Job Description

Position Title: Strategic Buyer - Wood & Panel Products

Department: Purchase & Vendor Development

Industry Focus: Wood-Panel, Engineered Wood, and Furniture Manufacturing

Reports To: Head of Supply Chain / Procurement Manager

Location: [Plant / Corporate Office]

1. Position Purpose

Secure cost-effective, timely, and quality supplies of wood-panel materials, furniture

components, and packaging by developing a robust supplier base, optimising logistics, and

enforcing rigorous process controls.

2. Key Responsibilities

Functional Area Responsibilities Typical Outputs

Product & Supplier

Research

Source MDF, HDF, particle board, plywood,
veneers, laminates, edge-band tapes, adhesives, and

furniture hardware.

Benchmark global and domestic suppliers;
introduce alternates to lower total cost of ownership

(TCO).

Qualified supplier shortlist,

cost-saving proposals

Vendor Management

& Negotiation

Build long-term supplier partnerships; negotiate
pricing, payment terms, and service levels.

Conduct supplier plant audits (quality systems,
capacity, ESG compliance).

Signed contracts / rate

agreements, audit reports

Process & SOP

Compliance

Own Purchase-to-Pay SOP for wood & panel
category; ensure full documentation at RFQ, PO,

GRN, and payment stages.

Lead continuous-improvement projects (cycle-
time, paperwork reduction).

Updated SOPs, CAPA logs

Inventory & Stock

Control

Maintain min/max levels for boards, veneers, and
consumables in ERP.

Coordinate with production planners to prevent
stock-outs / over-stocking.

Weekly inventory

dashboard, slow-moving

stock alerts

Supply-Chain

Resolve logistics or quality issues to ensure on- OTIF (%) metrics, freight-

Continuity time supply to plants.

Optimise load planning for bulky panel products to
reduce freight cost.

cost reductions

Market Intelligence

Track timber prices, resin trends, freight indices,
and competitor sourcing strategies.

Present quarterly cost forecasts to management.
Market-insight reports,

cost-impact models

Purchasing

Operations

Raise POs, call-offs, and scheduling agreements; verify documents and authorise supplier invoices in line with contracts.
PO accuracy rate, invoice- to-payment TAT Supplier

Performance & Compliance

Scorecard suppliers on quality, delivery, and cost;
manage improvement plans.

Ensure compliance with FSC, ISI, CARB, E1/E0
emissions, or other industry standards.

Supplier scorecards,

corrective-action trackers

3. Qualifications & Skills


Graduate in Supply-Chain, Mechanical / Wood Technology, or related field; MBA /

PGDMM preferred.


4-6 years of strategic buying experience in wood-panel / furniture industry.


Proven negotiation and contract-management skills; familiarity with Incoterms and

logistics.


Hands-on with ERP/MRP systems (SAP, Oracle, etc.) and advanced Excel / Power BI.


Knowledge of plywood grades, MDF specifications, veneer slicing, lamination, and

packing norms.


Strong analytical, communication, and cross-functional collaboration abilities.


Willingness to travel for supplier audits and trade-fair sourcing (~20-30%).

4. Performance Indicators


Cost Savings Achieved (% of spend)


On-Time In-Full (OTIF) Delivery


Inventory Turns / Days of Stock


Supplier Quality PPM & Audit Scores


Process-Compliance Score (SOP adherence)

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: ₹420,141.54 - ₹1,487,987.70 per year

Experience:

Furniture Manufacturing: 5 years (Preferred) Wood-Panel: 5 years (Preferred)
Work Location: In person