Chennai (ex Madras) SCM Engagement Lead

Job Description

This senior leadership role is responsible for directing end-to-end supply chain operations for an automotive OEM with accountability for planning, logistics, material flow, customer fulfillment, and operational transformation.The Director will lead strategic and day-to-day execution across plant, regional, and cross-functional teams to ensure supply continuity, production stability, cost performance, and customer service excellence in a high-volume manufacturing environment. This role partners closely with manufacturing, procurement, finance, engineering, quality, and commercial leaders to align supply chain performance with business objectives, support new model activity, and strengthen operational resilience across the network.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end supply chain operations for the site and connected network, including demand planning, supply planning, material control, inbound and outbound logistics, warehousing, and customer fulfillment.
• Partner with plant leadership and regional supply chain teams to align capacity, production scheduling, parts availability, transportation flows, and customer delivery requirements.
• Lead the S&OP / integrated business planning cadence for the area of responsibility, ensuring clear trade-off decisions across demand, supply, inventory, and service.
• Support new vehicle and parts program launches by ensuring readiness of planning parameters, material flow, packaging, logistics routes, capacity, and supplier execution.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing organization across planning, logistics, customer service, and operational support teams, with strong focus on accountability, problem solving, and talent development.

Primary Skills

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in supply chain, logistics, planning, manufacturing operations, or related functions, with significant experience in the automotive industry.

• Proven success in senior leadership roles within an automotive OEM or tiered automotive manufacturing environment, ideally supporting high-volume plant and regional operations.

• Deep knowledge of production planning, materials management, inbound and outbound logistics, inventory control, warehousing, transportation, and customer fulfillment within automotive supply chains.

• Experience with ERP and planning systems such as SAP or equivalent, along with strong understanding of S&OP, MRP, inventory strategy, and logistics performance management.

• Strong knowledge of lean manufacturing, problem-solving methodologies and structured continuous improvement tools - Kaizen, PDCA, Six Sigma, or equivalent.

• Working knowledge of import/export, customs, trade compliance, and transportation governance relevant to Mexico and regional automotive operations is strongly preferred.