Head - Supply/Demand Central Planning (8-10 yrs)

Job Title: Head Central Planning

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka

About the Company:

Our client is one of India's leading technology-enabled pre-owned two-wheeler platforms, backed by a renowned automotive group. The company is transforming the used vehicle ecosystem by bringing transparency, operational excellence, and trust across retail, finance, and digital channels. As part of its growth journey, the company is looking for a Head Central Planning to lead inventory planning, supply chain optimization, and cross-functional execution at scale.

Role Overview:

The Head Central Planning will be responsible for balancing three key business objectives:

- Maximizing sales enablement and ensuring business continuity

- Driving inventory health and operational efficiency

- Aligning inventory strategy with profitability objectives

The role requires balancing demand fulfilment, inventory health, procurement realities, operational throughput, and commercial performance to drive sustainable business growth.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Sales Enablement & Business Continuity:

- Ensure consistent inventory availability across all locations to support uninterrupted sales operations.

- Maintain an optimal product mix aligned with market demand and business targets.

- Partner with sales teams to support monthly targets through effective inventory deployment.

- Balance sales demand with procurement capacity and operational constraints.

- Oversee daily planning, fulfilment, and dispatch operations.

- Coordinate with procurement, operations, quality, and fulfilment teams to ensure seamless inventory movement.

2. Inventory Health & Operational Excellence:

- Drive end-to-end inventory planning and turnaround time management across procurement, distribution, quality inspection, and pre-delivery processes.

- Maintain overall inventory turnaround below defined business targets.

- Prevent fresh procurement from entering ageing inventory buckets.

- Monitor ageing inventory and execute structured liquidation strategies.

- Identify operational bottlenecks and improve throughput across the supply chain.

- Enhance working capital efficiency through disciplined inventory governance and planning.

- Establish robust planning, tracking, reporting, and review mechanisms.

3. Profitability-Focused Inventory Planning:

- Align inventory mix with overall profitability and margin objectives.

- Drive the right balance across different product categories to improve ticket size and contribution margins.

- Collaborate with procurement and sales teams to optimize inventory composition.

- Balance inventory movement with commercial objectives rather than focusing solely on volume.

- Continuously monitor inventory quality to ensure growth without compromising profitability.

Preferred Experience:

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business Administration.

- MBA preferred.

- Certifications such as APICS CSCP or Six Sigma will be an added advantage.

- 8-10 years of overall experience, including 45 years in senior planning or supply chain leadership roles.

- Experience in Automotive, Two-Wheeler, EV, Consumer Durables, or similar industries is highly preferred.

Strong expertise in:

1. Inventory Planning

2. Demand & Supply Planning

3. Inventory Ageing Management

4. Turnaround Time (TAT) Improvement

5. Multi-location Operations

6. Cross-functional Stakeholder Management

- Strong commercial acumen with experience in inventory mix optimization, margin improvement, and operational planning.