Role & responsibilities

To manage end-to-end procurement of raw materials, ingredients, packaging materials, engineering spares, consumables, and services required for food manufacturing operations. The Purchase Manager will ensure timely availability of materials at optimum cost while maintaining quality standards, supplier reliability, inventory efficiency, and compliance with company policies.

The role is responsible for reducing procurement costs, developing reliable supplier networks, negotiating competitive prices, and ensuring uninterrupted production.

A. Raw Material Procurement

- Plan and procure fruits, vegetables, spices, edible oils, salt, sugar, preservatives, and other ingredients required for production.
- Develop procurement plans based on production schedules, sales forecasts, inventory levels, and seasonal availability.
- Identify reliable suppliers, farmers, aggregators, wholesalers, and manufacturers.
- Ensure raw materials meet approved quality specifications and delivery schedules.
- Coordinate with Production and Quality Control teams to resolve material shortages and quality rejections.
- Monitor seasonal price fluctuations and develop appropriate procurement strategies.
- Establish procurement arrangements for seasonal agricultural commodities to ensure availability throughout the year.

B. Packaging Material Procurement

- Procure jars, bottles, pouches, containers, caps, labels, cartons, corrugated boxes, and other packaging materials.
- Ensure packaging materials comply with approved specifications and applicable food-contact requirements.
- Coordinate with Production, Quality, and Marketing teams for packaging specifications and artwork approvals.
- Monitor packaging material consumption, rejection, wastage, and supplier performance.
- Develop alternate suppliers to minimize dependency and avoid production disruptions.

C. Supplier Development and Management

- Identify, evaluate, and approve suppliers based on price, quality, capacity, reliability, and compliance.
- Maintain an updated approved supplier database.
- Negotiate commercial terms, credit periods, payment conditions, delivery schedules, and minimum order quantities.
- Conduct supplier performance reviews and coordinate supplier audits with the Quality team where required.
- Develop long-term relationships with strategic suppliers.
- Establish alternative sources for critical raw materials and packaging materials.
- Resolve supplier disputes, delivery delays, and recurring quality issues.

D.



Purchase Planning and Inventory Control

- Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly procurement plans.
- Review stock levels, minimum and maximum inventory, reorder points, and lead times.
- Coordinate with Stores, Production Planning, and Finance to avoid stockouts and excess inventory.
- Ensure purchase orders are released within approved budgets and authorization limits.
- Monitor slow-moving, non-moving, and excess inventory.
- Optimize inventory holding costs without affecting production continuity.
- Ensure procurement planning considers raw material shelf life, seasonal availability, storage capacity, and product demand.

E. Cost Reduction and Commercial Negotiation

- Negotiate competitive prices with suppliers and service providers.
- Conduct price comparisons, market surveys, and cost analysis before finalizing purchases.
- Identify cost-saving opportunities through bulk buying, annual contracts, alternate sourcing, and supplier consolidation.
- Monitor commodity price trends and evaluate their impact on product manufacturing costs.
- Track savings against approved baseline prices and procurement budgets.
- Analyse total procurement cost, including freight, taxes, handling, quality losses, and payment terms.
- Support management in achieving product cost and gross margin targets.

F. Purchase Order and Documentation Management

- Ensure purchase requisitions are received, reviewed, and approved before procurement.
- Generate purchase orders in accordance with company procedures and delegation of authority.
- Maintain quotations, comparative statements, purchase orders, contracts, and supplier correspondence.
- Ensure proper documentation for goods receipt, invoices, purchase returns, and debit notes.
- Coordinate with Finance for invoice verification, payment processing, and supplier account reconciliation.
- Ensure procurement transactions are transparent, traceable, and audit-ready.
- Monitor open purchase orders and follow up on pending deliveries.

G. Coordination with Internal Departments

- Production: Ensure timely material availability as per production plans.
- Quality Control:



Obtain approved specifications, coordinate incoming inspections, and resolve quality rejections.
- Stores: Monitor stock levels, goods receipt, storage capacity, and material reconciliation.
- Finance: Control procurement budgets, verify invoices, and manage payment terms.
- R&D;: Procure ingredients and packaging for product development and trials.
- Maintenance: Procure machinery spares, tools, lubricants, and engineering consumables.
- Sales and Planning: Align procurement with demand forecasts and dispatch commitments.

H. Compliance and Risk Management

- Follow company procurement policies and approval procedures.
- Ensure applicable food safety, packaging, statutory, and supplier documentation requirements are met.
- Maintain traceability and supplier records for food ingredients and food-contact packaging materials.
- Identify supply chain risks, including seasonal shortages, price volatility, supplier dependency, and logistics disruptions.
- Ensure ethical procurement practices and avoid conflicts of interest.
- Maintain confidentiality of supplier quotations, commercial terms, and contracts.

I. Team Management and Reporting

- Supervise purchase executives, buyers, and procurement coordinators.
- Allocate procurement responsibilities and monitor individual performance.
- Establish systems for purchase planning, order tracking, and supplier follow-up.
- Prepare monthly reports on purchase value, cost savings, price variations, inventory, and supplier performance.
- Conduct periodic reviews of procurement efficiency and implement process improvements.

Educational Qualification

- Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Agriculture, or a related discipline.
- MBA or postgraduate qualification in Supply Chain Management / Materials Management is desirable.
- Knowledge of procurement systems, inventory management, Excel, and ERP software is preferred.

Experience Required

- 1015 years of experience in procurement or purchase management in food processing, FMCG, or a related manufacturing industry.
- At least 3 years in a purchase supervisory or managerial role.
- Experience in raw material, agricultural commodity, packaging material, and engineering procurement.
- Experience in supplier development, commercial negotiations, cost analysis, and inventory control.
- Experience in pickle, sauce, condiment, spice, or other processed food manufacturing is an advantage.

📌 Purchase Manager (Bengaluru)
🏢 Swastiks Masalas
📍 Bengaluru