KIA – Hiring for Assistant Manager – Material Control @Penukonda

The automotive manufacturing corridor in Andhra Pradesh is expanding rapidly, demanding high precision in supply chain execution, raw material buffering, and parts sequencing. A leading automotive manufacturer is expanding its Production Management division and accepting applications for the position of Assistant Manager – Material Control (Engine Control) at its advanced manufacturing hub in Penukonda, Andhra Pradesh.

This comprehensive guide breaks down the technical expectations, core operational supply chain workflows, role dynamics, salary metrics, and strategic interview preparation tracks for this high-stakes engineering position.

About Company

As the Assistant Manager – Material Control, you are the logistical custodian of the engine assembly line’s material pipeline. This role is responsible for directing and overseeing the full lifecycle of supply chain activities related to material procurement, Inventory Management, and the strategic distribution of components on the shop floor.

Instead of executing generic warehouse management, your daily engineering tasks will focus on Material Requirements Planning (MRP). You will coordinate with local and international suppliers, track lead times, calculate dynamic safety stocks, and bridge production planning with logistics and quality assurance teams to ensure that component shortages never halt the high-velocity engine assembly line.

Job Details

Job Description

As the Assistant Manager – Material Control, you are the logistical custodian of the engine assembly line’s material pipeline. This role is responsible for directing and overseeing the full lifecycle of supply chain activities related to material procurement, Inventory Management, and the strategic distribution of components on the shop floor.

Instead of executing generic warehouse management, your daily engineering tasks will focus on Material Requirements Planning (MRP). You will coordinate with local and international suppliers, track lead times, calculate dynamic safety stocks, and bridge production planning with logistics and quality assurance teams to ensure that component shortages never halt the high-velocity engine assembly line.

Requirements

• Academic Foundation: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Automobile, Production, or Industrial Engineering) or a Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management / Operations from an accredited university.
• Professional Tenure: 2 to 6 years of active experience specializing in material control, material planning, or MRP systems entirely inside a high-volume manufacturing facility—ideally an automotive OEM or Tier-1 component manufacturer.
• Systems Mastery: Advanced, hands-on proficiency working inside enterprise ERP environments (specifically the SAP Material Management [MM] and Production Planning [PP] modules, or Oracle equivalents) is mandatory.
• Material Planning Core: Proven competence in drafting Material Requirement Plans, executing bill-of-materials (BOM) explosions, managing safety stock matrices, and resolving inventory discrepancies.
• Analytical Capabilities: Expert command of data analytics tools, particularly Microsoft Excel (nested conditional functions, index-matching, macro scripting, and pivot caches) to isolate aging inventory and usage trends.
• Soft Skills: Strong problem-solving capabilities under high-pressure plant conditions, excellent vendor negotiation skills, and clear cross-department communication habits.

Roles and Responsibilities

• 1. Material Planning & Inventory Optimization
• Stock Calibration: Monitor, manage, and optimize shop-floor and warehouse inventory levels, ensuring that safety stocks are accurately balanced to protect production while minimizing holding costs.
• Trend Analytics: Perform detailed trend analyses and forecasting evaluations on raw material usage to proactively mitigate component shortages and prevent overstock situations.
• System Implementation: Design, update, and audit inventory control systems and material sequencing pathways (such as Kanban loops or Just-In-Time [JIT] configurations) to streamline plant logistics.
• 2. Supplier Coordination & Procurement Collaboration
• Supplier Synchronization: Coordinate closely with external component suppliers to organize timely material shipments, immediately addressing quantity discrepancies, transit delays, or transit damage logs.
• Procurement Alignment: Partner with global procurement and purchasing units to communicate upcoming component requirements, supporting cost-effective and timely material sourcing.
• Clearing & Quality Sync: Collaborate with Quality Assurance (QA) teams to track parts stuck in inspection containment zones, accelerating standard processing to clear components for assembly use.
• 3. Operational Audits, Financial Governance, & Leadership
• Process Auditing: Conduct routine physical cycle counts, warehouse audits, and material process checks to guarantee total compliance with corporate financial guidelines.
• MIS Dashboarding: Generate weekly and monthly Management Information Systems (MIS) reports detailing operational efficiency metrics, material usage variances, and obsolete inventory aging tracks.
• Budgeting Assistance: Supply analytical input and cost-variance data to support senior management in drafting annual material procurement and operational logistics budgets.
• Team Governance: Supervise, mentor, and train junior material handlers and logistics clerks on standard operating procedures, ERP data entry accuracy, and factory safety protocols.

How to Apply?

Role Summary

This position operates at the intersection of Material Planning, Supplier Relationship Management, and Shop Floor Analytics. In an automotive engine facility, managing material control involves coordinating thousands of individual engine sub-components (such as pistons, crankshafts, electronic control units, and fuel injectors) in a continuous pipeline rather than tracking static inventory arrays.

You are responsible for translating broad production schedules into specific material arrival sequences. Your tasks involve monitoring inventory trends, evaluating supply volatility, building material safety nets to counteract vendor delays, tracking components through quality holds, and training junior operators on standard inventory handling procedures.

Company Culture & Insights

In an engine assembly facility, maintaining an unyielding safety stock ($SS$) layer is vital to insulate the factory line from supply fluctuations or sudden changes in production pace. As an Assistant Manager, you will calculate optimal safety margins using statistical inventory models rather than static estimates. A standard formula applied to account for variation in both demand and supplier lead time is:

Why We Recommend This Job

• High Operational Scope: This role offers complete visibility across the manufacturing lifecycle—from initial supplier coordination to final engine testing lines—transforming you into a comprehensive operations expert.
• Marketable System Competencies: Developing specialized capabilities inside the SAP MM/PP engines at an assistant manager level ensures your market value remains exceptionally strong across global supply chain sectors.
• Clear Career Trajectory: This position serves as a direct springboard into senior production management, logistics operations leadership, and global supply chain architecture roles.

Career Growth Potential

• The career progression path inside the enterprise manufacturing framework features structured corporate milestones:
• Assistant Manager - Material Control ➔ Deputy Manager (Production Planning) ➔ Material Control Manager ➔ Head of Plant Logistics ➔ Director of Supply Chain Operations
• During your initial 24 months, your impact focuses on perfecting individual material pipelines, reducing inventory variances, and accelerating parts transition cycles. As you demonstrate strong financial acumen, cut down material overhead costs, and prove your ability to lead technical teams, your scope scales to managing entire plant logistics frameworks, directing vendor selection grids, and overseeing large-scale manufacturing expansion budgets.

Skills You’ll Gain

Salary & Benefits Info

• Estimated CTC Package: For an active professional with 2 to 6 years of specialized automotive material control background, the Total Compensation package typically ranges from ₹7,50,000 to ₹13,00,000 per annum, finalized based on matching technical screening metrics and prior manufacturing exposure.
• Savings & Retirals: Full statutory compliance updates covering Employee Provident Fund (EPF), Gratuity accounts, and performance-backed annual variable bonus metrics.
• Health Coverage: Premium group medical, accident, and life insurance structures extending protections to immediate family dependencies.

Frequently Asked Interview Questions

1. ERP MRP Mechanics: “What are the primary transaction codes you use to execute a Material Requirements Planning (MRP) run in SAP? Walk me through how the system handles a sudden change in the Bill of Materials (BOM) for an engine control unit.”
2. Inventory Strategy: “How do you distinguish between Just-In-Time (JIT) and Just-In-Sequence (JIS) material deployment models on an automotive assembly line? What structural risks do these approaches pose during global supply chain interruptions?”
3. Resolving Discrepancies: “Imagine a scenario where the physical inventory audit identifies a critical shortage of 500 pistons compared to the ERP ledger records, threatening an immediate line stoppage. What concrete troubleshooting steps do you execute to isolate the error and secure replacement parts?”
4. Data Variance Modeling: “How do you leverage advanced Excel functions to design an automated alert dashboard that flags slow-moving or obsolete inventory before it incurs holding cost penalties?”

Behavioral & Culture Questions

1. Cross-Department Negotiation: “Material control requires continuous coordination with production managers who want high safety stocks and finance teams who demand minimal inventory holding. How do you leverage data to balance these conflicting goals?”
2. Maintaining Precision Under Pressure: “During high-volume launch windows, component specifications can change rapidly while deadlines remain tight. Describe a situation where you had to maintain high attention to detail while navigating a high-pressure production schedule.”
3. Mentorship & Team Leadership: “Describe your strategy for training and upskilling junior warehouse operators to ensure absolute data entry accuracy inside the plant’s ERP system.”