Procurement Manager

About Earthful

Earthful is an FMCG company focused in the health and wellness space. The founders (Sudha Gogineni and Veda Gogineni) are graduates from IIT Kharagpur and ISB with a multitude of experience across multinational companies & startups, such as Uber, Meesho, Deutsche Bank, ITC. Earthful is an early stage startup and hence the candidate will have the opportunity to work closely with the founders. We are looking for a candidate passionate about scaling a startup.

Role Overview

Have to own end-to-end procurement for ingredients, packaging, and thirdparty manufacturing for Earthfuls nutrition products, ensuring the right vendors, right quality, right price, and zero stockouts / zero overstock across SKUs. This role is highly analytical and requires strong Excel and timeline-planning capability.

Key Responsibilities

1. Vendor Discovery & Development

Proactively discover and onboard new vendors by attending industry expos, trade fairs, and supplier meets (ingredients, packaging, contract manufacturers).

Build and maintain a vendor database with details on capabilities, MOQs, pricing, lead times, certifications, and performance ratings.

Run structured supplier evaluations and trials for new ingredients/packaging suitable for nutrition products.

2. Procurement Execution & Coordination

Translate monthly and quarterly demand plans into purchase plans for ingredients, packaging materials, and 3PM requirements.

Coordinate with vendors on POs, dispatches, samples, and production slots; ensure OTIF (On Time In Full) performance.

Follow up on delays, shortages, and quality issues with clear escalation and corrective actions.

3. Advanced Planning, Excel & Gantt Timelines

Own advanced Excel-based planning sheets (formulas, pivot tables, lookups, conditional formatting) to track:

SKU-wise demand vs stock vs pipeline

Vendor lead times and reorder points

Price trends and cost per batch

Build and maintain Gantt charts / timeline plans (Excel, Smartsheet, or similar) showing when to raise POs, expected delivery, production, and dispatch windows for each SKU.

Use these tools to ensure visibility for founders/ops on risks and mitigation.

4. Inventory Health No Stockouts, No Overstock

Define and maintain minmax inventory levels per SKU based on demand patterns, shelf life, and lead times.

Ensure that no SKU goes out of stock on marketplaces/website while avoiding expiry or dead stock.

Work with Operations and Finance to balance working capital with service levels, using data-driven decisions.

5. Negotiation & Cost Optimization

Lead commercial negotiations on price, payment terms, credit, logistics, and MOQs with existing and new vendors.

Benchmark vendor quotes against market; drive year-on-year cost savings or value improvements without compromising quality.

Structure multi-vendor strategies (primary + secondary vendor) to derisk supply.

6. Quality, Certifications & Lab Reports

Verify vendor certifications (FSSAI, ISO, HACCP, Organic, GMP as relevant) and track their validity.

Review lab reports / COAs for vendor samples and production batches (microbiological parameters, heavy metals, nutritional parameters) in coordination with QA.

Ensure that supplied materials strictly comply with Earthfuls specifications and regulatory guidelines; coordinate rejections/rework where needed.

7. Cross-functional Collaboration

Work closely with Founders, Operations, QA, Finance, and Brand teams to align procurement with:

New product launches

Promotions and sales spikes

Packaging changes or reformulations

Provide clear, data-backed updates on supply risks, opportunities, and mitigation plans.

Must-Have Skills & Experience

48 years of experience in procurement / supply chain in FMCG, food, nutrition, or wellness (D2C experience preferred).

Proven track record of discovering and onboarding vendors via expos / trade shows / field visits.

Strong negotiation skills with demonstrable cost savings or improved terms with suppliers.

Advanced Excel: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH, multi-sheet models, scenario analysis; ability to build tracking dashboards.

Hands-on experience creating and updating Gantt charts / timeline plans (in Excel or tools like Smartsheet/MS Project/Notion).

Good understanding of certifications and lab reports (FSSAI norms, COAs, microbiological and nutritional test reports) with ability to flag non-conformities.

Comfortable working in an early-stage startup: ambiguity, fast iterations, and direct founder interactions.

Strong communication (written and verbal) and stakeholder management skills.

Be a part of Earthfuls Family!

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