Manager - Costing - Appliance Manufacturing Firm

The role will be responsible for driving product costing, cost optimization, and profitability analysis across the manufacturing lifecycle. The candidate will partner with cross-functional teams (procurement, production, R&D, finance) to ensure accurate cost structures, identify savings opportunities, and support strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Product Costing & Analysis

- Prepare and validate BOM (Bill of Materials) and routing-based product costing.

- Conduct standard costing, variance analysis, and cost roll-ups for new and existing products.

- Analyze material, labor, and overhead costs to identify cost drivers.

2. Budgeting & Cost Control

- Support annual budgeting and periodic forecasts from a costing perspective.

- Monitor actual vs. standard cost variances and drive corrective actions.

- Develop cost benchmarks and track plant-level efficiency metrics.

3. New Product Costing (NPD Support)

- Work closely with R&D and engineering teams for should-costing and target costing.

- Provide cost inputs during product design to ensure cost competitiveness.

4. Procurement & Vendor Costing

- Evaluate vendor quotations and support price negotiations with procurement teams.

- Conduct make vs. buy analysis and vendor cost comparisons.

5. Inventory & Manufacturing Accounting

- Ensure accurate costing in ERP systems (SAP/Oracle/others).

- Monitor inventory valuation, slow-moving and obsolete stock provisions.

6. MIS & Reporting

- Prepare monthly costing reports, margin analysis, and dashboards for management.

- Present insights on cost reduction opportunities and profitability improvement.

7. Cost Optimization Initiatives

- Drive value engineering and cost reduction projects across plants.

- Identify opportunities in process improvement, waste reduction, and productivity enhancement.

Key Requirements:

Education: CA / CMA (preferred) or MBA Finance / B.Com with relevant experience

Experience:

- 6-10 years in costing within manufacturing (preferably appliances, consumer durables, or engineering)

- Strong exposure to plant costing / factory finance

Skills & Competencies:

- Strong understanding of standard costing, BOM, variance analysis

- Hands-on experience with ERP systems (SAP preferred)

- Advanced Excel and data analysis skills

- Strong business partnering and stakeholder management

- Analytical mindset with attention to detail

Preferred Background:

- Experience in appliance manufacturing (ACs, refrigerators, washing machines, small appliances, etc.)

- Exposure to multi-plant operations or high SKU environments