Industry Manager

Position Summary

The purpose of the role is to lead the business operations, achieve the profitability targets and maximize the business growth for the Nutrition business unit of Brenntag India. This would be a client facing and a leadership role.

Industry Manager to handle the portfolio of Bakery, Confectionary, Sauces, Snacks & Seasonings, support Nutraceutical team.

Responsibility Deliverables:

Business Achievement

• Design & review the sales and marketing strategies for the achievement of the profitability targets for the BU.
• Plan and manage overall functions of business unit operations i.e. budgeting, staffing, cost & expenses control, P&L inventory, Debtors, supply chain, sales tools, country campaign in order to achieve organization s objectives.

Business Development

• Acquire new customers, execute business strategies to develop and promote new markets by expanding product portfolio and enhancing supplier relationship.
• Capturing competitive intelligence information through various sources, identify related companies from mergers and acquisition perspective and suggest to local management for business growth.

Regional Strategic Execution

• Align the business direction with the regional direction. Coordinate with the regional and global sales teams to leverage the best practices in the local sales function.
• Implement local industry strategy, manage its profitability, prepare and submit business report to key stakeholders i.e. suppliers, regional industry/business manager.
• Provide and support competitive / market intelligence.

Team Management

• Lead and coach the team to manage the team motivation and productivity.

Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure all the product offerings of the business unit (i.e. supplier s products & imports) is in line with the applicable regulatory norms.

Tasks:

• Prepare the annual budget and the business plan including the short term and long-term strategies for managing sales & profitability for the BU.
• Attend meetings with the key customers and suppliers on a regular basis for building and managing business relationships. Share monthly reports with the suppliers.
• Collect market information thru secondary research, subscribed news databases and industry journals/periodicals.
• Participate in industry conferences/seminars, network with industry colleagues for gaining insights on market/industry trends.
• Conduct gap analysis, understand & evaluate the potential for customers, identify the right suppliers as per the required parameters, complete the negotiation, finalise the payment & contract terms and empanel them.
• Study the inventory, understand the forecast and guide the team/ take necessary decisions on stock management. Do product assessment based on the profitability and add new products/remove non-profitable products for managing BU performance.
• Ensure and approve new products/ imports as per the applicable regulatory norms.
• Conduct regular team meetings to take update on sales performance, discuss issues/ challenges & resolve them, communicate necessary norms and information.
• Provide on the job training, arrange for technical training of products to the team by the suppliers. Conduct performance review meetings with the team members yearly and provide the work performance related data to the HR team.
• Attend review meetings and provide BU report/regular updates on the sales/marketing performance of the BU and discuss any other business-related concerns/requirements.
• Review the projects pipeline (existing/new) and the CRM activities for the BU. Analyse customer complaints, identify areas for improvement and devise solutions for ensuring high customer satisfaction.
• Manage the annual exhibitions, product trials and promotional campaigns for the BU.

Qualification

• Minimum 15 years of hands on experience in B2B sales/ business development/marketing function, out of which last 3-5 years should be at a leadership level at a reputed organization.
• Experience in handling distribution activities in chemical companies is desirable. Strong client management and team management experience is required.
• Exceptional relationship management skills and the ability to build and grow connections with people of all types and backgrounds.
• Bachelors/Masters Degree in Food Science, Natural Science from a reputed university.
• MBA/PGDBM in marketing from a reputed university or a certification in business management is desired.
• Knowledge of ingredients i.e: Enzymes, Modified Starches, Hydrocolloids, Natural Colours, Acidulants for Bakery, Confectionary, Sauces, Seasonings, Snacks.
• Knowledge of regulatory laws/ norms for the animal nutrition & health industry
• Demand & capacity management
• Data analysis & interpretation
• Presentations skills
• Sales acumen - prospecting & upselling
• Business/ Commercial Acumen
• Strategic Planning
• Negotiation & influencing
• Client servicing