Procurement Lead _ Dairy

Role Summary

We are looking for a Procurement Manager with dedicated experience in the F&B, QSR segment to own sourcing, vendor management, and cost optimization for a brand operating at 200+ locations. The person will be responsible for negotiating best-in-class rates across Dairy and Dairy related products, while ensuring supply continuity, quality consistency, and compliance across a distributed kitchen network.

Key Responsibilities

Category Sourcing & Cost Management

• Own end-to-end procurement for Ghee, Cheese, Butter, Cream Cheese and other dairy products.

•Negotiate best-in-class rates leveraging volume aggregation across 200+ outlets; run competitive bidding (RFQ/RFP) and structured vendor negotiations.

• Track and benchmark input costs (especially cheese , which are volatile) against market indices; build hedging or rate-lock strategies where feasible

• Drive year-on-year cost savings targets without compromising recipe specifications or food safety standards.

Vendor Management

• Develop and manage a vetted vendor panel per category to de-risk single-source dependency across regions/kitchens.

• Conduct vendor audits (quality, hygiene, capacity, financial stability) and formalize rate contracts/SLAs.

• Resolve quality escalations, short supply, and rejection issues in coordination with QA and kitchen operations teams.

Supply Planning & Continuity

• Partner with planning team to forecast consumption basis outlet-level sales trends, new launches and peak days

.• Ensure zero stockouts of P0/critical SKUs (mozzarella, dough, sauce) through proactive PO planning and buffer norms.

• Work with logistics to optimize lead times and last-mile delivery to kitchens across Tier-1/Tier-2 cities.

Cross-functional & Systems

• Collaborate with Finance on cost sheets, price variance analysis, and budget adherence

.• Work with culinary/R&D on vendor trials for new product launches and recipe cost-outs.

Pre Requisites

• 8+ years of procurement experience, with a specific stint in the pizza/QSR/bakery segment (mandatory) - direct exposure to cheese, ghee, and butter sourcing required.

• Proven track record of negotiating and delivering best-in-class rates at multi-outlet/multi-city scale (100+ locations ideal).

• Strong understanding of commodity price cycles (dairy) and contract structuring (fixed vs. floating rate contracts).

• Experience managing vendor panels across geographies, not just single-city sourcing.• Existing vendor relationships in the pizza/cheese/dairy ecosystem.