Chief Supply Chain Officer — Interim, Pharmaceutical Distribution

The mandate

A refrigeration failure destroyed high-value inventory, after which the supply-chain chief resigned during the investigation. The incident exposed fragmented temperature monitoring, inflated safety stocks and no enterprise authority over third-party depots.

The interim is expected within two weeks for twelve months while the board redesigns the permanent supply-chain role. Search begins in month seven, and the last six weeks are reserved for route, inventory and vendor-governance transfer.

Handover is achieved when essential-medicine service exceeds ninety-eight per cent for sixteen weeks, cold-chain excursions fall below 0.2 per cent, inventory days decline from 112 to 78, and the successor has run one complete S&OP quarter.

The chief may reallocate inventory, suspend unsafe depots, invoke alternate carriers and award emergency work below ₹1 crore. Network closures, contracts above ₹5 crore and write-offs over ₹2 crore need executive approval; product release and demand pricing are expressly withheld.

Manufacturing scheduling inside plants, formulation portfolio choices and hospital tender strategy are not part of the brief. The supply-chain team supplies scenarios but does not inherit commercial or quality sign-off.

Why this seat is open

The excursion became a board event because prior warnings had not been escalated. Resignation removed the only enterprise-level supply-chain signatory during corrective action. The board wants decisive temporary cover until cold-chain controls and the permanent organisation are demonstrably stable.

What you will own

• Quarantine and disposition excursion-exposed stock through Quality while preserving a complete financial and custody record.
• Redesign cold-chain monitoring, alert escalation and lane qualification across owned and third-party depots.
• Decide inventory rebalancing by patient criticality, shelf life, demand confidence and qualified transport capacity.
• Introduce monthly S&OP with one constrained forecast, explicit allocation rules and executive exception decisions.
• Renegotiate carrier and depot service schedules around temperature performance, recovery rights and audit access.
• Reduce inventory days to 78 through SKU segmentation, expiry prevention and supplier-lot discipline.
• Transfer the network control book and chairing authority after the successor completes a full S&OP quarter.

Candidate qualifications

• More than twenty-two years in pharmaceutical, vaccine or medical-product supply chains with national executive scope.
• Led recovery from a material cold-chain excursion, including quarantine, patient-supply protection and vendor accountability.
• Deep experience in S&OP, inventory segmentation, GDP controls, lane qualification and temperature-monitoring technology.
• Record of reducing working capital without creating shortages in life-critical or highly regulated categories.
• Commercial skill in logistics contracting, paired with clear respect for independent Quality disposition authority.
• Ability to operate during product scarcity using transparent allocation principles and board-visible exception governance.

Non-negotiables

• Onsite in Ahmedabad within two weeks and able to visit depots on short notice.
• No ownership or advisory interest in contracted cold-chain carriers or warehouse operators.
• Will accept an exclusive five-day operating role for twelve months.
• Comfortable making and documenting medicine-allocation choices during constrained supply.

1. 49 words maximum. State your earliest start and readiness for immediate depot travel from Ahmedabad.
2. 49 words maximum. Quantify a cold-chain excursion you managed and the recurrence control you personally approved.
3. 49 words maximum. How many inventory days did you remove without reducing essential-product service?