Head of Fleet Operations

Purpose of the Role

Own end-to-end fleet operations of 70 in house vehicles across all Shivtara locations maximising vehicle utilisation, service levels and operational efficiency, while ensuring safe, compliant and on-time movement of wheat inbound and flour outbound.

Key Responsibilities

Fleet Operations

• Own end-to-end transportation operations across Hyderabad, Warangal and Vijayawada.
• Plan and monitor fleet deployment; ensure vehicle availability matches daily despatch and inbound wheat plans.
• Review idle vehicle and breakdown reports daily; drive corrective action.
• Standardise operating practices across all locations; remove operational bottlenecks.
• Ensure every vehicle carries valid statutory permits, fitness, insurance, PUC and driver licences so operations are never disrupted.

Network & Route Optimisation

• Build and run route optimisation plans for inbound wheat (mandi/rail siding to mill) and outbound flour (mill to distributor/modern trade).
• Reduce vehicle turnaround time at loading, unloading and weighbridge points.
• Optimise the mix of own fleet, attached vehicles and market hire to lower cost per tonne-km.

Service Level Management

• Define delivery service standards and benchmarks; track performance by route, location and customer.
• Investigate every service failure; put preventive controls in place.
• Ensure modern trade and distributor delivery commitments (appointment windows, OTIF) are consistently met.

Driver & Cash Management

• Own driver deployment, attendance, leave planning and shift scheduling for uninterrupted operations.
• Track driver productivity trips per driver, utilisation, fuel efficiency (KMPL), on-time performance and safety record and act on outliers.
• Control cash-on-delivery collection: establish handover, reconciliation and audit controls to prevent leakage.

Maintenance, Cost & Compliance

• Run preventive maintenance schedules; control repair and tyre cost per km.
• Manage the fleet operating budget fuel, maintenance, hire, tolls, driver cost.
• Ensure compliance with Motor Vehicles Act, e-way bill, overloading and food-safety hygiene norms for food-grade transport.

MIS & Team

• Publish daily, weekly and monthly fleet MIS to the Managing Director.
• Lead and develop the transport supervisors, dispatch team and driver pool.

Candidate Requirements

• 10–15 years in fleet / transport / distribution operations, with at least 3–5 years leading a multi-location fleet.
• Hands-on experience managing a fleet of 50–100+ vehicles (own and attached), preferably in FMCG, foods, agri-commodities, flour/rice milling, cement, dairy or 3PL.
• Strong command of route planning, vehicle utilisation, TAT reduction and transport cost control.
• Working knowledge of Motor Vehicles Act, permits, e-way bill and RTO compliance.
• Experience with GPS / telematics / fleet management systems and strong Excel MIS skills; ERP exposure (SAP / Tally / equivalent) preferred.
• Proven track record of controlling cash collections and preventing leakage.
• Fluent in Telugu and Hindi/English; willing to travel across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.