Urban Gabru - Head - Supply Chain

Supply Chain Lead

Procurement | Inventory Planning | Fulfilment & Platform Delivery

Department: Supply Chain

Role Type: Full-time

Reports To: Founder / COO / Business Head

Works With: NPD, Finance, E-commerce, Brand, Performance Marketing, 3PL, Offline/MT/GT teams

Core Goal:

Avoid stockouts while maintaining healthy inventory days, ideally around 60 days across platforms and brands.

Role Overview:

We are looking for a strong Supply Chain Lead who can manage the full supply chain cycle after product finalization, from PO release and vendor coordination to inventory planning, stock movement, platform replenishment, and fulfilment. This role will lead three key parts of supply chain: Procurement, Inventory Planning, and Fulfilment & Platform Delivery. The person should be strong in data, planning, follow-ups, vendor coordination, platform fulfilment, and cross-functional execution.

Core Ownership:

1. Procurement

2. Inventory Planning

3. Fulfilment & Platform Delivery

- PO release, vendor coordination, repeat order processing, MOQ/timeline/payment coordination, vendor performance tracking.

- SKU-wise and platform-wise stock planning, sales velocity tracking, reorder planning, stockout prediction, 60-day inventory control.

- Pickup from manufacturer, delivery to 3PL/platform warehouses, appointment booking, dispatch tracking, GRN/inward and live stock follow-up.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Procurement Management:

- Take over manufacturer/vendor coordination after NPD finalizes the product, costing, and first product details.

- Release purchase orders and maintain accurate PO trackers.

- Coordinate with vendors for production timelines, dispatch timelines, quantities, and delivery commitments.

- Manage repeat orders and future PO processing based on inventory requirements.

- Coordinate on MOQ, delivery timelines, payment terms, and commercial terms where required.

- Track vendor-wise lead times, production capacity, and delivery adherence.

- Escalate vendor delays, short supply, quality issues, cost changes, or documentation gaps on time.

- Work with Finance for payment planning and working capital alignment.

2. Inventory Planning:

- Maintain SKU-wise and platform-wise inventory plans across brands and channels.

- Track current stock, in-transit stock, platform stock, 3PL stock, blocked stock, and available stock.

- Monitor inventory days at SKU, brand, platform, and company level.

- Maintain target inventory days around 60 days, adjusted by SKU type, lead time, MOQ, sales velocity, and campaign plans.

- Track 7-day, 15-day, and 30-day average sales velocity for important SKUs.

- Predict expected stockout dates and raise reorder alerts before risk becomes urgent.

- Prepare reorder plans based on sales velocity, lead time, safety stock, vendor timelines, and platform inward timelines.

- Identify excess stock, slow-moving stock, dead stock, and inventory above 60/90 days.

- Prepare purchase priority lists based on sales, margin, stockout risk, campaign importance, and cash flow.

3. Fulfilment & Platform Delivery:

- Plan timely pickup of stock from manufacturers/vendors.

- Coordinate with transporters, 3PLs, platform teams, and internal stakeholders.

- Ensure stock reaches the correct warehouse, 3PL, or platform on time.

- Manage Amazon, Flipkart, Quick Commerce, D2C, MT, GT, and other platform replenishment requirements.

- Own appointment booking and appointment follow-ups for platform deliveries.

- Track dispatch date, delivery date, GRN/inward date, and live stock date.

- Ensure stock is not only dispatched but also inwarded and available for sale.

- Track delayed appointments, rejected shipments, short deliveries, damaged deliveries, and pending GRNs.

- Coordinate inter-warehouse stock transfers where required.

4. NPD to Supply Chain Handover:

The Supply Chain Lead must ensure that every new product handover includes:

1. Final vendor/manufacturer details, final approved costing, MOQ, lead time, payment terms, and production timeline.

2. Final product specifications, packaging specifications, product dimensions, weight, barcode/MRP, and batch details.

3. Shelf life and expiry details wherever applicable.

4. QC checklist, first PO recommendation, expected launch date, initial inventory requirement, and platform-wise launch stock plan.

5. No PO should be released unless the NPD handover is complete.

Reports & Trackers to Own:

- Daily / 3x Weekly: Stockout risk report, Platform-wise stock report, Pending PO tracker, Vendor production status, Pickup/dispatch tracker, Appointment tracker, GRN/inward pending tracker.

- Weekly: Purchase requirement report, Reorder planning report, 7/15/30-day sales velocity, Inventory days report, Platform replenishment plan, Slow-moving/excess inventory report, Campaign stock readiness report.

- Monthly: Brand-wise inventory value, Inventory ageing report, Stockout loss report, Inventory above 60/90 days, Vendor performance report, PO-to-delivery TAT, Platform inward TAT, Supply chain review report.

Key KPIs:

- Hero SKU stockout days: Target: zero or near-zero stockout days for A+ SKUs.

- Inventory days control: Maintain healthy inventory days, ideally around 60 days overall with SKU-wise exceptions.

- SKU/platform stock availability: High availability across Amazon, Flipkart, D2C, Quick Commerce, Offline, MT/GT.

- Purchase plan accuracy: Accuracy of reorder quantity, timing, and PO prioritization.

- PO-to-dispatch adherence: Vendor production and dispatch adherence against committed timelines.

- Appointment and inward TAT: Platform appointment, delivery, GRN, and live-stock tracking.

- Excess inventory value: Control inventory above 60/90 days and reduce blocked working capital.

- Stockout loss tracking: Monthly tracking of lost sales due to stockouts or delayed inwarding.

Required Skills & Experience:

- Experience in supply chain, procurement, inventory planning, marketplace operations, or e-commerce fulfilment.

- Strong Excel / Google Sheets skills and comfort with large SKU/platform-level data.

- Strong understanding of inventory days, sales velocity, reorder planning, lead time, MOQ, safety stock, and platform inward timelines.

- Ability to coordinate with vendors, 3PLs, transporters, marketplace teams, and internal teams.

- Strong follow-up discipline, escalation ability, ownership, and execution mindset.

- Ability to balance stock availability with working capital control.

- Good to have: experience with Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, Myntra, Quick Commerce, D2C, MT/GT, FMCG, beauty, personal care, or consumer products.