Chief Operating Officer - Manufacturing - Apparel/Garment/Textile

INTERIM TEXTILE LEADERSHIP POSITION COO - MANUFACTURING

Assignment: Interim - 6 Months plus

Reporting to: CEO

Experience: 20 - 35 years

Industry: Apparel / Garment / Textile Manufacturing

About the Organisation:

Our client is a well-established, promoter-led Indian apparel and performance-clothing manufacturing group with more than three decades of operating heritage.

The Group has a large multi-location manufacturing footprint, a workforce of 8,000+ professionals and annual production capacity exceeding 20 million garments. Its businesses span rainwear, winterwear, work & safety wear, institutional/corporate apparel, fabrics and emerging climate-performance clothing.

The Group is now entering an important phase of professionalisation, scale and operational transformation, requiring stronger operating governance across its manufacturing network.

Role Purpose

The COO will lead all manufacturing operations across the company's four geographic locations and drive the expansion plan. The mandate is to transform the organisation into a system-driven, technology-enabled business running best-in-class manufacturing practices, with standardised processes across every plant. The COO is the CEO's key partner in scaling the business profitably, reliably and compliantly.

Key Responsibilities

1. Operations Leadership

• Own end-to-end operations (cutting, stitching, seam sealing, finishing, packing, fabric coating and in-house labs) across all four manufacturing locations, with the Madhya Pradesh facility as the largest and most critical.
• Deliver on-time-in-full performance, cost, quality and capacity utilisation targets for domestic, export and institutional order books.
• Manage seasonal peaks (rainwear and winterwear) through demand-linked production planning, capacity flexing and workforce planning.
• Lead and develop plant heads and functional heads; build a strong succession bench.

2. Manufacturing Excellence

• Institutionalise lean manufacturing, industrial engineering, line balancing, SMV/standard-time practices and continuous improvement across plants.
• Improve efficiency, productivity per operator, throughput, rework, wastage and fabric utilisation.
• Strengthen quality systems, including in-line and end-line QA, testing and global buyer compliance.

3. Process Standardisation

• Design and roll out common SOPs, KPIs, review cadences and plant scorecards across all locations.
• Create a single operating model so best practices from one plant can be replicated across the others.

4. Systems and Technology Transformation

• Lead transformative digitisation and rollout/integration of SAP, Solvi8, GreatyHR and relevant ERP/MES, planning, production tracking and HRMS capabilities; ensure end-to-end process integration across manufacturing, supply chain, finance, HR and quality.
• Move the organisation to data-driven decision making through reliable, timely management information systems, standardised plant/group dashboards, disciplined master data, clear data ownership and routine source-to-report validation.
• Evaluate automation and modern machinery to improve productivity and quality.

5. Expansion and Capex

• Plan and execute capacity expansion, new facilities and line additions: site readiness, layout, machinery, hiring and ramp-up.
• Build business cases and manage capex budgets and returns.

6. Supply Chain and Cost

• Partner with sourcing, planning, logistics and commercial teams on raw-material availability, vendor performance and inventory.
• Own conversion cost, operating budgets and margin improvement.

7. People, Compliance and Sustainability

• Work with HR on workforce productivity, skilling, attrition, industrial relations and a safe, engaged shop floor.
• Ensure statutory, labour, safety, environmental and social compliance, and buyer audit readiness.
• Support the company's women-empowerment and skilling initiatives and its sustainability agenda.

8. Strategy and Governance

• Contribute to business strategy and annual operating plans as a member of the leadership team.
• Report operational performance, risks and progress against transformation milestones to the CEO and Board.

9. Operating System, KPI Ownership and Transformation Governance

• Own the business-side transformation roadmap for SAP, Solvi8 and GreatyHR, working with IT and functional leaders to integrate processes, eliminate duplicate/manual records and establish trusted management information.
• Ensure system implementation is business-led: process design, data cleansing, user acceptance testing, role-based training, adoption tracking, access controls, exception handling and benefits realisation must be documented.
• Establish a 30-60-90 day diagnostic and transformation plan with validated baselines, priority gaps, accountable owners, milestones and measurable benefits.
• Translate group goals into plant and functional targets; conduct monthly performance reviews and document any approved target changes.
• Document KPI definitions, data sources, calculation methods and accountability; validate reported savings and benefits with Finance.
• Escalate material service, quality, safety, compliance, capacity and inventory risks promptly to the CEO with containment and recovery plans.

Candidate Profile

Experience

• 18-25 years in apparel or garment manufacturing, with at least 7-10 years in senior leadership roles (VP/Head Operations or equivalent) at a reputed apparel manufacturer.
• Proven record of running multi-location, high-volume operations (millions of units a year) and of delivering productivity and cost improvements.
• Experience with a major expansion, greenfield or brownfield project, and with ERP or digital manufacturing transformation.
• Exposure to export and global-buyer compliance. Technical or outerwear categories (rainwear, winterwear, workwear) are an advantage.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Textile, Apparel, Production or Industrial Engineering or similar (NIFT, textile institutes or engineering). MBA or equivalent is preferred.
• Comfortable and hands-on with SAP, Solvi8 and GreatyHR, with the ability to lead transformative digitisation, ERP-enabled process integration and management information systems across multi-location manufacturing operations.
• Able to translate operational requirements into system workflows, master-data discipline, user adoption, dashboards, controls and reliable real-time decision support; personally drive implementation with IT, HR, Finance, Supply Chain and plant teams.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong grounding in lean, industrial engineering and continuous improvement; Six Sigma or Lean certification is a plus.
• Systems thinker with comfort in data, dashboards and technology.
• Ability to lead large, diverse workforces and shop-floor teams with credibility.
• Change leadership: can standardise processes across plants while bringing people along.
• Commercial and financial acumen: P&L awareness, costing, capex evaluation.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management with the CEO, Board, buyers and plant teams.
• Willing to travel frequently to all locations and spend significant time in Madhya Pradesh.

Accelerated Transformation Milestones

First 30 days - Baseline, control and accountability

• Complete a plant-by-plant diagnostic covering delivery, productivity, quality, cost, inventory, maintenance, people, compliance, systems and leadership depth.
• Publish the group KPI dictionary, four plant scorecards, reporting calendar, escalation matrix and named owners; establish daily production and quality review routines.
• Identify critical export/customer compliance gaps, safety risks, bottlenecks and immediate containment actions; present a prioritised recovery plan to the CEO.

By the end of Month 3 - Core operating system implemented

• All four plants run daily management, hourly production tracking, weekly operations reviews and monthly business reviews using common definitions and action logs.
• Critical SOPs and work instructions for production planning, cutting, stitching, seam sealing, coating, finishing, packing, quality release, maintenance, inventory and shipment are issued and deployed.
• Approved SMVs, operation bulletins, line targets, skill matrices, preventive maintenance plans, quality checkpoints and traceability controls are in place for active production.
• Digital or controlled live dashboards provide reliable daily visibility of output, efficiency, quality, absenteeism, downtime, WIP, material availability and order status.
• At least 90% closure of due corrective actions; no overdue critical safety, statutory, product-safety or buyer-compliance findings.

By the end of Month 6 - Export-grade, world-class operating standards

• All plants demonstrate compliance with applicable export customer specifications, approved quality plans, testing requirements, traceability, social compliance and buyer audit requirements.
• Achieve OTIF - 98% or the stricter customer target; final inspection acceptance meets customer AQL and product-specific requirements.
• Achieve - 95% compliance in internal process/system audits, with zero overdue critical findings and evidence of sustained corrective action.
• Demonstrate validated improvements against the Day-30 baseline in efficiency, labour productivity, conversion cost, rework, fabric utilisation, WIP and inventory accuracy.
• Complete mock customer/export audits at all plants and close major findings before customer audit or shipment release; verify readiness through documented evidence.
• Complete a formal Month-6 review with CEO covering benefits realised, residual gaps, risk mitigation and next-stage transformation roadmap.

Key Performance Indicators

Accelerated delivery mandate: most operational systems and core KPI improvements must be delivered within the first 3 months. By Month 6, all four plants must operate to export-grade, customer-compliant and consistently audited standards. The CEO and COO should validate baselines within the first 15 days, agree the final scorecard by Day 30, and review progress weekly. Numerical improvement targets below are proposed benchmarks and must be confirmed against product mix, customer specifications, seasonality and actual baseline performance without weakening applicable buyer or regulatory standards.

1. Delivery, planning and service

• OTIF customer delivery: - 95% by Month 3 and - 98% by Month 6, measured against customer-confirmed delivery dates.
• Production plan adherence: - 95% weekly adherence by Month 3, with daily plan-versus-actual visibility at every plant.
• Schedule freeze adherence: - 95% of frozen production orders completed to sequence, with approved exceptions logged.
• Seasonal readiness: capacity, manpower, material and subcontracting plans approved at least 12 weeks before peak season; risks reviewed weekly.

2. Productivity and manufacturing excellence

• Sewing-line efficiency: improve by 8-10 percentage points from validated baseline within 3 months, with plant/category-specific targets.
• Labour productivity: increase good garments per operator-hour by - 10% within 3 months, adjusted for product mix and complexity.
• Standard time discipline: 100% of active styles have approved SMV, operation bulletin, method and line target before bulk production.
• Daily line management: - 90% of lines reviewed daily against hourly output, bottlenecks, absenteeism and downtime; actions assigned and tracked.
• Continuous improvement: at least 2 documented improvement projects per plant per quarter, with benefits verified by Finance.

3. Quality and customer experience

• First-pass yield: target - 98% for defined critical processes by Month 6, with separate measures for stitching, seam sealing, coating and finishing where applicable.
• Final inspection: - 98% first-pass acceptance or the stricter customer AQL requirement; no shipment released without required quality clearance.
• Rework and repair: reduce rate by - 30% from baseline within 12 months; analyse by style, line, plant and defect category.
• Customer complaints: acknowledge within 2 working days; root-cause/corrective-action plan within 5 working days; reduce repeat complaints by - 50% within 12 months.
• Testing and traceability: 100% of required product, fabric, coating and seam-seal tests completed and released before shipment.

4. Cost, materials and asset utilisation

• Conversion cost: reduce conversion cost per standard minute/garment by - 5% within 3 months on a like-for-like product-mix basis.
• Fabric utilisation: improve fabric yield by - 1 percentage point within 3 months; record and review material losses monthly.
• Inventory accuracy: - 98% location-wise accuracy for fabric, trims, WIP and finished goods, supported by scheduled cycle counts.
• Work-in-progress: reduce WIP days by - 20% from baseline within 3 months without compromising service or quality.
• Critical machine availability: - 95%; preventive maintenance compliance - 95%.

5. Standard operating systems and process governance

• SOP deployment: 100% of critical end-to-end processes mapped, documented, version-controlled and assigned owners by Month 3; - 95% audit compliance by Month
• Common operating model: one set of KPI definitions, review formats, escalation rules and plant scorecards used across all four locations by Month 3.
• Management cadence: daily plant huddles, weekly operations reviews and monthly business reviews at all plants; - 90% action closure by due date.
• Process audits: monthly layered process audits at every plant; - 90% score by Month 3 and - 95% by Month 6, with no overdue critical findings.
• Decision rights: RACI/approval matrix for core operational decisions published by Month 3; exceptions logged and reviewed monthly.

6. ERP, digitalisation and management information

• Digital roadmap: current-state assessment, business case, data ownership and phased implementation roadmap approved by Day 30.
• Production visibility: digital daily reporting of output, efficiency, quality, attendance, downtime, WIP and plan adherence at all plants by Month 3, with - 98% data completeness.
• ERP/MES adoption: 100% of in-scope users trained and - 95% transaction compliance within 90 days of each go-live.
• Management reporting: standard plant/group dashboards issued on time; - 98% accuracy in sampled source-to-report checks.
• Master data governance: - 98% accuracy for style, BOM, routing, SMV, supplier, inventory and production master data, with named owners and change controls.

7. People capability, safety and workforce stability

• Skill matrix: 100% of operators and critical technical roles assessed and mapped by Month 3; training plans created for identified gaps.
• Training effectiveness: - 90% completion of planned training; skill certification linked to quality, productivity and safety standards.
• Succession planning: documented successor/development plans for all plant heads and critical functional leaders by Month 3.
• Absenteeism and attrition: establish reliable baselines in first 60 days; implement plant-specific improvement plans and review progress quarterly.
• Safety: zero fatalities; 100% reporting and investigation of recordable incidents and near misses; - 95% corrective-action closure by due date.

8. Compliance, sustainability and audit readiness

• Compliance: zero overdue statutory filings or critical non-compliances; corrective actions closed within agreed deadlines.
• Audit readiness: current evidence files, training records, licences, risk assessments and buyer-specific records maintained at all plants; mock audits at least twice yearly.
• Environmental controls: 100% compliance with applicable permits and monitoring schedules; monthly review of energy, water, waste and chemical controls where applicable.
• Workforce practices: 100% completion of required labour, workplace conduct, grievance and safety training; grievances tracked to closure.

9. Capex, expansion and financial delivery

• Capex governance: every project has an approved business case, capacity/productivity assumptions, owner, milestones, risk register and post-investment review.
• Project delivery: - 90% of approved milestones achieved on time; final cost within - 5% of approved budget unless formally reapproved.
• Capacity ramp-up: new lines/facilities meet agreed productivity, quality and service milestones within the approved ramp-up plan.
• Benefits realisation: savings, capacity, quality and payback validated quarterly with Finance against the approved business case.

10. Leadership, risk and CEO/Board reporting

• Plant scorecards: all four plants use a balanced scorecard with common definitions, named owners, targets, trends and corrective actions by Month 3.
• Risk management: live operations risk register covering capacity, quality, supply, people, compliance, technology and seasonality; reviewed monthly with the CEO.
• Leadership depth: quarterly talent and organisation review for plant and functional leadership, tracking critical vacancies and capability gaps.
• CEO/Board reporting: monthly dashboard showing KPI trend, forecast, major deviations, root causes, accountable owner, recovery action and due date.

Working Conditions

• Based at Madhya Pradesh, with regular travel to all manufacturing locations and corporate office as required.
• Senior leadership role with direct access to the CEO.