Paluru Ravindra

Procurement & Supply Chain Leader with 25+ years managing multi-country sourcing, category ownership, and supplier governance — including $55M+ spend across five product categories and five countries (India, Brazil, Portugal, UAE, Italy). Proven track record negotiating supplier contracts, delivering measurable cost savings, and driving AI-enabled process improvement across cross-functional, multi-geography teams. Skilled in ERP/MIS, root-cause problem solving, and developing procurement talent.

Purchasing Manager at Architectural Surfaces India Pvt. Ltd. (2025-06 – 2026-07)

Led $55M+ spend across five product categories and multiple geographies (India, Brazil, Portugal, UAE, and Italy), S&OP, risk management & budgeting.

• Led end-to-end procurement operations across five verticals (Quartz, Custom Stones, Natural Stones, Domestic & International Tiles) and five countries (India, Brazil, Portugal, UAE, Italy), managed a team of 15 members.
• Owned vendor onboarding, catalog and pricing data accuracy, and procurement compliance checks across international suppliers, ensuring adherence to internal spend policy.
• Formally segmented suppliers into strategic, preferred, and transactional tiers across the international supplier base, tailoring governance, engagement frequency, and negotiation strategy by tier.
• Applied should-cost and cost-breakdown analysis to benchmark supplier pricing against market and material-cost trends, strengthening negotiation leverage across categories.
• Conducted fortnightly business reviews with Sales, Planning, and senior US hub leadership, sharing category price-trend and market intelligence to align demand forecasts, inventory levels, and shipment priorities during tariff-impacted periods.
• Diagnosed root-cause data integrity issues in ERP purchasing and vendor records, led a 3-month cleanup initiative that restored forecast accuracy and reliable MIS reporting for senior leadership.
• Negotiated payment terms, stock rollover, and pricing with international suppliers, protecting margins while maintaining OTIF/service level 85% and savings of 1.5%.
• Proposed AI-driven process automation for 1,000+ purchase orders per month as part of a continuous-improvement initiative, reducing manual processing time by 5 hours per day.
• Tightened vendor onboarding, documentation, ESG and contract controls, improving export/import compliance and audit readiness.

Senior Leader – Procurement at Brane Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. (2019-12 – 2025-06)

• Served as category subject-matter expert for AI Labs procurement (electronics, electromechanical components, development boards, sensors, cameras, and design software/hardware) managing ₹6 Cr spend 12+ product development cycles from POC to Production and advising engineering and planning teams on category strategy and supplier risk.
• Applied TCO framework and cost-breakdown analysis to benchmark supplier pricing against market and material-cost trends, strengthening negotiation leverage across categories.
• Applied process improvement methods to reduce lead times and mitigate supply risk across hardware/software procurement categories, cutting cycle time by 15% and cost by 4%.
• Maintained procurement compliance records (contracts, NDAs, vendor performance KPIs) and delivered regular reporting/business updates to senior management.
• Mentored 5 team members on procurement processes and vendor negotiation.

Entrepreneur at Self-employed (2018-04 – 2019-11)

Planned & started a pest control company providing services to residential & commercial properties.

• Designed and executed strategies to enhance revenue and customer satisfaction.
• Responsible for sales, collections and all administrative activities.

Branch Head at SIS Terminix (2013-10 – 2018-04)

• Led sales, operations, and P&L for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, managing procurement, inventory, and vendor compliance for 63 clients including Dr. Reddy's, Apollo Hospitals, Google, and Walmart.
• Owned SOP implementation and process compliance across the branch, driving audit readiness and consistent service delivery.
• Directed recruitment, training, and mentorship for a team of 20 members, building a high-performing operations team.
• Awarded 'Branch of the Year' (2017–18) for sustained sales, profitability, and operational stabilization.

Senior Manager – Purchase at K-12 Techno Services (2013-02 – 2013-09)

• Managed end-to-end procurement operations for 103 schools across AP, Bangalore & Mumbai spanning digital classrooms, IT/software, textbooks, furniture, uniforms, and civil/AMC categories — a ₹23 Cr spend portfolio.
• Led RFI/RFQ sourcing events and built vendor performance review and inventory control systems from the ground up, introducing policies that reduced wastage and improved delivery consistency.
• Delivered ₹1.5 Cr in savings (2013) through process redesign: renegotiated supplier payment terms to 90 days, introduced 15% return-stock policy, and streamlined kitting/packing for 75,000+ student kits.
• Recruited, trained, and mentored the purchase team, improving operational throughput ahead of the academic year deadline.

Head of Facilities & Procurement at Biligiri Hotels (2010-01 – 2013-01)

• Led a cross-functional team on planning & execution of facility and procurement projects, coordinating architects, material planning and manufacturing teams; introduced Inventory Turnover Ratio (ITR) tracking, sustaining 75% ITR on high-moving items and easing cash-flow pressure.

General Manager Purchase at Hotel Kamal (Ohris) (2008-09 – 2009-02)

• Drafted and executed procurement and store SOPs for 11 outlets across Andhra Pradesh & Bangalore; streamlined the IDS Store Management System.

Project In-charge → Store In-charge → Purchase Manager → Head, Purchase & Expense Accounts at Biligiri Hotels (1999-09 – 2008-08)

• Progressed from Project In-charge to Head of Purchase & Expense Accounts over 9 years, driving cost savings across P&L, procurement, stores, contracts, vendor management, budgets, audit and ISO implementation, led CRM-Tally implementation supporting the organization's 2008 ISO certification, and served as project manager delivering three new outlets (Utsav, Red Brick Inn, Moksh) – Utsav was named 'Best Restaurant of the Year' by FHRAI (2001–2005).

Bachelor's in Business Management in Business Management – Gitam College, Vishakhapatnam (Andhra University)