Assistant Manager-Buying

Job description

**About the Role** Flipkart Grocery is scaling its Staples Private Label (PL) business across India. As AM – Buying (East), you will anchor sourcing, vendor development, and supply operations for Staples PL in the East region. This is a high-impact, field-intensive role requiring strong commercial acumen and deep vendor relationship skills. You will be the key commercial bridge between regional suppliers and the Flipkart Grocery supply chain — ensuring cost competitiveness, supply reliability, and quality compliance across staples categories such as rice, atta, pulses, sugar, and edible oils. Key Responsibilities **Staples PL Sourcing** You will own end-to-end sourcing of Staples PL categories across East India, with direct accountability for pricing negotiations, margin delivery, and contract terms with regional suppliers. The role requires you to run competitive benchmarking and market intelligence exercises to continuously drive cost optimisation. You will work closely with the PL and quality teams to ensure all procured products meet defined specifications and labelling compliance standards. **Vendor Development & Value Chain** A core part of this role is identifying, onboarding, and developing new vendors across Kolkata, Patna, and surrounding sourcing hubs. You will build a robust and diversified vendor pipeline to reduce single-source dependency on key SKUs. You will own value chain metrics — procurement cost, fill rate, freshness, and wastage percentage — and drive improvements through structured vendor performance reviews and corrective action plans. Vendor audits will be a regular field responsibility. **RPC Operations & Supply Management** You will coordinate closely with warehouse and operations teams for inbound supply planning and inventory replenishment to ensure category serviceability is never compromised. This includes proactive monitoring of supply gaps and rapid resolution of disruptions — working across internal stakeholders and vendor partners to keep fulfilment on track. **What We're Looking For** We are looking for a commercially sharp buying professional with 3–6 years of experience in sourcing, buying, or supply chain roles — preferably within FMCG, grocery, or e-commerce. Hands-on experience in Staples, Fresh & Vegetables, or Agri sourcing will be a strong advantage. An MBA or PGDM is preferred; graduation is mandatory. The ideal candidate brings strong vendor negotiation skills, comfort with data (Excel / Google Sheets), and the ability to work independently in a fast-moving, field-intensive environment. Proficiency in Bengali or Hindi is an advantage given the regional vendor engagement this role demands. Willingness to travel 60–70% within East India is essential. Requirements at a Glance **Education** MBA / PGDM preferred; Graduation mandatory **Experience** 3–6 years in buying, sourcing, or supply chain; FMCG / grocery / e-commerce preferred **Domain** Staples / F&V / Agri sourcing experience strongly preferred **Skills** Vendor negotiation, data analysis (Excel / Sheets), supply planning **Language** Bengali / Hindi proficiency an advantage **Travel** Willingness to travel extensively within East India (60–70% field role)