Purchase Manager - Agricultural Commodities

Reporting To: Factory Head / Director

Job Purpose

To manage the end-to-end procurement of agricultural commodities and raw materials at the right quality, quantity, price and time, while developing reliable suppliers and controlling procurement costs.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan and manage procurement of agricultural commodities based on production requirements, sales plans and seasonal availability.
• Identify and develop farmers, aggregators, traders, mandis and reliable suppliers for regular sourcing.
• Monitor commodity prices, market trends, seasonal cycles, crop availability and market conditions.
• Negotiate price, quality, quantity, payment terms and delivery schedules with suppliers.
• Ensure timely availability of required commodities to avoid production interruptions.
• Coordinate with Production, Stores, Quality, Accounts and Management for procurement planning and execution.
• Ensure incoming commodities meet approved quality specifications, moisture limits, grade, size, cleanliness and other applicable parameters.
• Coordinate with the Quality team for sampling, inspection and acceptance/rejection of incoming materials.
• Develop and maintain an approved supplier/vendor database and regularly evaluate supplier performance.
• Monitor purchase orders, deliveries, pending supplies and supplier commitments.
• Control procurement costs through competitive sourcing, negotiation and alternate supplier development.
• Maintain proper records of purchase rates, supplier-wise purchases, market rates, GRN, quality reports and pending orders.
• Coordinate with Stores and Logistics for transportation, unloading and receipt of commodities.
• Monitor commodity inventory and coordinate procurement according to stock levels, consumption and production requirements.
• Develop alternate sources to reduce dependency on a single supplier.
• Handle supplier disputes related to quality, quantity, rates, shortages and delivery.
• Ensure procurement is carried out as per company policies, approved budgets and authorization limits.
• Prepare regular purchase MIS and market-price reports for management.

Key KPIs

• Purchase cost savings / cost reduction
• Timely availability of raw materials
• Purchase price variance
• Supplier quality/rejection %
• Supplier delivery performance
• Inventory/stock-out control
• New supplier development
• Commodity procurement volume
• Purchase budget adherence
• Payment/credit-term optimization.

Qualification & Experience

• Graduate in Agriculture, Commerce, Business Management, Supply Chain or related field; MBA/PGDM in Purchase/Procurement preferred.
• 5-10 years of experience in agricultural commodity procurement, FMCG, food processing or related industry.
• Strong knowledge of agricultural commodity markets, suppliers and seasonal procurement.
• Good negotiation, vendor management and market-analysis skills.
• Strong communication and coordination skills.
• Good knowledge of MS Excel, ERP and Purchase/MIS reporting.
• Willingness to travel to mandis, supplier locations, farms and procurement markets as required.

Preferred Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate should have strong local/Regional agricultural commodity market knowledge, established supplier relationships, good negotiation ability and the capability to make timely purchasing decisions based on price, quality, availability and future market trends.