Vice President Automotive And Manufacturing Vertical

Purpose

The Vice President – Automotive & Manufacturing will be responsible for building and scaling Boltcargos Automotive and Manufacturing vertical into a significant, high-margin business.

The role will own the vertical strategy, revenue growth, customer acquisition, key account development, commercial strategy, team building, solution development and P&L performance for the segment.

The successful candidate will be expected to develop deep relationships with Automotive OEMs, Tier-1/Tier-2 suppliers, EV manufacturers, auto-component manufacturers, engineering companies and large industrial manufacturers, and position Boltcargo as a strategic supply-chain partner rather than simply a freight-forwarding service provider.

The role will combine CXO-level customer engagement, consultative selling, RFQ/RFP leadership, solution design and commercial ownership.

Key Responsibilities

1. Vertical Strategy & P&L

• Develop and execute Boltcargos 3–5 year strategy for the Automotive & Manufacturing vertical.
  
• Own revenue, gross profit and EBITDA targets for the vertical.
  
• Develop annual business plans, budgets and growth priorities.
  
• Identify priority customer segments, geographies, trade lanes and logistics solutions.
  
• Build a scalable vertical business model with clear revenue and profitability metrics.
  
• Track pipeline, conversion, customer profitability and share-of-wallet growth.
  
• Review performance monthly with the Managing Director and leadership team.
  

2. New Business Development

• Identify and acquire strategic Automotive and Manufacturing accounts across India and international markets.
  
• Build relationships with CXOs, Supply Chain Heads, Procurement Heads, Logistics Heads, Plant Heads and Global Sourcing teams.
  
• Build a robust pipeline of large enterprise opportunities and long-term contracts.
  
• Lead strategic negotiations and convert high-value opportunities into recurring business.
  

3. Key Account Management & Share of Wallet

• Own strategic relationships with major Automotive and Manufacturing customers.
  
• Develop account plans for the top customers within the vertical.
  
• Establish executive-level relationships and become a trusted logistics partner to customers.
  
• Conduct regular business reviews with strategic accounts.
  
• Develop multi-year customer relationships rather than transactional freight business.
  

4. RFQ / RFP & Tender Leadership

• Own the commercial strategy for major Automotive and Manufacturing RFQs/RFPs.
  
• Coordinate with pricing, procurement, operations and overseas partners to develop competitive and profitable solutions.
  
• Review customer requirements and identify opportunities for solution differentiation.
  
• Lead commercial negotiations for large contracts.
  
• Ensure pricing decisions are aligned with required contribution margins and risk parameters.
  
• Develop contract structures that provide visibility of volumes, margins and long-term business.
  

5. Automotive Supply Chain Solutions

Develop specialised logistics solutions for Automotive customers covering:

• Auto-component imports and exports
  
• OEM inbound logistics
  
• Plant-to-plant movements
  
• Just-in-time / time-critical shipments
  
• EV and battery supply chains
  
• CKD/SKD movements
  
• Finished vehicle logistics
  
• Project and plant logistics
  
• Vendor consolidation
  
• Milk-run and multimodal solutions
  
• Cross-border and cross-trade movements
  
• Emergency / critical spare-part logistics
  

The VP will work closely with operations and technology teams to develop differentiated solutions rather than competing purely on freight rates.

6. International Business Development

• Leverage Boltcargos international partner network to develop end-to-end solutions.
  
• Identify opportunities for India-origin cargo moving to Africa, Middle East, Europe, Americas and Asia.
  
• Develop cross-trade opportunities between manufacturing hubs such as China, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Europe and North America.
  
• Work with overseas partners to develop joint customer propositions.
  
• Identify opportunities where Boltcargo can become the preferred India logistics partner for global manufacturing companies.
  

7. Strategic Partnerships & Procurement

• Develop strong relationships with shipping lines, airlines, transporters, warehouses and overseas logistics partners.
  
• Negotiate strategic rates and capacity for key vertical requirements.
  
• Develop dedicated vendor pools for Automotive and Manufacturing customers.
  
• Ensure adequate capacity for peak seasons and time-critical movements.
  
• Work with procurement to create competitive and sustainable cost structures.
  

8. Team Building & Leadership

• Build and lead a specialised Automotive & Manufacturing vertical team.
  
• Recruit and develop business-development, key-account and solution-design professionals.
  
• Establish clear individual and team targets.
  
• Develop vertical-specific sales tools, account plans and reporting mechanisms.
  
• Coach the team on consultative selling, solution selling and enterprise account management.
  
• Build succession capability within the vertical.
  

10. Cross-functional Leadership

Work closely with:

• Operations
  
• Pricing & Procurement
  
• Finance
  
• Project Logistics
  
• Warehousing
  
• Domestic Transportation
  
• Technology
  
• Overseas offices and partners
  

to ensure that commercial commitments are operationally deliverable and financially viable.

Key Performance Indicators

The VP will be measured primarily on:

• Vertical revenue growth
  
• Gross profit / contribution growth
  
• EBITDA contribution
  
• New customer acquisition
  
• Strategic account wins
  
• Share-of-wallet growth
  
• RFQ/RFP conversion rate
  
• Customer retention
  
• Pipeline value
  
• Contracted / recurring revenue
  
• Average customer profitability
  
• International business generated
  
• Cross-sell across Boltcargos service portfolio
  

Requirements

Experience

• 18–25 years of experience in freight forwarding, logistics, supply-chain solutions or international transportation.
  
• Significant experience managing the Automotive and/or Manufacturing vertical.
  
• Proven track record of winning and growing large enterprise accounts.
  
• Experience dealing with Automotive OEMs, Tier-1/Tier-2 suppliers or large manufacturing companies.
  
• Strong understanding of international freight forwarding and multimodal logistics.
  
• Experience managing large RFQs/RFPs and commercial negotiations.
  
• Demonstrated experience in building teams and business verticals.
  
• Experience with P&L responsibility will be strongly preferred.
  

Preferred Background

Candidates from organisations from leading international freight-forwarding or 3PL organisations or Commercial Head of Automotive OEMs will be preferred, particularly those who have managed Automotive or Industrial verticals.

Education

• Graduate degree in Engineering, Commerce, Business or a related discipline.
  
• MBA / PGDM in Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain or Operations preferred.
  

Leadership Competencies

The ideal candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong commercial acumen
  
• Enterprise-level relationship management
  
• Consultative / solution selling capability
  
• Strategic thinking
  
• Strong negotiation skills
  
• P&L orientation
  
• Customer-centric mindset
  
• Ability to operate across international markets
  
• Strong analytical and financial understanding
  
• Entrepreneurial approach
  
• Ability to build and lead high-performing teams
  
• High integrity and ownership mindset
  

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 12 months, the successful candidate should:

1. Establish a clearly defined Automotive & Manufacturing vertical strategy.
   
2. Build a qualified enterprise pipeline significantly larger than the annual revenue target.
   
3. Win multiple strategic Automotive / Manufacturing accounts.
   
4. Increase share of wallet within existing Boltcargo customers.
   
5. Develop repeatable vertical-specific logistics solutions.
   
6. Build a strong Automotive & Manufacturing sales and key-account team.
   
7. Establish strategic relationships with major OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers and manufacturing groups.
   
8. Deliver measurable revenue and EBITDA growth.
   

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a P&L builder, not only a salesperson — someone who can understand the customers supply chain, identify opportunities, design the solution, negotiate the commercial model and ultimately own the profitability and growth of the vertical extrenally while at same time building capabilities of the organization and team.

The successful candidate should have the credibility to sit across the table from CXOs, Global Procurement Heads and Supply Chain Leaders and position Boltcargo as a long-term strategic logistics partner.

Benefits