About this role
Responsibilities & Key Deliverables
The Deputy General Manager - Sourcing & Procurement will lead the strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier ecosystem development, cost leadership, and category management for Vehicle Accessories and Lifestyle Merchandise businesses. The role will own a sourcing portfolio predominantly comprising automotive accessories including trims, sheet metal parts, alloy wheels, lamps, electrical and electronic accessories, and bought-out components, while also overseeing lifestyle merchandise categories such as apparel, travel gear, leather goods, gifting, and branded merchandise. The incumbent will drive sourcing strategy, localization, supplier innovation, cost optimization, zero-based costing, should-costing excellence, risk mitigation, and business growth through a high-performing supplier network while leading a team of sourcing managers.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute long-term sourcing strategies across Vehicle Accessories and Lifestyle Merchandise categories aligned with business growth, profitability, and customer experience objectives.
- Lead category management for automotive accessories including trims, sheet metal components, fabricated parts, alloy wheels, decorative components, lamps, electrical and electronic accessories, connected accessories, and aftermarket products.
- Drive supplier ecosystem development, supplier consolidation, strategic partnerships, localization programs, and alternate sourcing strategies to strengthen supply resilience and competitiveness.
- Establish world-class sourcing practices including Should-Costing, Zero-Based Costing (ZBC), cost modelling, benchmarking, TCO analysis, and value engineering to deliver sustainable cost reduction.
- Lead commercial negotiations, annual rate contracts, tooling investments, long-term agreements, payment terms, and productivity initiatives to achieve annual procurement savings targets.
- Monitor commodity markets, technology trends, and cost drivers across metals, polymers, electronics, textiles, apparel, leather, trims, and packaging categories.
- Drive new product sourcing and supplier readiness for vehicle launches, accessory portfolio expansion, lifestyle merchandise introductions, and aftermarket programs.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Product Development, Marketing, Quality, Manufacturing, SCM, Sales, and Finance teams to ensure alignment of sourcing decisions with business objectives.
- Oversee merchandise sourcing for apparel, travel accessories, leather goods, corporate gifting, and promotional products, ensuring quality, delivery, brand compliance, and cost competitiveness.
- Strengthen supplier governance through performance reviews, audits, scorecards, risk assessments, and capability enhancement initiatives.
- Drive localization, import substitution, and supplier innovation initiatives to improve margins and reduce supply-chain dependencies.
- Lead inventory optimization, procurement planning, capacity reviews, and demand-supply balancing to ensure continuity and working capital efficiency.
- Establish robust MIS, procurement dashboards, category analytics, supplier scorecards, cost trackers, and executive reviews to support data-driven decision-making.
- Ensure compliance with procurement policies, ESG expectations, contractual obligations, audit requirements, and governance standards.
- Build and mentor a high-performing sourcing team while driving capability development and succession planning.
Education Qualification
Essential
- Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical, Automobile, Production, Industrial, Electrical, Electronics Engineering, Textile Engineering, Fashion Technology, Supply Chain Management, or related discipline.
Preferred
- MBA/PGDM in Supply Chain, Operations, Procurement, Materials Management, General Management, or Marketing.
- Certifications in Strategic Sourcing, CIPS, CPSM, Cost Engineering, Six Sigma, Lean, VA/VE, APQP, PPAP, or Supplier Quality.
General Experience
- 18-20 years of experience in Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, Supplier Development, Category Management, or Supply Chain.
- Minimum 10 years managing complex sourcing portfolios and supplier ecosystems.
- Strong experience in automotive accessories sourcing, costing, localization, supplier development, and commercial negotiations.
- Exposure to lifestyle merchandise, apparel, travel gear, leather goods, gifting, or consumer products sourcing.
- Proven track record of delivering procurement savings, cost transformation initiatives, and sourcing-driven business growth.
- Experience leading teams and managing senior stakeholder relationships.
Critical Competencies
- Strategic Sourcing & Category Management
- Should Costing & Zero-Based Costing (ZBC)
- Cost Optimization & Value Engineering
- Supplier Development & Localization
- Commercial Negotiation & Contract Management
- Automotive Accessories Sourcing
- Apparel & Merchandise Procurement
- Commodity Management
- Supply Risk Management
- Data Analytics, MIS & Procurement Dashboards
- Inventory & Working Capital Optimization
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Team Management & Stakeholder Management