Branch Buyer

Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (The Times of India); Mumbai; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 4,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL) invites an experienced procurement professional to manage end-to-end purchasing for indirect materials and services.

You will coordinate with users, vendors and internal teams to drive cost savings, timely deliveries and quality contracts. This is a senior, Pan-India scope role with a focus on process improvements and centralized contracts. From SAP monitoring to PO finalization, you will structure negotiations, manage supplier relationships and support audits

Qualifications

• 10-12 years of experience in Procurement.
• Educational Qualifications Required: B.E./B.Tech. or MBA or Postgraduate.

Responsibilities

• Monitor requirements on SAP & email; discuss with users for clarity; obtain approvals; plan annual requirements.
• Send inquiries to vendors; assess strengths/weaknesses; arrange technical discussions; secure concessions and finalize PO.
• Develop vendors; maintain market contact; plan long-term supplier relationships.
• Confirm orders; coordinate internal approvals; finalize legal terms with vendors.
• Provide timely user updates; resolve quality/quantity issues; ensure timely vendor payments.
• Prepare MIS by collating data; analyze and present insights.
• Identify and lead special projects: cost rationalization, process standardization & centralized contracts.

Skills

Procurement

Vendor management

Negotiation

MIS analysis

Stakeholder coordination

Sourcing strategy

Education

B.E./B.Tech or MBA or Postgraduate

Tools

SAP

Excel

Job description

Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL) is one of India's largest media conglomerates, with a legacy dating back to 1838 and a portfolio that includes The Times of India, The Economic Times, Mumbai Mirror, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times, and Vijay Karnataka. Across print, digital, branded content, out-of-home, and experiential platforms, BCCL combines trusted journalism, audience insight, and innovation to shape conversations at scale.

The Opportunity:

• Receive well-defined requirements from multiple users, send enquiries to targeted set of suppliers to negotiate and finalize pricing, payment, delivery and other terms. To have planned and in-depth tactical negotiation for larger and annual requirements, including Pan India centralized contracts. Liaise with vendors for adherence to quality, speed and cost. Ensure meeting of primary targets of cost savings, and secondary targets of TAT, correct documentation, timely deliveries, and payments.
• Work closely with supply chain teams for process standardization and improvement.
• Co-ordinate with location heads, collate the relevant data and prepare MIS
• Negotiate and execute Pan India central contracts for material and services (Indirect buying).
• Indirect buying experience only predominantly form admin buying, Travel or support services buying

This is a local level role having short term impact on the overall organizational goals

What you will do:

• Requirement Monitoring: Regularly monitor SAP and email for requirements that have been put up by users. Discussion with users to ensure in-depth unambiguous understanding of requirement, to be able to send enquiries to vendors and negotiate on offers received. Ensure proper approvals before finalizing commercials. Have advance planning with users for annual requirements, with proper tactical plan in place for ensuring best negotiations. In-depth experience in events
• Vendor Management: Send enquiries to potential vendors; be aware of strengths and weakness of vendors in the marketplace; be aware of correct hierarchy of vendor with whom to communicate for best results. Organize technical discussion with user where required; prior understanding with user on how to convert technical differences in offer to commercial differences. Obtain maximum concessions from vendor; finalize payment and delivery schedule with vendors; Issue Purchase Order with agreed legal terms from SAP, after suitable internal approvals, as required.
• Vendor Development: Be in constant touch with market to identify potential new vendors, and leveraging same to commercial advantage in ongoing negotiations. Have long-term plan to develop stronger vendors. Be in constant touch with multiple levels in hierarchy of vendor, to ensure seamless resolution of issues and suitable leveraging for negotiations.
• Logistics: Confirm order with vendor; prepare internal approval note; coordinate sign off on the internal approval note; finalize the legal terms and conditions with the vendor
• User Coordination: Ensure timely updates to users on status of requirement. Coordinate with user and vendor for resolution of any quality / quantity related issues that may arise, with suitable commercial and financial closure. Follow-up with users for timely processing of vendor invoices to ensure timely payments, which will help in future negotiations.
• MIS Preparation: Interact with supply chain teams for collation, compilation of various data points, analyze the data and convert the data into meaningful information and MIS
• Support various internal and external audits and ensure nil deviation against defined processes
• Special Projects: Identify and lead special projects (cost rationalization, Process standardization & improvement and Pan India Centralized contracts ) as assigned from time to time.

Relevant Experience:10-12 years of experience in Procurement

Educational Qualifications Required: B.E. / B.Tech. or MBA or Postgraduate

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND ACCESSIBILITY

BCCL is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and consider applicants without discrimination based on gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, caste, ethnicity, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Candidates who need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process may inform the recruiter.