier reliability, manage cost efficiency, and support business continuity across e-commerce procurement cycles.

- This role requires a deep understanding of the B2B industrial buying process, steel/metals sourcing, and procurement digitization.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management:

- Build and execute sourcing strategies across categories like steel coils, TMT bars, plates, pipes, and allied industrial products.

- Analyze market trends and develop long-term partnerships with mills, stockists, and global suppliers.

- Drive supplier competitiveness through benchmarking, alternate sourcing, and contract negotiations.

Vendor Development & Management:

- Identify, evaluate, and onboard reliable vendors across geographies ensuring quality, delivery, and compliance.

- Manage key supplier relationships with regular business reviews, performance scorecards, and risk assessments.

- Ensure business continuity through a diversified vendor base and proactive risk mitigation plans.

Procurement Operations:

- Lead procurement planning aligned with sales forecasts and fulfillment models.

- Collaborate with inventory and warehouse teams to align procurement schedules with inventory turns and demand patterns.

- Streamline PO issuance, pricing approvals, payment terms, and digital procurement processes using ERP or procurement tools.

Indirect Procurement & Cost Optimization:

- Lead procurement for non-core categories including logistics services, packaging, IT infrastructure, warehouse services, and capex items.

- Identify cost-saving opportunities in indirect procurement, drive efficiency through spend consolidation, and control maverick spending.

- Effective management of P&L including sales growth, cost optimization and collections.

Cross-functional Collaboration:

- Work closely with Supply Chain, Sales, Operations, Tech, and Finance teams to support business growth and operational execution.

- Contribute to product strategy for procurement platform integration, automation, and real-time pricing intelligence.

Data & Compliance:

- Track procurement KPIs including cost savings, supplier fill rates, lead times, working capital impact, and SLA adherence.

- Ensure compliance with internal procurement policies, audits, and legal/contractual frameworks.

Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree or MBA from top or tier 1 institutions will be preferred.

- 6-12 years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or supply chain, with exposure to B2B, industrial, or e-commerce sectors.

- Deep knowledge of steel and metal product categories, market dynamics, and vendor ecosystems.

- Experience managing procurement operations at scale using ERP systems (SAP/Oracle/MS Dynamics) or digital procurement tools.

- Excellent internal & external stakeholder management skills.

- High level of ownership, willingness to set up things from scratch.

- Excellent negotiation, communication & analytical skills.