NPD - Service Manager (Kitchen Appliances)

The Indus Valley; Chennai District; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

The Indus Valley, a Chennai-based direct-to-consumer cookware brand, is seeking an experienced Service Manager - Appliances to oversee after-sales service, warranty claims, and vendor coordination for our appliance category.

You will manage defect verification, coordinate with OEMs and service vendors, and ensure timely closures of service cases while collaborating with Customer Care, Quality, NPD, Warehouse, and Supply Chain teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or Diploma in Electrical/Electronics or Mechanical engineering.
• 5-8 years of experience in after-sales service or appliance service management.
• Experience with appliances such as mixer grinders, blenders, choppers, induction cooktops, kettles, air fryers, rice cookers, OTGs.
• Strong defect identification, warranty verification, vendor coordination and repair/replacement handling.
• Good understanding of electrical/functional appliance issues and service requirements.
• Experience with OEMs, service centers or appliance vendors.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, coordination and escalation-management skills.
• Good communication and stakeholder-management abilities.
• Ability to maintain service records, MIS, claim trackers and vendor follow-ups.

Responsibilities

• Defect Identification & Verification: review and validate appliance complaints to identify defects, usage, transit damage, or service needs.
• Warranty Management: verify eligibility before approving repair, replacement, or further action.
• Vendor Coordination: coordinate with manufacturers, OEMs, and service vendors for claims and parts.
• Defective Product Replacement: ensure repair or replacement within agreed timelines in coordination with teams.
• Product Inspection: conduct or coordinate inspection of returned/defective appliances.
• Root Cause Analysis: analyze recurring defects and drive corrective actions with vendors and internal teams.
• Service Escalation Management: handle critical cases and communicate with stakeholders.
• Vendor Claim Tracking: maintain records of defects, warranty claims, replacements, and closures.
• Spare Parts Coordination: ensure availability of critical spare parts for repairs.
• Service TAT Monitoring: track turnaround times to ensure timely resolution.
• Customer Complaint Analysis: review trends to identify product/service improvements.
• Quality Feedback: share defect/service feedback with QA and NPD teams.
• Return & Replacement Control: validate defective cases before processing replacements or claims.
• Vendor Performance Monitoring: track defect rates and spare availability.
• Documentation & MIS: maintain periodic reports on service issues and vendor actions.
• Process Improvement: develop SOPs for appliance service and claims management.
• Cross-functional Coordination: collaborate with Customer Care, QA, NPD, Warehouse, Ecommerce, Supply Chain, Finance and vendors.

Skills

Defect identification

Warranty verification

Vendor coordination

Repair & replacement handling

Problem solving

Coordination

Escalation management

Communication

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree or Diploma in Electrical / Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Service Manager - Appliances to manage after-sales service, product defect verification, warranty claims, replacements, and vendor coordination for our appliance category. The ideal candidate should have strong hands-on experience in home or kitchen appliances and be capable of identifying product defects, validating customer complaints, coordinating with vendors for repair or replacement, and ensuring timely closure of service issues. The role will work closely with Customer Care, Quality, New Product Development, Warehouse, Supply Chain, and appliance vendors to improve service quality and reduce recurring product issues.

Key Responsibilities

• Defect Identification & Verification: Review and validate appliance-related customer complaints to identify whether the issue is a product defect, usage-related concern, transit damage, or service requirement.
• Warranty Management: Verify warranty eligibility based on purchase details, product condition, warranty terms, and complaint nature before approving repair, replacement, or further action.
• Vendor Coordination: Coordinate with appliance manufacturers, OEMs, and service vendors for warranty claims, repair support, spare parts, replacement approvals, and defective product resolution.
• Defective Product Replacement: Ensure defective appliances are repaired or replaced within agreed timelines in coordination with vendors, Customer Care, Warehouse, and Supply Chain teams.
• Product Inspection: Conduct or coordinate inspection of returned or defective appliances to validate the issue before processing vendor claims or replacements.
• Root Cause Analysis: Analyze recurring defects, service complaints, warranty claims, and return patterns to identify root causes and drive corrective actions with vendors and internal teams.
• Service Escalation Management: Handle critical and escalated appliance service cases and ensure timely resolution with proper communication to relevant stakeholders.
• Vendor Claim Tracking: Maintain records of defective units, warranty claims, replacements, credit notes, pending cases, and vendor closures.
• Spare Parts Coordination: Work with vendors to ensure availability of critical spare parts required for appliance repairs and service support.
• Service TAT Monitoring: Track turnaround time for inspection, repair, replacement, and claim closure and ensure service cases are resolved within defined timelines.
• Customer Complaint Analysis: Review complaint trends, customer feedback, ratings, and service-related concerns to identify opportunities for product and service improvement.
• Quality Feedback: Share structured defect and service feedback with Quality and NPD teams to improve future product quality, design, specifications, and vendor performance.
• Return & Replacement Control: Work with Customer Care and Operations teams to ensure only validated defective cases are processed for replacement or warranty claims.
• Vendor Performance Monitoring: Track vendor performance based on defect rates, service responsiveness, warranty closure time, spare availability, and replacement support.
• Documentation & MIS: Maintain accurate records and periodic reports on service complaints, defect categories, warranty claims, replacements, vendor recoveries, and pending cases.
• Process Improvement: Develop and improve SOPs for appliance service, warranty verification, defect handling, replacement approval, and vendor claim management.
• Cross-functional Coordination: Collaborate with Customer Care, QA, NPD, Warehouse, Ecommerce, Supply Chain, Finance, and vendors for effective service case closure.

Mandatory Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or Diploma in Electrical / Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum 5-8 years of experience in after-sales service, service operations, warranty management, or appliance service management.
• Experience handling products such as mixer grinders, blenders, choppers, induction cooktops, electric kettles, air fryers, rice cookers, OTGs, or similar appliances.
• Strong experience in defect identification, warranty verification, vendor coordination, repair, and replacement handling.
• Good understanding of electrical and functional appliance issues, common failure modes, and service requirements.
• Experience working with OEMs, manufacturers, service centres, or appliance vendors.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, coordination, and escalation-management skills.
• Good communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to maintain service records, MIS, claim trackers, and vendor follow-ups.

Preferred Exposure

• Experience with consumer durable, D2C, ecommerce, or home appliance brands.
• Exposure to service centre operations and technician coordination.
• Experience in warranty cost control and vendor claim recovery.
• Knowledge of spare parts planning and defective stock handling.
• Experience using customer complaint data and service trends to drive product quality improvements.

About The Indus Valley

The Indus Valley is a Chennai-based direct-to-consumer cookware and kitchen brand focused on health, safety, quality, and innovation. We are committed to developing products that improve everyday cooking experiences while maintaining strong standards of reliability, functionality, customer satisfaction, and responsible product development.