Head of Warehouse & Inventory Management

About the Role Lead the end-to-end warehouse and materials management for Henkel's site, ensuring accurate material identification, inventory accuracy, and compliant operations across inbound, storage, line feeding, and dispatch. Partner with Production, Planning, Procurement, Customer Service, and Quality to ensure uninterrupted material flow and drive Lean, GWP, and digitalization initiatives. What You'll Do

• Lead end-to-end warehouse operations including inbound, storage, put-away, kitting, line feeding, finished goods storage, and dispatch.
• Ensure accurate material identification, FIFO/FEFO implementation, batch traceability, and prevention of material mix-ups.
• Maintain inventory accuracy through cycle counting, monthly physical inventory, variance analysis, and corrective actions.
• Manage warehouse capacity, storage optimization, and material flow to support uninterrupted production.
• Drive Good Warehouse Practices (GWP), 5S, and Visual Management across warehouse operations.
• Ensure uninterrupted availability of Raw Materials and Packaging Materials to production.
• Coordinate closely with Production, Planning, Procurement, Customer Service, and Quality teams for smooth material flow.
• Act as Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for job workers, toll manufacturers, and external warehouse operations.
• Manage imported raw material call-offs from ports and local supplier deliveries.
• Ensure 100% OTIF (On Time In Full) dispatch performance.
• Ensure customer-specific packaging, labeling, documentation, and dispatch compliance.
• Monitor dispatch planning and transportation coordination.
• Ensure compliance with E-Way Bills, statutory documentation, and customer requirements.
• Manage procurement, storage, handling, issuance, and inventory control of bulk solvents and packaging materials.
• Ensure shelf-life monitoring, usage traceability, and safe storage practices.
• Maintain statutory compliance for hazardous chemicals.
• Manage hazardous and non-hazardous scrap disposal in compliance with statutory, environmental, and company requirements.
• Coordinate with approved scrap vendors and regulatory authorities.
• Ensure complete documentation and audit readiness for scrap disposal activities.
• Ensure compliance with IATF 16949, ISO standards, GMP/GWP, and customer-specific requirements.
• Maintain warehouse SOPs, work instructions, risk assessments, and documented information.
• Support Internal Audits, Customer Audits, Certification Audits, and Regulatory inspections.
• Drive Root Cause Analysis (RCA), CAPA, and continual improvement initiatives.
• Drive implementation of WMS, SAP, Smart Factory initiatives, barcode systems, and warehouse automation.
• Lead Management of Change (MOC) activities for warehouse improvements.
• Execute Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, Cost Reduction, and Productivity Improvement projects.
• Support automation initiatives including ASRS (Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems).
• Lead and manage third-party logistics (3PL) operations and warehouse manpower.
• Conduct daily reviews, Toolbox Talks (TBT), safety training, and competency development.
• Monitor manpower productivity, attendance, discipline, and performance.
• Present monthly warehouse performance, KPIs, compliance status, risks, and improvement plan to senior management. What We're Looking For
• Required Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Chemical engineering; Master in supply chain / Materials Management; MBA or PGDM in Supply Chain/Logistics preferred.
• Experience: Minimum 10 years in Warehouse & Materials Management within Manufacturing, Automotive, Adhesives, Chemical, FMCG, Electronics, or Industrial sectors; minimum 5 years in a leadership role; experience handling Raw Materials, Packaging Materials, Finished Goods, and hazardous chemicals; customer-facing operations and IATF-certified organizations preferred.
• Technical Competencies: WMS, SAP MM / WMS & SFS, Inventory Management & Cycle Counting, MRP, ASRS, Lean, Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt preferred), 8D/5 Why/Fishbone RCA, IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, GWP, E-Way Bill & GST documentation, Import Logistics & Port Coordination, Dangerous Goods & Chemical Handling, CSR. Nice to Have
• Experience with SAP, automation projects, ASRS, and leadership in a multinational manufacturing environment. Compensation & Benefits
• Diverse national/international growth opportunities, global wellbeing and preventive care programs, gender-neutral parental leave, Employee Share Plan with Henkel matching shares, comprehensive medical insurance for employee and dependents, accident and term life policies, and progressive OPD policy.