Lead - Operations

Formulate and implement transportation business strategies aligned with organizational objectives, customer requirements and long-term growth plans.
Own the overall Transportation P&L, including revenue, Gross Margin (GM), profitability, cost and operational performance.
Drive revenue growth and margin improvement through route optimization, vehicle productivity, cost reduction, commercial interventions and new business opportunities.
Identify and develop new transportation business opportunities, including new customers, routes, plants, lanes, locations and value-added transportation solutions.
Develop strategies for customer retention, business expansion, additional vehicle deployment and penetration of new transportation requirements within existing accounts.
Establish and achieve annual and monthly revenue, GM, cost and profitability targets for the transportation business through structured performance reviews.
Monitor transportation performance through MIS, P&L, KPI dashboards, fleet utilization, vehicle productivity, TAT, OTIF, SLA and route profitability.
Ensure achievement of budgeted revenue and margins through effective pricing, route costing, commercial negotiations and cost-control initiatives.
Drive route-wise and vehicle-wise profitability improvement by optimizing vehicle utilization, trip productivity, fuel consumption, manpower cost and operational expenses.
Ensure effective fleet planning and deployment based on customer demand, route requirements, vehicle availability and business volumes.
Monitor and improve vehicle utilization, turnaround time, trip frequency, empty running, loading/unloading time and fleet productivity.
Drive optimization of fixed and variable transportation costs, including fuel, driver cost, vehicle rental/EMI, toll, maintenance, vendor cost and other operational expenses.
Ensure accurate and timely transportation billing and revenue realization, including trip billing, detention, fuel escalation, additional kilometers, waiting charges and other applicable commercial components.
Review and negotiate transportation rates, route pricing, fuel escalation, vehicle cost revisions, manpower revisions, contract renewals and commercial proposals to protect business profitability.
Lead customer relationships at senior management level and act as the key escalation point for transportation, operational, commercial and contractual matters.
Conduct regular customer reviews covering service performance, fleet requirements, route performance, cost improvement, business expansion and future transportation opportunities.
Monitor and ensure compliance with SLA, TAT, OTIF, vehicle placement, fleet availability, safety and customer-specific transportation KPIs.
Drive continuous improvement in transportation operations through route optimization, technology adoption, automation, GPS tracking, digital trip management and data-driven decision making.
Identify opportunities for consolidation, load optimization, backhaul, multi-drop planning and reduction of empty kilometers to improve transportation profitability.
Build and maintain a strong business pipeline by identifying new lanes, customers, locations and transportation solutions.
Ensure effective management of transportation vendors and fleet partners, including performance, cost, availability, compliance and service quality.
Lead and manage the transportation workforce, including drivers, supervisors, transport coordinators and other operational teams, ensuring productivity, discipline and service delivery.
Ensure effective manpower and driver planning, deployment and productivity optimization in line with transportation volumes.
Develop Managers, Transport In-charges and frontline leaders through capability building, performance management and succession planning.
Review individual and team performance against KRA/KPI, establish improvement plans and ensure accountability.
Handle critical IR, driver-related issues, workforce disputes and operational escalations and ensure timely resolution.
Ensure compliance with SOPs, transportation processes, statutory requirements, EHS, vehicle documentation, driver compliance and customer-specific requirements.
Drive a strong culture of safety, customer centricity, operational excellence, cost consciousness and continuous improvement across the transportation business.
Ensure implementation of HO policies, transportation initiatives, cost-saving programs, digital initiatives and strategic business projects.
Promote initiatives for fuel efficiency, reduction in carbon emissions, EV adoption, sustainable transportation and responsible fleet management.
Conduct periodic Transportation Business Reviews with senior management, presenting revenue, GM, fleet utilization, route profitability, customer performance, risks, opportunities and action plans.
Identify and mitigate transportation risks, including vehicle availability, driver shortage, fuel price volatility, route disruptions, customer dependency, compliance and profitability risks.
Drive new transportation solutions and innovative business models, including dedicated fleet, spot transportation, milk-run, shuttle, line-haul, FTL/LTL, first-mile/last-mile and value-added transportation services, as applicable.

Experience
10 - 15 Years

Employment type
Permanent

Work arrangement
No