Head - Warehouse Operations

JOB DESCRIPTION

Head - Warehousing (Global)

Location: Faridabad

Scope: End - to - end warehousing operations across multiple manufacturing and distribution locations in the United States

Travel: Very frequent - extensive international travel to US sites

Experience: 18 - 20 years of core warehousing management experience

ROLE:

To provide strategic and operational leadership for all warehousing operations across the organization's US locations from the corporate office in NCR. The role owns warehouse performance end to end - safety, service levels, inventory accuracy, cost, productivity and compliance, and drives standardisation, automation and continuous improvement across the network to support manufacturing and customer commitments.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategy & Network Leadership:

- Define and execute the global warehousing strategy, aligned with manufacturing, sales and overall supply chain objectives.

- Evaluate and optimise warehouse network design, capacity, layout and footprint, including decisions on new sites, expansions, consolidations and 3PL partnerships.

- Build a multi - year roadmap for automation, WMS and digital enablement, and drive its delivery.

Operational Excellence:

- Lead inbound, storage, picking, packing, dispatch and returns operations across all US sites, ensuring OTIF and service - level targets are met.

- Drive inventory accuracy, cycle counting and stock control; reduce obsolescence, shrinkage and damages.

- Institutionalise standard operating procedures, KPIs and a uniform governance and review cadence across locations.

- Deploy Lean, 5S, Six Sigma and continuous improvement programmes to improve productivity and space utilisation.

Financial & Cost Management:

- Own the global warehousing budget, cost - to - serve and cost per unit handled; deliver year - on - year cost reduction without compromising service.

- Manage 3PL, lease, equipment and manpower contracts, including negotiation, performance reviews and SLA enforcement.

People & Capability:

- Lead, mentor and develop site heads and warehouse managers across the US; build succession and a strong leadership bench.

- Foster a culture of accountability, safety and high performance across geographies and cultures.

Safety, Compliance & Risk:

- Ensure strict compliance with OSHA and applicable US federal, state and local regulations, plus customs and bonded warehouse requirements where applicable.

- Drive a zero - harm safety culture, with robust audits, incident investigation and corrective actions.

- Establish business continuity, security and risk - mitigation plans for all facilities.

Systems & Technology:

- Lead WMS/ERP implementation, upgrades and optimisation; leverage data analytics and dashboards for decision - making.

- Evaluate and introduce material - handling automation, robotics, RFID and barcode technologies.

Cross - functional Collaboration:

- Partner with Manufacturing, Planning, Procurement, Logistics, Sales and Finance for S&OP, inventory targets and customer delivery.

- Provide regular performance reporting and strategic updates to senior leadership and the executive team.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Logistics or related field; MBA / PGDM in Operations preferred.

- 18 - 20 years of core experience in warehousing management, with at least 8 - 10 years in senior leadership roles managing multi - site operations.

- Experience in a manufacturing environment is essential; exposure to US warehousing operations and regulations is strongly preferred.

- Proven track record of managing large, complex, multi - location warehouse networks with significant P&L / budget responsibility.

- Hands - on experience with WMS/ERP systems (SAP, Oracle or equivalent), automation and Lean / Six Sigma methodologies.

- Certifications such as CSCP, CPIM, CLTD, Six Sigma Black Belt or similar are an advantage.

KEY SKILLS & COMPETENCIES:

- Strategic thinking and strong business acumen.

- Multi - site leadership and the ability to lead remote, culturally diverse teams.

- Strong analytical, problem - solving and data - driven decision - making skills.

- Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation and communication skills at all levels.

- Change management and ability to drive standardisation across locations.

- High resilience, adaptability and comfort with extensive travel and time - zone differences.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

- Based at the Corporate Office in NCR, India.

- Very frequent travel to US locations; valid passport is mandatory.

- Flexibility to work across time zones to coordinate with US teams.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

- OTIF / order fulfilment rate and customer service levels.

- Inventory accuracy, shrinkage and obsolescence.

- Warehousing cost as a percentage of sales / cost per unit handled.

- Productivity, space utilisation and throughput.

- Safety metrics - LTIR, incident rate and audit compliance.

- Project delivery - automation, WMS and network optimisation initiatives.

- Team engagement, attrition and leadership bench strength.