Production And Inventory Manager

JOB PROFILE

Production & Inventory Manager

Company: VGO FOODS
Industry: Food & Beverage Fresh Cold-Pressed Juice Manufacturing
Department: Production & Operations
Position: Production & Inventory Manager
Location: Mira Road, Mumbai
Reporting To: Senior Management / Operations Head
Employment Type: Full-Time

ABOUT THE ROLE

VGO FOODS is looking for an experienced and hands-on Production & Inventory Manager to manage and control the day-to-day production and inventory operations of our fresh cold-pressed juice manufacturing facility.

The person will be responsible for ensuring that production is planned and executed efficiently while maintaining product quality, food safety, inventory accuracy, raw-material yield, wastage control, manpower productivity and timely dispatches.

This is a hands-on factory management role requiring the candidate to be actively involved on the production floor and closely coordinate with Purchase, Quality, Sales, Warehouse, Dispatch and Finance teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Production Planning & Management

• Prepare daily and weekly production plans based on customer orders, sales forecasts and dispatch requirements.
• Plan production SKU-wise, batch-wise and customer-wise.
• Ensure production is completed as per the planned schedule.
• Coordinate production activities from raw-material preparation through filling, packing and finished-goods storage.
• Monitor production output against planned quantities.
• Identify production bottlenecks and take immediate corrective action.
• Ensure optimum utilization of manpower, machines and production capacity.
• Maintain complete batch-wise production records.

2. Raw Material & Inventory Management

• Take ownership of day-to-day raw-material and packaging inventory.
• Monitor stocks of fruits, vegetables, herbs, ingredients, bottles, caps, labels, cartons and other consumables.
• Ensure adequate material availability before production starts.
• Maintain accurate records of opening stock, receipts, consumption, wastage and closing stock.
• Implement FIFO/FEFO inventory practices.
• Monitor raw-material ageing and shelf life.
• Conduct regular physical stock verification and reconcile discrepancies.
• Identify slow-moving, excess, damaged and near-expiry inventory.
• Coordinate with Purchase for replenishment requirements.

3. Fruit Receiving & Material Control

• Supervise receipt and inspection of fresh fruits and other raw materials.
• Check freshness, ripeness, appearance, physical damage and suitability for production.
• Ensure unsuitable, over-ripe or damaged raw materials are segregated and reported.
• Maintain supplier-wise material quality and rejection records.
• Monitor raw-material quality and yield trends.

4. Yield & Wastage Control

• Monitor SKU-wise raw-material consumption and production yield.
• Track fruit processing loss, juice extraction loss, filtration loss, filling loss and packaging wastage.
• Establish and monitor standard yield benchmarks for each product.
• Investigate abnormal wastage and implement corrective measures.
• Identify opportunities to improve raw-material utilization and reduce production cost.
• Prepare daily and monthly yield and wastage reports.

5. Production Floor Management

• Ensure all production activities are carried out according to approved SOPs.
• Supervise washing, sorting, cutting, cold pressing, filtration, blending, filling, capping, labelling, coding and packing.
• Ensure correct product, formulation, packaging and batch coding are used.
• Monitor production parameters and report deviations immediately.
• Ensure equipment and production areas are ready before production begins.

6. Manpower Management

• Plan and allocate manpower according to daily production requirements.
• Monitor attendance, productivity and discipline of production workers.
• Allocate workers to different production stations.
• Train workers on production SOPs, hygiene and food-safety practices.
• Ensure workers follow PPE and personal hygiene requirements.
• Identify manpower shortages and coordinate additional resources when required.
• Conduct regular on-floor training and performance reviews.

7. Finished Goods Management

• Monitor SKU-wise and batch-wise finished-goods inventory.
• Ensure finished goods are properly stored under required temperature conditions.
• Follow FIFO/FEFO for dispatch.
• Monitor product shelf life and ageing.
• Coordinate with Dispatch to ensure all orders are ready as per schedule.
• Ensure only approved batches are released for dispatch.
• Minimize finished-goods holding and product expiry.

8. Quality & Food Safety

• Work closely with the Quality team to maintain food-safety and quality standards.
• Ensure strict compliance with hygiene, sanitation and production SOPs.
• Maintain batch traceability.
• Ensure proper cleaning and sanitation of equipment and production areas.
• Ensure foreign-body prevention and contamination-control practices.
• Report quality deviations, production abnormalities and customer complaints immediately.
• Support investigations, CAPA and internal/customer audits.

9. Production Documentation & MIS

Maintain accurate and timely:

• Daily Production Reports
• Raw Material Consumption Reports
• Packaging Consumption Reports
• Yield Reports
• Wastage Reports
• Batch Production Records
• Finished Goods Stock Reports
• Inventory Reconciliation Reports
• Manpower Reports
• Machine Utilization Reports
• Production Efficiency Reports
• Dispatch Readiness Reports

Prepare daily and monthly management reports highlighting:

Plan vs Actual | Production | Yield | Wastage | Inventory | Manpower | Downtime | Rejections

10. Cost & Efficiency Management

Work with Management and Finance to control production costs by monitoring:

• Raw-material consumption
• Raw-material yield
• Packaging consumption
• Production wastage
• Labour productivity
• Machine utilization
• Rework and rejection
• Utility consumption
• Inventory carrying levels

Continuously identify opportunities for cost reduction and process improvement without compromising product quality.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The candidate will be evaluated on:

• Production plan achievement
• Production schedule adherence
• Raw-material yield
• Wastage percentage
• Inventory accuracy
• Raw-material availability
• Finished-goods ageing
• Production efficiency
• Labour productivity
• Machine utilization
• Batch documentation accuracy
• Food-safety and hygiene compliance
• Product rejection levels
• Dispatch readiness
• Reduction in inventory variance

DAILY RESPONSIBILITY

The manager is expected to:

Before Production

• Review orders and production plan
• Check raw-material availability
• Check packaging availability
• Check manpower
• Check equipment readiness

During Production

• Monitor production output
• Monitor material consumption
• Monitor yield and wastage
• Manage manpower
• Coordinate with Quality
• Resolve production issues

After Production

• Reconcile production
• Reconcile material consumption
• Record wastage
• Update finished-goods inventory
• Complete batch documentation
• Coordinate dispatch
• Submit daily production MIS

QUALIFICATION

Preferred:

• Graduate / Diploma in Food Technology, Food Science, Production, Operations, Supply Chain, FMCG or related field.

Candidates with strong practical experience in food or beverage manufacturing may also be considered.

EXPERIENCE

Preferred Experience: 4–8 years

Experience in any of the following industries will be preferred:

• Fresh juice manufacturing
• Beverage manufacturing
• Food processing
• FMCG
• Dairy
• Ready-to-drink beverages
• Cold-chain food manufacturing

Experience specifically in cold-pressed juice manufacturing will be an added advantage.

REQUIRED SKILLS

Production

• Production planning
• Batch production
• Process control
• Yield management
• Wastage control
• Production scheduling

Inventory

• Raw-material inventory
• Finished-goods inventory
• Packaging inventory
• FIFO/FEFO
• Stock reconciliation
• Inventory variance analysis

Management

• Manpower management
• Team leadership
• Problem solving
• Production coordination
• Cost control
• Process improvement

Systems

• MS Excel
• ERP / Inventory Management Software
• Production MIS
• Basic data analysis

Food Safety

• GMP
• HACCP
• Personal hygiene
• Sanitation
• Food-safety procedures
• Batch traceability

IDEAL CANDIDATE

We are looking for a hands-on, disciplined and highly organized factory professional who can independently manage production and inventory operations.

The ideal candidate should be comfortable working directly on the factory floor, managing workers, monitoring production in real time and taking ownership of operational problems.

The candidate must have a strong focus on:

PRODUCTIVITY | QUALITY | YIELD | WASTAGE | INVENTORY | HYGIENE | COST | DISCIPLINE

ROLE EXPECTATION

The Production & Inventory Manager will be accountable for ensuring that:

The right product is produced, in the right quantity, at the right quality, at the right time, with optimum raw-material utilization, minimum wastage and accurate inventory.

The role requires strong ownership, daily follow-up, quick decision-making and close coordination across all factory functions.

This is a factory-floor management position and not a purely administrative or reporting role.