: Packaging Materials Purchase Specialist

Flexible Packaging, Mono Cartons & FMCG Packaging

Location: Pune, India

Department: Procurement & Packaging Development

Experience: 37 years

Qualification: Degree/Postgraduate Diploma from the Indian Institute of Packaging preferred

Industry Preference: FMCG, food and beverage manufacturing, versatile packaging, printing or packaged foods

About the Role

We are looking for a technically strong Packaging Materials Specialist to manage packaging development, supplier coordination, technical evaluation and commercial procurement.

The role will cover multilayer laminates, printed films, pouches, mono cartons, labels, corrugated boxes and other primary and secondary packaging materials. The candidate must understand packaging structures, specifications, manufacturing processes, machine compatibility and technical costing.

The role requires someone who can evaluate packaging technically, challenge supplier specifications and negotiate costs based on material composition, dimensions, grammage, yield, printing and conversion charges.

Key Responsibilities

1. Packaging Development and Specifications

- Develop and maintain technical specifications for flexible laminates, printed poly, pouches, mono cartons, labels and corrugated boxes.
- Define suitable material structures based on product characteristics, shelf-life, barrier requirements and machine compatibility.
- Evaluate specifications including film type, number of layers, micron, GSM, grammage, sealant layer, tensile strength, COF and sealing performance.
- Understand barrier properties such as oxygen transmission rate, moisture-vapour transmission rate, light protection and aroma retention.
- Review carton specifications including paperboard grade, GSM, stiffness, burst strength, coatings, adhesives and finishing.
- Ensure packaging complies with applicable food-contact, migration, sustainability and regulatory requirements.

2. Technical Costing and Negotiations

- Develop should-cost models for laminates, cartons and other packaging materials.
- Break down supplier quotations into raw-material cost, printing cost, cylinder cost, adhesive, ink, wastage, conversion, freight and supplier margin.
- Negotiate prices based on polymer, aluminium, paperboard and other commodity-price movements.
- Compare suppliers on cost per kilogram, cost per square metre, cost per pouch and cost per finished pack.




- Evaluate the cost impact of changes in dimensions, micron, GSM, sealing width, repeat length and laminate structure.
- Challenge supplier quotations using technical consumption calculations and market benchmarks.
- Negotiate MOQs, credit terms, lead times, development charges, cylinders and annual rate contracts.

3. Flexible Packaging and Printing

- Evaluate multilayer laminates, co-extruded films, metallised films, aluminium-foil structures and barrier laminates.
- Understand printing and conversion processes such as rotogravure, flexographic printing, lamination, slitting and pouch making.
- Review cylinder layouts, repeat lengths, web widths, lane utilization and material yield.
- Coordinate artwork adaptation, shade matching, cylinder development, print trials and final production approval.
- Monitor issues such as delamination, tunnelling, pinholes, poor sealing, ink transfer, odour, colour variation and roll-tension problems.
- Optimize laminate structures and dimensions to reduce material consumption without compromising quality.

4. FFS Machine Compatibility

- Ensure packaging materials are compatible with vertical and horizontal FFS machines.
- Evaluate web width, roll diameter, core size, eye-mark placement, registration, film tension, coefficient of friction and sealing range.
- Coordinate packaging trials on FFS machines and resolve sealing, cutting, tracking and film-pulling issues.
- Assess the impact of packaging specifications on machine speed, rejection rate and material wastage.
- Work with machine manufacturers and packaging suppliers to improve overall packaging-line performance.

5. Supplier Development and Quality Control

- Identify, evaluate and develop domestic and international packaging suppliers.
- Conduct supplier capability assessments and technical audits.
- Coordinate sample development, laboratory testing, machine trials and commercial approvals.
- Monitor supplier performance across quality, cost, delivery and responsiveness.
- Investigate packaging failures and implement corrective and preventive actions with suppliers.




- Develop alternate suppliers for critical packaging materials to reduce supply risk.

6. Procurement and Inventory Coordination

- Obtain quotations, prepare technical comparisons and finalize packaging-material purchases.
- Create purchase orders and track materials through production, dispatch and quality clearance.
- Coordinate with Production and Planning teams to ensure uninterrupted availability.
- Monitor inventory levels, consumption, ageing, obsolete packaging and minimum order quantities.
- Manage artwork revisions and control the financial exposure from old or discontinued packaging.
- Prepare MIS covering purchase value, cost savings, price movements, quality issues and supplier performance.

Qualifications and Skills

- Degree or Postgraduate Diploma from the Indian Institute of Packaging is strongly preferred.
- 37 years of experience in packaging development, packaging procurement, flexible packaging or packaging-quality functions.
- Strong technical understanding of multilayer laminates, printed films, mono cartons and corrugated packaging.
- Knowledge of polymers, aluminium foil, paperboard, inks, adhesives, coatings and printing processes.
- Ability to calculate packaging consumption, material yield and cost per finished unit.
- Experience with technical cost negotiations and supplier quotation analysis.
- Familiarity with FFS machines and high-speed packaging operations is highly desirable.
- Strong Excel, analytical, negotiation and supplier-management skills.
- Experience in FMCG, food, beverages, coffee, confectionery or packaged foods will be preferred.

Who You Are

- Technically strong and commercially sharp.
- Comfortable discussing laminate structures with converters and costs with commercial teams.
- Able to challenge over-specification, excessive wastage and unsupported price increases.
- Detail-oriented and capable of identifying small specification changes that produce significant annual savings.
- Hands-on and comfortable working with suppliers, machines, production teams and senior management.

Why Join Us?

- Manage packaging development and procurement for rapidly growing FMCG brands.
- Work across flexible packaging, cartons and high-speed FFS applications.
- Lead technical cost optimization projects with substantial business impact.
- Gain direct exposure to high-value negotiations and major packaging suppliers.

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