Ferns N Petals - Head - Operations

Head - Operations (10-20 yrs)
Role Purpose
The Head of Operations will own end-to-end operational excellence across Supply Chain, Production, CFC/Fulfilment, Retail (COCO & Dark Stores), and overall Operations. This role is accountable for ensuring seamless execution from procurement to last-mile readiness, especially during high-volume seasonal peaks.
The role requires a hands-on operator and builder who can scale operations, drive cost efficiency, manage perishables, and lead large multi-city teams while balancing speed, quality, and customer promise.
Key Responsibilities

• End-to-End Operations Ownership
• Own complete operations lifecycle: Procurement Production Warehousing, CFC/Fulfilment Retail/Dark Stores
• Act as the single point of accountability for operational performance, SLAs, and execution discipline
• Ensure alignment between Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Retail, and Production
• Supply Chain & Warehousing
• Oversee inbound logistics, vendor management, inventory planning, and line-haul movement
• Drive inventory accuracy, ageing control, shrinkage reduction, and cost optimization
• Build scalable warehouse and distribution models to support growth and peak volumes
• Production & Central Kitchens
• Own production planning for flowers, gifting, personalization, and allied categories
• Manage perishables handling, yield improvement, wastage reduction, and quality control
• Ensure production capacity planning aligned with demand forecasts and peak requirements
• CFC / Fulfilment Operations
• Ensure CFC readiness across cities for pick-pack-dispatch SLAs
  
• Drive OTIF, order cycle time reduction, manpower productivity, and dispatch accuracy
• Lead peak-day fulfilment strategy including cut-offs, batching, buffers, and contingencies
• Retail Operations (COCO & Dark Stores)
• Oversee COCO stores and dark store operations ensuring customer readiness
• Drive SOP standardization, manpower planning, training, and compliance
• Ensure strong linkage between retail promise and backend fulfilment capability
• Peak Planning & Seasonal Execution (Critical)
• Own end-to-end planning for seasonal spikes (Valentine s Day, Mother s Day, Rakhi, Diwali, etc.)
• Lead demand forecasting, capacity ramp-up, manpower planning, and risk mitigation
• Ensure zero-surprise execution during peak business periods
• Process, Cost & Metrics
• Define and track KPIs: OTIF, cost per order, wastage %, inventory turns, fulfilment TAT
• Drive SOPs, automation, and continuous process improvement
• Own operational budgets, cost controls, and productivity improvements
• Leadership & Team Management
• Lead and develop senior leaders across Supply Chain, Production, Fulfilment, Retail, and Ops
• Manage large multi-city teams (blue-collar + white-collar)
• Drive performance culture, accountability, and cross-functional collaboration
  

Must-Have Skills
Key Skills & Competencies:

• Strong end-to-end operations leadership experience
• Deep understanding of perishables, time-sensitive fulfilment, and peak-driven businesses
• Excellent data-driven decision-making and financial acumen
• Proven experience in multi-city, multi-format operations
• Strong stakeholder management and execution discipline
  

Preferred Skills

• Experience with omni-channel retail or quick-commerce models
• Exposure to automation, WMS, OMS, and fulfilment tech platforms
• Ability to scale operations in fast-growing, high-pressure environments
  

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Experience: 10 - 18 years in Operations / Supply Chain / Fulfilment
• Background: Gifting, Flowers, Food-tech, Q-commerce, Omni-channel Retail
• Proven track record of managing large teams (100 500+) and multi-city operations
  

(ref:iimjobs.com)