FMCG & Dairy Supply Chain: Strategy & Tech

Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I did my initial schooling in Lucknow before enrolling in a Dairy Engineering Diploma course in Etawah. Joined Glaxo India at their Aligarh plant immediately after completing college in 1994. Handled various roles in the Supply chain- Manufacturing, Procurement, Supplier Management, Third Party Manufacturing, Supply and Demand Planning, and Logistics within the Food FMCG across the last three decades.

I have more than two decades of experience at a Dairy Manufacturing plant, covering the domains of milk procurement, processing, spray and roller drying, blending, and final packaging of milk and milk products. Procurement experience includes direct materials, indirect, Capex, category management, contract management, and SRM as well as leading full procurement teams with responsibilities for policy, risk, ethics, governance, savings programs, technology, and capability development.

Worked with food giants Kraft Heinz (Head of Procurement 2017 to 2019) and Fonterra (Head of Operations 2019 to 2022) for approx. 28 years before joining the procurement function of Wockhardt- a leading pharmaceutical company in the Procurement function, in 2022.

A firm believer in using technology as a disruptor cum enabler in…