Senior Manager - Staples Buying & Sourcing

Please read the job description very carefully before applying.
We are hiring for a leading B2B platform company in India.
Experience: 5-10 years
Location: Chennai (on-site)
Qualification: Bachelor or Master in any specialization
Job Summary
We are looking for an experienced Staples Sourcing or Staples procurement professional who has experience in commodity sourcing preferably in food/FMCG industry and can communicate in Tamil language.
ABOUT THE ROLE
As the Senior Manager for Staples, you will lead the end-to-end sourcing strategy for high-volume commodity categories (Rice, Pulses, Atta, Sugar, etc.). You will be responsible for building a robust supplychain by bypassing traditional layers and establishing direct relationships with millers, processors, and primary local wholesalers. Your goal is to ensure price leadership, superior quality consistency, and100% fill rates for Kirana partners.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Ecosystem
- Direct-from-Source Strategy: Shift procurement from secondary markets to primary sources.
- Identify and onboard high-capacity millers and processors across key production hubs.

- Strategic Relationship Management: Build and maintain long-term partnerships with national and regional millers to ensure priority supply during lean seasons.
- Wholesale Network: Manage a network of top-tier local wholesalers for rapid "fill-in" procurement to handle sudden spikes in demand.
2. Quality Assurance & Standardization
- Source-Level Quality Control: Implement "Quality at Origin" protocols. This includes visiting mills to inspect raw material (paddy, un-milled pulses) and ensuring the final output matches platform specifications.- SOP Development: Set stringent quality benchmarks (moisture content, foreign matter, grain length) and align the business operations team to ensure these standards are met during inwarding.- Rejection Management: Define and lead the process for handling quality deviations and returns at the vendor end.
3. Market Intelligence & Risk Management
Commodity Positioning: Analyze crop arrivals, monsoon impacts, and government policies (MSP, export bans) to take long-term or short-term inventory positions.
- Price Prediction: Develop a "Price-to-Market" model by tracking Mandi rates and benchmarking them against competitor B2B and B2C platforms.
- Selection & Gap Analysis: Conduct deep-dive market research to identify city-specific preferences (e.g., specific varieties of Sona Masuri or Basmati) and ensure the catalog is optimized for local palates.
4. Operational Leadership
- HO-Field Synergy: Act as the strategic anchor for the Head Office, providing real-time "on-the-ground" intelligence to the Central Category Team to influence national pricing and promotional strategies.
- Procurement Systems: Design and scale digitized procurement workflows to ensure transparency in bidding, PO generation, and vendor reconciliations.
Required Skills:
- Experience: 5-8 years in Commodity Sourcing or Staples Category Management. Deep experience in the "Mandi" ecosystem or working directly with millers is a must.
- Domain Expertise: Strong technical knowledge of staples quality (grading, sorting, and milling processes).
- Negotiation Power: Ability to negotiate at scale with millers and large-scale aggregators to drive down COGS (Cost of Goods Sold).
- Analytical Depth: Advanced proficiency in data-driven decision-making, particularly around inventory hedging and margin management.
The Ideal Candidate:
- You have a "boots-on-the-ground" approach and aren't afraid to spend time at mills or in wholesale markets.
- You understand the nuances of the B2B Kirana trade and how price sensitivity drives loyalty.
- You are a leader who can align cross-functional teams ( Supply Chain, Sales, and Catalog) toward a common margin goal.
Why You Should Apply?
- You'll be a key player in shaping how the brand feels to customers and the local community.
- Be part of exciting, high-energy events that bring people together and make a real difference.
- Creative freedom to come up with cool ideas and see them come to life!
- You'll learn a ton about brand-building and marketing while having fun.
- Work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment where your ideas actually matter.