Head - Vehicle procurement and Supply

Ablecold Logistics; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,500,000; Full time

Job summary

AbleCold Logistics in Bengaluru is seeking a Head - Reefer Vehicle Procurement & Supply to own end-to-end procurement and availability of small and medium reefers across operating cities and lanes. You will build a market network of vehicle owners, fleet operators, transporters, and supply partners, and negotiate competitive commercial terms to ensure timely, cost-efficient vehicle placement.

This is a hands-on, market-facing leadership role critical to scaling AbleCold's transportation business

Qualifications

• 8-12 years of experience in transport procurement, fleet sourcing or logistics.
• Strong network of vehicle owners, transporters and market aggregators.
• Experience in market-based procurement of commercial vehicles; reefer experience is a plus.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Hands-on, market-facing leader with strong execution capability.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end procurement and supply of small/medium reefer vehicles across cities and lanes.
• Build and manage a network of vehicle owners, fleet operators and supply partners.
• Negotiate freight rates, leases, terms and service conditions.
• Evaluate sourcing options (spot, long-term, leasing) based on business needs.
• Ensure vehicles meet operational, safety and temperature-control requirements.
• Track performance, availability, and supplier reliability; drive cost savings.
• Travel as needed to build relationships and source capacity.

Skills

Network building

Negotiation

Market scouting

Vendor management

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Data-driven decisions

Execution bias

Job description

The Role

• The Head - Reefer Vehicle Procurement & Supply will own the identification, sourcing, procurement, and availability of small and medium-sized reefer vehicles required for AbleCold's rapidly growing operations.
• The role will involve building a strong market network of vehicle owners, fleet operators, transporters, and other supply partners; negotiating competitive commercial terms; and ensuring that the right vehicles are available at the right location and time.
• This is a highly hands-on, market-facing role and is critical to AbleCold's ability to scale its transportation business while maintaining service reliability and healthy margins.

Key Responsibilities

• - Own the end-to-end procurement and supply of small and medium-sized reefer vehicles across operating cities and key lanes.
• - Identify and build a network of reefer vehicle owners, fleet operators, transporters, brokers, and other supply partners.
• - Continuously scout the market to identify new sources of reliable vehicle supply.
• - Negotiate freight rates, lease rentals, minimum guarantees, commercial terms, and service conditions with vehicle owners and transport partners.
• - Evaluate whether vehicles should be procured through spot hiring, long-term contracts, leasing, or other commercial arrangements based on business requirements.
• - Build a reliable and scalable supply base capable of supporting both existing and new customer requirements.
• - Maintain strong relationships with vehicle owners and suppliers while ensuring commercial discipline.
• - Monitor market freight rates and vehicle availability across cities and lanes to identify cost and supply opportunities.
• - Ensure timely placement and availability of vehicles against operational requirements.
• - Develop alternate sources of supply to minimize dependency on individual vendors and reduce the risk of vehicle shortages.
• - Ensure all vehicles and suppliers meet AbleCold's operational, safety, compliance, and temperature-control requirements.
• - Drive onboarding and documentation of new vehicle suppliers into AbleCold's systems.
• - Track supplier performance, availability, cancellations, service failures, and commercial performance.
• - Resolve supply-side escalations and negotiate solutions to operational challenges.
• - Use data and market intelligence to continuously reduce procurement costs and improve vehicle availability and utilization.

Required Skills & Experience

• - 8-12 years of experience in transport procurement, fleet sourcing, vehicle supply, logistics, or related fields.
• - Strong experience in market-based procurement of commercial vehicles; experience with reefer vehicles will be a significant advantage.
• - Strong existing network of vehicle owners, transporters, fleet operators, and market aggregators.
• - Excellent negotiation and commercial skills with a strong understanding of lane economics and market freight rates.
• - Ability to identify new sources of supply and build relationships from scratch.
• - Strong understanding of small and medium commercial vehicles and their operating economics.
• - Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• - Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• - Ability to work with data and make commercially sound decisions.
• - Strong follow-up and closure skills.
• - Extremely hands-on with a strong execution bias - comfortable spending time in the market and personally driving outcomes.
• - High ownership, entrepreneurial mindset, and ability to work in a fast-paced start-up environment.
• - Willingness to travel extensively across markets when required.

Key Success Metrics

• - Vehicle availability / fill rate
• - Cost of procurement versus market benchmarks
• - Timely vehicle placement
• - Number and quality of active supply partners
• - Supplier retention and performance
• - Reduction in vehicle cancellations and service failures
• - Procurement savings and improvement in contribution margins
• - Coverage of key cities and lanes
• - Speed of onboarding new vehicles and suppliers