Vijayakumar somasundaram

Supply Chain Manager at Novartis Corporation Malaysia Sdn Bhd

• Malaysia
• My current job since June 2016

Manager -Planning, Distribution & Logistics at Sandoz Private Limited, A Novartis Company.

• India - Mumbai
• October 2012 to June 2016

• Demand Management and Inventory control - Manage in terms of finished goods inventory in order to ensure no sales loss and maintain inventory within agreed norms across all over India.

• Warehouse /C&FA Management - Select, appoint and manage C&FAs, set Key Performance Parameters, evaluate performance, ensure statutory compliance by C&FAs in order to ensure fulfillment of defined service levels.

• Distribution Planning - Accurate Stocks Requirement Planning and Movement, effective coordination with Production planning in order to ensure timely availability of stocks.

• Transportation Management - Evaluate alternate cost effective modes of transport, finalize transport contracts, review transporters performance in order to ensure timely deliveries and actual freight within budget.

• Distribution Overheads - Monitor and control actual distribution expenses, take corrective actions in order to ensure actual expenses are within budgeted limits.

• Improvement Initiatives In Distribution & Logistics - Review and analyze logistics issues, propose solutions, plan improvements in order to benchmark against best industry practices in distribution and logistics.

• Operational Efficiency : Developing systems and procedures for efficient and effective functioning of CFAs. Minimizing the time to service Distributors and managing the cost within the budget.

• Network Management : Management of relationships with the Distributors. Collecting regular feedbacks from the Distributors and ensuring improvement .Handling and closure of all customer grievances / complaints.

• Supply Chain Risks : Compliances to all Statutory / Regulatory requirements related to Supply Chain. Ensuring compliances with various company policies. Risk mitigation through Standard Operating Procedures wherever required. Self Auditing and handling of all Audits in CFA locations

• Infrastructure Management: Ensuring Warehouse adequate space, Cold Chain and availability of other necessary infrastructure at CFA locations. Ensuring adequate and competent manpower at CFAs. Negotiation for all expenses..

• Training : Ensuring CFA staff are trained on all company SOPs and Policies.

Assistant Manager at Amara Raja Batteries Limited

• India - Hyderabad
• January 2007 to September 2012

 Responsible for handling supply chain management across 29 locations for business worth INR
 3000Cr and increasing service level & settled warranty claims along with managing performance of
 transporters improving the quality of service levels of distribution.

 Planning for the entire After market sales and domestic requirements inclusive of
 OEM & PL customers and Export orders of Automotive Business segments.


 Preparation of Budget for the entire outbound logistics function and monitoring month wise
 Budget Vs Actuals.

 Reconcillation of Stocks collected by smelter and returned as Lead and submitting to management.

 Training to all CFA staff for accessing SAP transactions to have smooth flow

Senior Executive at A.W.Faber Castell India Ltd

• India
• February 2003 to December 2006

• Responsible for handling 13 branches across India with a team of 6 besides preparing the rolling sales plan against the sales history and for production & distribution along with finalizing 25 export and domestic orders.

 Handled forecasting and planning based on region-wise demands of the past trend and seasonal and promotional campaigning factors

 Ensured effective utilization of available resources, proper material planning, effective procurement, timely execution of domestic and export orders & cost effective logistics

Operational Efficiencies

 Reduced lead-time for export shipments from 70 days to 35 days and logistics cost by 8% through shipment consolidation and abolition of docket charges
 Decreased cost of packaging materials by 20% through alternative vendors and better planning process
 Standardized packaging thereby reducing number of SKUs and procurement cost by INR 0.036Cr p.a.

Executive at G.M.Pens International Ltd

• India - Chennai
• September 1997 to January 2003

Responsible for managing the mother warehouse at Chennai & establishing the regional warehouses at Delhi, Kolkatta and Pune along with controlling the administrative functions of regional warehouses with a storage area of 60, 000 sq. ft, consisting of finished goods, raw materials and packing materials.
 Controlled vendor accounting for sub-contracting materials with 54 vendors across Chennai, Pondicherry and Bangalore
 Ensured monthly MIS reports submission to the management for production and sales in 5 units at Chennai, Pondicherry, Pune, Delhi & Kolkata production and sales
 Coordinated with Stock Auditors during the course of vouching and periodical physical verification of stock
 Implemented Oracle 7.3 with Power Builder besides being involved in the transition of FoxPro based system into oracle based system and training the stores & logistics team
 Monitored cost effectiveness of the warehouses periodically by providing LIS report to management on the efficiency of individual warehouses