RP Sanjiv Goenka Group - Manager/Senior Manager - Procurement - Guiltfree Industries - Food Division

About RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group:

The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group is a diversified conglomerate with interests across Energy (Power, Renewables, Chemicals), Consumer (retail, food services), Entertainment (media, music, sports) and technology businesses. The group overall has 15+ companies, 45,000+ employees with gross assets close to INR 40,355 Cr. The group has been growing at more than 20% p.a. for the last 5 years, and wishes to embark on an even more aggressive growth trajectory over the next 5-10 year horizon.

The flagship companies include:

- CESC Limited - A Fully Integrated Private Power Utility

- Spencer's Retail - India's second largest food based retailer

- Firstsource Solutions - India's Top 3 pure play BPO player

- Saregama India - the biggest collection of Indian music

- Phillips Carbon Black - India's 2nd largest carbon black manufacturer

- Harrisons Malyalam - One of the largest plantation businesses in India

Along with Spencer's Retail and Saregama, the Group has also ventured into FMCG business recently through Guiltfree Industries Limited. It has also acquired another FMCG Company, Apricot Foods Private Limited

With strong profitability, robust balance sheets and deep cash reserves, the Group is looking to build a strong position in the consumer goods and retail space. As a group, RP-SG is committed to invest $3 Billion + additional capital over the next 4-5 years, primarily into the consumer and technology businesses.

Background - FMCG Business

RPSG FMCG Business has made strong initial inroads by creating a new segment of snacks in the Indian market, with its brand "Too Yumm" In a short period the brand has established itself across India as a strong choice vis a vis of traditional fried. This was possible by bold investments in product design and go to market. The division also has forayed into traditional snacks and Ayurveda ( Dr Vaidya's). The group is now in earnest to build the FMCG business in India through bold organic growth and acquisitions.

Guiltfree Industries Ltd (GIL) is part of the FMCG foray of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group which will be involved in sale of Indian and western packaged snacks, cereals, juices and beverages to be sold through retail chains, neighbourhood stores, institutional sales, exports and online platforms. The products sold will be positioned such that they are perceived as healthy, with offerings that include low-calorie variants and guilt-free snacking. It launched the first two products under the brand 'Too Yumm!!' in April 2017, and since then has launched additional products. The sales ramp up so far has been in line/ slightly ahead of expectations within a short span. In future, the plan is to continue to launch more products, and introduce additional brands/ categories under the GIL umbrella. Chairman of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group Mr Sanjiv Goenka's vision is to take the FMCG business to 10000 Cr over the next few years.

In order to ramp up the facilities, GIL acquired a Rajkot and Hyderabad based operating plant of "Apricot Foods Pvt. Ltd" which manufactures and sales Packaged snack food under the brand name of "e-vita". The Manufacturing facilities are in Rajkot (Gujarat) and Medchal (Hyderabad) with a total production capacity of 33,000 tonnes p.a. of snack food items. It has a wide product portfolio of 49 SKUs across 3 segments - Chips (9), Namkeens (26) and Extruded Snacks (14).

Expansion Plans: FMCG Business is rapidly expanding to set its footprints across the country through strong sales and supply chain management backed by robust manufacturing facilities. A total of 14 CMU plants are currently operational with an eye on starting operations at more locations.

Position Summary

This role is expected to draw upon a depth of knowledge and experience in order to contribute in a complex/critical environment while managing raw materials procurement, developing strategic business relationships with existing suppliers and nurture new vendors. This is to contribute to the overall idea of a sustainable raw material supply channel for the existing brands and NPDs.

- To be responsible for the procurement of commodities through a careful blend of strategic market forecasting, being updated on trade market movements, tracking competitor activity and be hands on with risks posed by various geopolitical matters.

- Devise & execute long term and short strategies aimed at meeting budgeted numbers, manufacturing requirements, inventory norms and material quality SOPs as per GIL requirements.

- Align all stakeholders on market movements for key commodities through detailed reports, MIS reporting & historical data collection.

- Lead cross functional alignment on NPD for raw materials and ensure timely delivery for both trial and commercial runs.

- Represent vendor interests and queries at GIL forums. Resolve issues if any for maintaining cordial relations with the vendor base and maintaining GIL rapport in the industry.

At Transactional & Operations Level

Raw Material Sourcing

- Develop RM-wise, plant wise annual operations plan for raw materials through accurate forecast on raw materials aligned towards delivering planned VM for the year.

- Keep a track on commodity basket spend as per AOP, backed by strategic procurement involving taking positions in the commodity market.

- Deliver the annual operational plan pricing through strategic vendor base development and strengthening efficacy in ongoing supplies.

- Ensure material delivery from vendors by aligning plant requirement to material cover positions on a timely basis, so as to avoid any stock out.

- Responsible for developing, successfully on boarding and commencing supplies from new vendors.

- Align with prevailing best practices of the market in vendor development, existing quality in RMs and new material requirements or NPDs.

- Develop vendor performance matrices and execute corrective actions to ensure significant improvements in the same over time.

- Attend to and close pending vendor issues, vendor reconciliations, NDCs and payments.

- Support other functions in case of any exigencies via effective vendor dialogue and closure of the same.

- Include and inculcate various IT tools and new procurement methodologies for delivering superior procurement results and staying ahead of the market.

At Customer Level

- Align various functions in case of any disconnects related to material acceptance, deviation or runnability issues.

- Take balanced and well informed calls in an event of sudden material rejection, material unavailability/supply issue or new requirement.

- Monitor and maintain raw material stock as per inventory norms and production plan at factories.

- Align vendor dispatches and ensure connectivities in line with the above requirement.

At Financial Level

- Ensure total compliance in all deliveries which might have a positive impact on all product VM.

- Execute closure of vendor grievances, payables and other expectations in line with GIL SOPs.

- Ensure vendor NOCs for executed trades at regular intervals.

At People Level

- Liaise with factories for a clear view on material availability and align it with vendor connectivities for a lean and efficient supply network.

- Timely coordination with various stakeholders and interdepartmental functions.

- Develop good rapport with plant teams and related stakeholders for smoother material movement across various levels.

At Strategi Level

- Utilise various RA and RFQ tools to maximise automation in commodity procurement.

- Undertake strategic vendor development and evaluate existing vendor base

- Standardization/automation in the existing Reports/Dashboards

- Support in NPD material arrangement, master data creation and vendor on boarding in SAP which requires extensive documentation and vendor audit.

Education & Skill Sets Required

- Master in (SCM/ Operation / Procurement) with 5-8 Yrs of exp in buying of raw material in FMCG (Food Division).

- Should have sourcing for food products.

- Should have strong supplier connect & basic understanding on raw materials.

- Ability to forecast commodity movements through available levers and devised metrics.

- Analytical skills (MS Excel, SAP Trained)

- Knowledge on handling IT tools in procurement and SRM.