Category Service lead – Water Purifier

Location: Kochi/Gurgaon
Role Purpose
Own and drive the complete Water Purifier Service across the product lifecycle, ensuring superior customer experience, service excellence, operational efficiency, revenue growth, and profitability. The role will work closely with Product Management, R&D, Quality, Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Service teams from product conception to end-of-life support.
Key Responsibilities
Service Operations Excellence
Ensure achievement of category service SLAs, TAT, FFR, productivity, and customer satisfaction targets.
Drive operational excellence through Daily Work Management (DWM), Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Monitor installation, complaints, warranty, and preventive maintenance performance across Direct Service Centers (DSC) and ASP networks.
Ensure effective CRM utilization, customer registration compliance, and consumer database management.
Category Ownership & Business Responsibility
Own the overall Water Purifier Service Category performance, including customer satisfaction, operational KPIs, revenue, cost management, and profitability.
Manage end-to-end service P&L, including warranty cost, spare parts profitability, AMC business, accessories sales, installation revenue, and finished goods referrals.
Develop and execute category service strategy aligned with business growth objectives.
Product Development & NPD Support
Represent Service as a key stakeholder in New Product Development (NPD) and stage-gate reviews.
Provide field insights, voice of customer, serviceability inputs, reliability requirements, and cost optimization recommendations during product design.
Drive service readiness activities before product launch, including service manuals, spare parts planning, troubleshooting tools, training modules, and SOPs.
Monitor post-launch performance and drive corrective actions through RCA and CAPA initiatives.
Product Quality & Process Improvement
Analyze field failures, recurring complaints, and service trends to identify improvement opportunities.
Lead root cause analysis (RCA) and collaborate with Quality, R&D, and Supplier Development teams for corrective and preventive actions.
Monitor product reliability, warranty performance, spare consumption trends, and service cost optimization.
Training & Capability Development
Develop and implement comprehensive training programs for Direct service technicians, Service managers, call center teams, and ASP partners.
Create technical training modules, e-learning content, SOPs, installation guides, service advisories, videos, and knowledge repositories.
Drive capability enhancement through field coaching, skill assessments, certification programs, and performance monitoring.
Service Content & Knowledge Management
Develop and maintain service documentation, troubleshooting guides, installation procedures, technical bulletins, warranty policies, and service advisories.
Ensure timely communication of product updates and service process changes to all stakeholders.
Spare Parts & Supply Chain Management
Own spare parts strategy, forecasting, inventory planning, availability, and lifecycle management.
Optimize spare parts cost, fill rate, inventory health, and service readiness across the network.
Drive standardization and cost-effective sourcing initiatives.
Customer Experience & Digital Service
Drive NPS, CSAT, customer retention, and service experience enhancement programs.
Monitor customer feedback from CRM, contact center, MTRSS customer and marketplaces.
Lead digital initiatives related to service automation, field mobility, self-service tools, customer communication, and analytics.
Revenue & Business Growth
Drive AMC, accessories, consumables, spare parts, upgrades, and installation revenue growth.
Develop service-led business opportunities and customer lifecycle monetization programs.
Enable referral generation and conversion for Water Purifier finished goods sales.
Monitor revenue realization, margins, and profitability across all service revenue streams.
Partner & Stakeholder Management
Manage relationships with DSC team, Branch CS team, ASP partners, Category Business lead, Digital marketing team, Ecom partners, and KAMs.
Ensure alignment between service operations and business objectives through regular reviews and governance mechanisms.
Drive marketplace ratings, reviews, and service performance metrics.
Performance Management & Reporting
Establish and monitor category KPIs, dashboards, and governance mechanisms.
Review business performance, identify improvement opportunities, and implement corrective actions.
Prepare periodic MIS, management reviews, business forecasts, and performance reports for leadership.
Key KPIs
NPS / CSAT
Service SLA & TAT Achievement
First-Time Fix (FTFR)
Installation Success Rate
Warranty Cost % to Sales
Spare Parts Availability & Fill Rate
AMC Revenue Growth
Accessories & Consumables Sales
Service Revenue & Profitability
Field Productivity
Field Failure Rate (FFR)
Marketplace Ratings & Reviews
Product Reliability & Quality Metrics
Overall Category P&L Performance
Preferred Experience
10+ years of experience in Service Operations, Product Support, Consumer Durables, Water Purifiers, Appliances, or Similar Categories.
Strong exposure to Product Development, Service Operations, Quality, Spare Parts Management, Revenue Generation, and Business Management.
Proven experience in leading large field service networks and driving customer experience transformation.
Strong analytical, commercial, stakeholder management, and leadership capabilities.
Education Qualification:
Bachelor’s degree, MBA with any specialization
Key Skills/Competencies:
Global mindset - Ability to understand different markets, competitor overview and set the differentiated trend for Vguard
Excellent domain knowledge
Problem Solving & Decision making
Influencing
Business Acumen
Strategic Thinking
Interpersonal Relationships
Effective Decision Making
Enabling Change Management and Developing People
Familiarity with MS office, CRM systems and other CRM related practices
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and manage time effectively

Work arrangement
No