Head - Sourcing, Procurement & NPD

Head – Sourcing, Procurement & NPDReports to: Chief Operating OfficerFunction: Sourcing, Procurement & NPDType: Full-time, Senior LeadershipAbout the RoleWe are looking for a senior leader to own and build our Sourcing & Procurement function, with a strong focus on domestic sourcing, vendor development, supplier relationships, cost optimization, and supply-base strategy.This is a 90% Sourcing & Procurement and 10% New Product Development role. The primary mandate is to build a strong, competitive, reliable, and scalable domestic vendor ecosystem that can support the company’s growth while delivering the right balance of cost, quality, capability, capacity, and speed.You will own the vendor ecosystem end-to-end — from market discovery and vendor identification to qualification, negotiation, onboarding, contracting, performance management, and long-term relationship building.The role will also require you to develop a deep understanding of the domestic supplier market, manufacturing capabilities, emerging vendors, cost structures, materials, and competitive landscape. You will work closely with R&D, Design, Business, Marketing, and Operations teams to bring market and sourcing intelligence into product and business decisions.The ideal candidate will have an engineering foundation, strong commercial instincts, deep domestic sourcing experience, and a proven track record of building and managing vendor ecosystems in consumer products / hardgoods / durables.Key Responsibilities1. Domestic Sourcing & Procurement – Core ResponsibilityOwn the end-to-end domestic sourcing and procurement function across product categories, components, packaging, materials, and other business requirements.Develop and execute a domestic sourcing strategy aligned with business growth, cost, quality, capacity, and supply continuity.Identify and develop new domestic suppliers and manufacturing partners across relevant product categories.Build a strong understanding of the Indian supplier and manufacturing ecosystem — including clusters, capabilities, capacities, technologies, material availability, and cost structures.Continuously benchmark the market to identify better suppliers, alternate sources, new manufacturing capabilities, and cost-efficient opportunities.Develop a robust and diversified supplier base to reduce single-vendor dependency and supply-chain risks.Own supplier qualification, commercial evaluation, capability assessment, audits, trials, pilot runs, and onboarding.Lead commercial negotiations covering pricing, MOQ, payment terms, lead times, tooling, quality standards, SLAs, warranties, and other commercial terms.Drive year-on-year cost optimization through supplier negotiations, alternate sourcing, value engineering, localization, and volume consolidation.Develop long-term strategic relationships with key suppliers rather than operating purely through transactional purchase orders.Ensure critical vendors have appropriate capacity planning, backup arrangements, and business continuity plans.Monitor vendor performance across cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, capacity, and service levels.Establish vendor scorecards and conduct regular supplier performance reviews.Work closely with Finance and Operations to improve working capital, payment terms, inventory efficiency, and landed cost.Ensure timely availability of materials and products while balancing cost, quality, inventory, and working capital.2. Vendor Management & Relationship DevelopmentBuild and maintain strong, long-term relationships with strategic domestic vendors and manufacturing partners.Act as the senior escalation point for critical vendor issues and commercial negotiations.Develop a structured vendor segmentation and relationship-management framework based on strategic importance, spend, capability, and risk.Regularly visit vendor and manufacturing facilities to understand capacity, processes, quality systems, infrastructure, and scalability.Identify opportunities to jointly improve cost, quality, productivity, lead time, and product capability with strategic suppliers.Develop a strong network of manufacturers, component suppliers, material suppliers, packaging partners, and other ecosystem players.3. Market Intelligence & Competitive MappingDevelop a strong understanding of the domestic market, supplier ecosystem, manufacturing trends, materials, technologies, and competitive developments.Continuously map the market to identify new vendors, emerging manufacturing capabilities, alternate materials, and cost opportunities.Conduct competitor and category mapping to understand product offerings, specifications, pricing, materials, features, sourcing patterns, and market gaps.Work closely with Business and Marketing teams to translate market intelligence into sourcing and product opportunities.Track competitor launches and product developments to identify potential white spaces and sourcing opportunities.Build and maintain a database of vendors, manufacturers, capabilities, pricing benchmarks, materials, and market intelligence.4. R&D, Research & Product IntelligenceWork closely with the R&D and Design teams to evaluate the feasibility, manufacturability, cost, and sourcing implications of new product concepts.Support R&D teams in identifying appropriate materials, components, technologies, and manufacturing partners.Engage with external research agencies, market research firms, testing agencies, and technical partners wherever required to gather consumer, category, product, or technical intelligence.Coordinate with research agencies for market studies, competitor research, product benchmarking, consumer insights, and category mapping.Bring external market and supplier intelligence into internal product and sourcing decisions.Identify new technologies, materials, suppliers, and manufacturing processes that can create a competitive advantage.5. New Product Development – Supporting ResponsibilityPartner with R&D, Design, and Engineering teams to support the transition of products from concept to prototype to production.Identify suitable vendors for prototyping, sampling, tooling, pilot production, and eventual scale-up.Provide sourcing and commercial inputs during product development, including cost, MOQ, lead time, manufacturability, material availability, and supplier capability.Participate in DFM discussions and help identify opportunities for cost-effective and scalable manufacturing.Support the NPD calendar by ensuring vendor development, sampling, tooling, and sourcing activities are completed within committed timelines.Ensure products are developed with a clear understanding of commercial viability, supply availability, and production scalability.6. Procurement Strategy, Systems & GovernanceBuild scalable procurement processes, systems, SOPs, approval mechanisms, and dashboards.Establish clear procurement controls around vendor selection, quotations, negotiations, purchase orders, contracts, and supplier performance.Develop procurement MIS covering spend, savings, supplier performance, lead times, quality, risks, and open requirements.Establish clear benchmarks for cost, quality, delivery, and supplier performance.Identify opportunities for vendor consolidation, localization, alternate sourcing, and strategic buying.Ensure procurement decisions are data-driven and aligned with overall business objectives.7. LeadershipBuild, mentor, and lead the Sourcing & Procurement team.Create a high-performance culture focused on commercial ownership, vendor relationships, market knowledge, and execution.Establish clear ownership and accountability across sourcing, procurement, vendor development, and NPD support.Work cross-functionally with R&D, Design, Engineering, Finance, Supply Chain, Operations, Business, and Marketing.Bring commercial and supply-side thinking into business and product decisions.What You BringB.E./B.Tech in Mechanical, Production, Industrial, or a related engineering discipline; MBA is a plus.10–15 years of experience in Sourcing, Procurement, Vendor Development, Strategic Buying, or Supply Chain, preferably within consumer products, hardgoods, durables, lifestyle, home, kids, or similar categories.Strong hands-on experience in domestic sourcing and supplier development in India.Proven experience in building and managing a large domestic vendor ecosystem.Strong understanding of Indian manufacturing clusters, supplier markets, materials, production capabilities, and cost structures.Demonstrated expertise in vendor negotiation, commercial contracting, cost reduction, supplier qualification, and vendor performance management.Strong vendor relationships and the ability to identify and develop new suppliers and manufacturing partners.Ability to understand products from both a technical and commercial perspective.Strong market intelligence and competitor-mapping capabilities.Experience working with R&D, Design, Engineering, Marketing, and external research agencies will be highly valuable.Strong understanding of landed cost, COGS, MOQ, payment terms, lead times, tooling, capacity, quality, and supplier economics.Willingness to travel regularly across India to vendor and manufacturing locations.A builder's mindset — hands-on, commercially sharp, structured, relationship-oriented, and comfortable operating in a fast-growing environment.What Success Looks LikeA strong and diversified domestic supplier ecosystem with minimal critical single-vendor dependency.A continuously expanding network of qualified and competitive domestic vendors.Strong, long-term relationships with strategic suppliers.Measurable year-on-year improvement in procurement costs and COGS without compromising quality.Improved vendor performance across cost, quality, capacity, and delivery.Better visibility into the Indian supplier and manufacturing market.A structured database and intelligence system covering vendors, capabilities, costs, materials, competitors, and market opportunities.Faster identification and onboarding of new vendors for capacity, cost, capability, and innovation.Strong collaboration between Procurement, R&D, Design, Business, and Marketing.New product initiatives supported by real-time sourcing, cost, feasibility, and market intelligence.A procurement function that is scalable, process-driven, commercially disciplined, and capable of supporting the company's next phase of growth.