Imports, Exports & Trade Operations

Location: Mumbai / Thane / Bhiwandi / Lucknow

Function: EXIM / Supply Chain / Trade Operations

About Arboreal

Arboreal is an award-winning ingredients technology company specializing in the development of innovative and functional food and nutraceutical ingredients.

Our mission is to enable pioneering brands with differentiated ingredient solutions that improve taste, texture, nutrition and functionality. We work closely with leading and emerging food, nutraceutical and Better-for-You brands to develop, launch and scale category-defining products.

Our ingredient platforms span alternative proteins, sugar reduction and sweetening solutions, cacao-based ingredients, collagen, functional nutrition and specialty food ingredients.

Arboreal is co-founded and led by Swati Pandey (IIT, Imperial College London), Manish Chauhan (BITS Pilani, London Business School) and Suresh Chander (University of Helsinki, Anna University).

For our pioneering work, Arboreal has been recognized through the National Startup Award – Food Processing (2021), BIRAC Grant from the Department of Biotechnology, Cartier Women’s Initiative Award – APAC, and Women Transforming India Award by NITI Aayog, amongst others.

As Arboreal scales its international sourcing and export business, we are looking for an experienced and execution-oriented Senior EXIM Executive to manage end-to-end import and export operations across our ingredient portfolio.

Role Description The Senior EXIM Executive will be responsible for managing the operational execution of Arboreal’s import and export shipments, including documentation, customs coordination, freight management, regulatory interfaces and shipment tracking.

The role will work closely with Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain, Finance, Quality, Regulatory, Warehouse, CHA partners, freight forwarders, shipping lines and overseas suppliers/customers to ensure that international shipments move reliably, compliantly and at competitive landed cost.

This is not a documentation-only role.

We are looking for someone who understands the complete lifecycle of an international shipment—from purchase order and shipping instructions through documentation, customs clearance, port operations, delivery and final reconciliation.

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, commercially aware and capable of resolving exceptions quickly when shipments do not go according to plan.

Key Responsibilities

1. Import Operations

Manage end-to-end execution of import shipments.

Coordinate

- Purchase orders
- Proforma invoices
- Shipping instructions
- Commercial invoices
- Packing lists
- Certificates of Origin
- Bills of Lading / Airway Bills
- Insurance documents
- Product certificates
- Regulatory documentation

Track shipments from supplier dispatch through final delivery at Arboreal’s warehouse or manufacturing facility.

2. Export Operations

Manage export shipments from order confirmation through customer delivery. Coordinate:

- Export invoices
- Packing lists
- Shipping bills
- Certificates of Origin
- Transport documentation
- Bill of Lading / Airway Bill
- Customer-specific certificates
- Export regulatory documentation
- Freight bookings

Ensure shipments comply with destination-country and customer requirements.

3. Customs Clearance

Coordinate closely with Customs House Agents and customs brokers for timely clearance of import and export consignments.

Ensure availability and accuracy of all supporting documents required for filing. Monitor:

- Bill of Entry filing
- Shipping Bill filing
- Customs queries
- Assessments
- Examination requirements
- Duty payments
- Out-of-charge status

Proactively resolve delays and documentation gaps.

4. HS Classification & Customs Documentation

Support correct classification and documentation of products under applicable HSN / Customs Tariff headings.

Maintain organized records of

- Product classifications
- Product descriptions
- Specifications
- Technical documents
- Previous Bills of Entry
- Regulatory approvals

Escalate classification ambiguity to senior Supply Chain, Finance or Regulatory teams rather than making unsupported assumptions.

5. Freight Forwarder & Shipping Line Coordination

Manage relationships with

- Freight forwarders
- Shipping lines
- Airlines
- Consolidators
- Transporters

Obtain and compare freight quotations.

Coordinate

- Vessel schedules
- Sailing dates
- Cut-offs
- Transshipment
- Container availability
- Delivery orders
- Detention / demurrage timelines

Ensure stakeholders have timely visibility into shipment status.

6. Freight & Landed Cost Management

Maintain shipment-level landed-cost visibility including:

- Ocean / air freight
- Customs duties
- IGST
- CHA charges
- Port charges
- CFS charges
- Transportation
- Insurance
- Detention / demurrage
- Other incidental costs

Support Supply Chain and Finance teams in analyzing total landed cost and identifying opportunities for savings.

7.



Import Regulatory Coordination

Coordinate documentation required under applicable regulatory frameworks, which may include:

- FSSAI
- Plant Quarantine
- Legal Metrology
- DGFT
- Customs
- Other product-specific agencies

Work closely with Quality and Regulatory teams to ensure documents are available before cargo arrival.

8. FSSAI Import Clearance For food and nutraceutical ingredients, coordinate relevant documentation and processes related to FSSAI import clearance.

Track

- Applications
- Sampling
- Laboratory testing
- NOCs
- Documentation queries
- Clearance status

Ensure regulatory delays are escalated early.

9. Duty & Trade Agreement Management

Support utilization of applicable

- Free Trade Agreements
- Preferential duty benefits
- Certificates of Origin
- Customs notifications
- Duty exemptions

Verify that required documentation is received from suppliers before shipment wherever preferential duty treatment is intended.

10. Shipment Planning

Work with Supply Chain and Strategic Sourcing teams to plan import schedules based on:

- Demand
- Inventory levels
- Supplier lead times
- Production schedules
- Vessel availability
- Port congestion
- Regulatory lead times

Help prevent both stock-outs and unnecessary inventory buildup.

11. Documentation Accuracy

Ensure accuracy and consistency across:

- Purchase order
- Commercial invoice
- Packing list
- Bill of Lading
- Certificate of Origin
- Insurance
- Product specification
- Regulatory documents
- Bill of Entry

Identify discrepancies before filing wherever possible.

12. Demurrage & Detention Control

Track free periods and cargo clearance timelines carefully. Proactively coordinate with relevant teams to minimize:

- Demurrage
- Detention
- Ground rent
- Port storage
- Avoidable late charges

Investigate the root cause of any recurring cost leakage.

13. Container & Port Operations

Coordinate activities involving

- Container movement
- CFS
- Port operations
- Delivery orders
- Empty-container returns
- Direct port delivery where applicable

Track documentation and operational milestones until containers are successfully closed.

14. Supplier Coordination

Communicate directly with international suppliers regarding:

- Shipping schedules
- Documentation
- Packaging
- Product identification
- Certificates
- Dispatch status
- Vessel booking

Ensure suppliers understand Arboreal’s import-documentation requirements.

15. Export Customer Coordination For exports, coordinate with customers on:

- Shipping instructions
- Incoterms
- Documentation
- Packing
- Dispatch timelines
- Destination requirements

Ensure commitments made to customers are executable and clearly communicated.

16. Incoterms & Commercial Terms

Maintain working knowledge of Incoterms such as:

- EXW
- FCA
- FOB
- CFR
- CIF
- DAP
- DDP

Understand the operational and cost implications of each and ensure responsibilities are clearly documented.

17. Payment & Banking Documentation

Coordinate with Finance on international-trade documentation relating to:

- Advance payments
- Letters of Credit
- Documents against payment
- Documents against acceptance
- Bank remittances
- Foreign currency payments

Ensure payment and shipment documentation remain aligned.

18. Import / Export MIS

Maintain accurate trackers covering

- Open shipments
- ETD / ETA
- Clearance status
- Pending documents
- Freight costs
- Duty costs
- Demurrage / detention
- Port delays
- Supplier performance
- Shipment exceptions

Provide management with timely visibility rather than waiting for shipment issues to escalate.

19. Shipment Reconciliation

After completion of each shipment, reconcile:

- Supplier invoice
- Freight invoices
- CHA bills
- Customs duty
- Transport bills
- Port charges
- Other logistics costs

Ensure costs are allocated correctly and unexplained charges are investigated.

20. Compliance & Record Keeping

Maintain systematic records of EXIM documentation for audit and regulatory purposes. Support:

- Customs audits
- GST audits
- Internal audits
- Financial audits
- DGFT-related reviews
- Regulatory inspections

Ensure documents are retrievable quickly and maintained for applicable statutory periods.

21. Exception Management

Take ownership when shipments encounter problems such as:

- Documentation mismatch
- Customs query
- Port congestion
- Vessel delay
- Cargo hold
- Regulatory sampling
- Short shipment
- Damaged cargo
- Detention risk

Coordinate stakeholders and drive the issue through to closure.

22. Process Improvement





Continuously improve Arboreal’s EXIM processes through:

- Standardized documentation checklists
- Better shipment trackers
- Freight benchmarking
- Supplier shipping guidelines
- Stronger pre-shipment document review
- Better visibility of costs and timelines The objective is to build an EXIM function that is predictable, compliant and highly responsive.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have

- 5–8 years of relevant experience in EXIM, imports, exports, international logistics or trade operations.
- Strong hands-on exposure to import clearance and customs documentation in India.
- Prior experience in food ingredients, nutraceuticals, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, speciality chemicals, chemicals or industrial products would be strongly preferred.
- Practical knowledge of:

o Bill of Entry o Shipping Bill o Bill of Lading o Commercial Invoice o Packing List o Certificate of Origin o Customs clearance o Freight forwarding o Port operations o Incoterms

- Experience coordinating with CHAs, freight forwarders, shipping lines and international suppliers.
- Familiarity with FSSAI import procedures would be a significant advantage.
- Understanding of HS classification and customs duties.
- Good working knowledge of international freight and landed-cost calculations.
- Strong proficiency in Excel / Google Sheets and shipment tracking.
- Strong documentation discipline and attention to detail.
- Excellent follow-up and coordination skills.

12.Ability to remain calm and execution-focused when shipments face operational delays.

- High ownership and a strong bias for closure.
- Ability to independently handle multiple concurrent shipments.
- Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Supply Chain, Logistics, International Business, Business Administration or a related discipline.

Qualifications or certifications in EXIM, International Trade, Customs or Logistics would be an advantage but are not mandatory.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means Arboreal’s international shipments move with high predictability and minimal avoidable disruption.

We would expect

- High on-time clearance performance
- Accurate import and export documentation
- Minimal customs documentation errors
- Lower demurrage and detention costs
- Strong freight-cost control
- Better visibility into shipment status
- Timely regulatory clearances
- Clean shipment-level cost reconciliation
- Stronger supplier documentation discipline
- Fewer emergency escalations
- High audit and compliance readiness The EXIM team should be able to answer, at any point:

Where is the shipment? What is pending? When will it clear? And what will it finally cost us?

What We Offer

1. High Ownership

International trade is strategically important to Arboreal’s sourcing and commercial operations.

You will have direct responsibility for ensuring critical materials and customer shipments move across borders reliably.

2. Global Exposure

You will regularly work with international suppliers, customers, logistics partners and regulatory ecosystems across multiple countries.

3. Complex Trade Operations

Arboreal operates across specialized ingredients where EXIM requires more than routine container movement.

You will gain exposure to customs, regulatory clearance, technical documentation, trade agreements and complex international supply chains.

4. Competitive Compensation & Growth

We offer competitive compensation based on experience, capability and track record.

We do not follow conventional industry norms of linear compensation growth. Arboreal provides disproportionate qualified and financial growth opportunities to exceptional performers.

Strong performers can grow into broader roles across EXIM, International Logistics, Supply Chain and Global Trade Operations.

Please Do Not Apply If

- You have primarily worked as a documentation assistant without independently owning shipments.
- You depend entirely on the CHA or freight forwarder to tell you what is happening with a shipment.
- You are casual about customs and regulatory documentation.
- You do not proactively track shipments and instead wait for issues to be escalated.
- You consider demurrage and detention simply unavoidable logistics costs.
- You are uncomfortable working across multiple stakeholders and time zones.
- You require repeated supervision to close shipment-related tasks.
- You struggle to maintain accurate documentation and shipment trackers.
- You are uncomfortable taking ownership when a shipment is delayed or stuck. We are highly selective about the people we hire.

For this role, we are looking for someone who combines EXIM expertise, documentation discipline, commercial awareness, urgency and relentless follow-through.

If a shipment is stuck at port, your instinct should be to find out exactly what is holding it up, who needs to act and how quickly it can be resolved.

The role can be based in Mumbai, Thane, Bhiwandi or Lucknow, depending on the candidate’s experience and proximity to relevant logistics operations.

📌 Senior EXIM Executive (Lucknow)
🏢 Arboreal
📍 Lucknow