1. Purpose:

- The position will be responsible for driving & implementing the Product line strategy in the Induction Furnace business in India with special focus on NRM & Flow Control segments.

- The purpose of this role is to deliver profitable market share growth in IF, especially in NRM & FC Products, through market mapping, market insight (customers, competition), product / technology offering and product management working with all stakeholders in the business viz.

- R&D, Sales, Operations & Engineering.

- The position will also be responsible for ongoing review & course correction in PLN strategy based on changing market dynamics as needed.

- The focus will be on implementation of the strategy on the ground.

2. Dimensions of Position:

- The dimension of this position covers the end-to-end Product management, new Product / technology introduction and drive actions for a profitable growth, particularly in NRM and FC Product addressable market in India.

- The position may also be required to support similar efforts in other emerging IF markets like foundry AR & Kellundite as well going forward.

Some of the critical aspects related to this position are as follows -

- Business Case - creating cohesive business case from a product management perspective, considering external market factors and internal Product factors.

- Mapping of addressable market & understanding the competitive landscape within the cement & aluminium segments will be an important requirement for preparing the business case.

- Market Needs - Understand the customer requirements & evolving technical trends in the industry including competition offering - get to the "market need" from this knowledge-base, which can then form the basis of devising/following /implementing the Product strategies.

- Product Roadmaps - Preparation/Implementation/Review of product strategy, direction and features over a given time frame.

- Preparation of white papers, case studies/ impact sheets, product comparisons, EVC analysis, marketing presentations & other tools, competitor analysis, and user stories.

- Customer Support - by understanding their process operations, identifying their needs and propose solutions. Technical troubleshooting is also part of this.

3. Key Result Areas:

a. Responsible for delivering value to our customers through our products & application technology:

- New product trials, establishing performance & capturing performance differentiation/ value delivery

- Product selection and positioning. Guidance to sales team on major pricing decisions, in consultation with senior management, specially for new products, markets & large orders.

- Meaningful participation in Enquiry Review & Order Review process to ensure product offering & pricing compliance.

- Tracking & driving gross margin in IF product lines

b. Doing regular customer visits to understand demand for our products, making presentations, promoting Products performance benefits to client.

c. Regular monitoring and capturing Products performance report to evaluate benefit to customer and prepare case studies / success stories/ Impact sheets for future business reference.

d. Regular visit and interaction to understand customer's processes / operations and keeping track of any changes in production and technology trend.

e. Monthly analysis and on time reporting of new product trials, new product sales etc. Responsible for leading the NPI process from M&T including NPI gate reviews. Put up new development ideas based on market inputs/ requirements and finalize new RPRs/ projects for R&D in consultation with all stakeholders.

f. Coordinate with the IF sales team including Dealer to provide the technical supports related to new enquiries, technical proposals (including commercial price guidelines based on value proposition) & order review.

g. To evaluate Competitor's activities in terms of product technology, applications, qualities, pricings, and deliveries of their products.

h. Constantly evaluate the performance of a product at the customer sites, Lead CCAR & 8D PPS analysis of product/ application related issues at customer end.

i. Provide training to site supervisors, plant manufacturing, QC & R&D on customer process, application technology and product technology.

j. Mapping of relevant IF market to understand total refractory market & how much of that market is accessible. Update this on regular basis.

k. Introduce offering to customers through planned campaigns, marketing presentations. Seminars, technical papers etc.

4. Main Interactions:

a. Internal:

- Associate Director As & When required To discuss and update key issues and to receive guidance on strategic and M&T matters.

- General Manager M&T

- Manager Sales.

b. External

With customer representatives

5. Qualifications:

BE / B. Tech

6. Experience:

- 7+ Yrs of relevant Industry experience, preferably in Refractory used for Cement & Aluminium industries including Refractory application technology.

- While we are looking for persons with a Refractory background, we can also look at suitable candidates working in reputed Cement or Aluminium groups having process knowledge & Refractory application knowledge in their industry who desire to shift to the "other side" in industrial marketing.

- Subject matter expertise in Products, customer process or market. This should include specific industry technical knowledge (Cement/ Aluminium or both).

- Track record of B2B industrial marketing & business development

7. Knowledge:

- Knowledge of Refractory application & products, particularly monolithic, precast.

- Understanding and exposure to customer process preferably in cement, aluminium industries.

- Basic understanding of Product Manufacturing processes is desirable but not essential.

- Demonstrated success in defining and launching products that meet and exceed business objectives

8. Skills & Behaviour:

- Planning, organizing & prioritizing

- Strong Technical Acumen

- Strong analytical ability.

- Computer skills including Excel analysis, PowerPoint, MS collaboration tools

- Excellent teamwork skills

- Excellent written, verbal communication and presentation skills - good command over English (written & verbal) & Hindi (verbal) would be required.

- Disciplined Approach

- Strong customer orientation & network

- Relationship building and High on Interpersonal Relationship

- Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority