Plant Cost Controller

Job Description

Role Summary

We are looking for a Plant Cost Controller who owns cost accuracy, inventory integrity, BOM correctness, vendor cost cycles, and order/product-level margins at the plant level, ensuring that every rupee of cost is traceable, controllable, and improvable before it reaches financial books.

Core Responsibilities

1. Cost & BOM (Plant-Level)

• Own BOM accuracy for all SKUs in coordination with Design, Engineering & Production
• Track incorrect pricing assumptions

2. Order-wise & Product (SKU)-wise Margin Control

• Flag loss-making orders
• Warranty and quality cost control

3. Inventory & WIP Control (Physical + System)

• Slow-moving and non-moving items
• Excess safety stock driven by poor planning
• Ensure physical flow matches system flow

4. Vendor Cost & Procurement Cycle Analysis

• Track vendor-wise cost trends for key materials
• Support purchase negotiations with cost breakdowns
• Validate landed cost assumptions used in pricing

5. Variance Analysis → Corrective Action

• Standard vs actual variance split into:
  • Price variance
  • Usage variance
  • Yield loss
  • Process inefficiency
  • Lead joint reviews with Production, Stores, QA
• Convert variance into:
  • BOM changes
  • Process improvements
  • Vendor switches
  • Pricing corrections

6. Pricing Support (Cost-Truth Provider)

• Validate quotations for:
  • Custom products
  • One-time orders
  • Export / special terms orders
• Ensure pricing reflects:
  • True conversion cost
  • Yield realities
  • Inventory holding impact

7. Factory Overhead Cost Control (Explicit Ownership)

• Own identification, classification, and allocation logic of factory overheads including:
  • Power & fuel
  • Repairs & maintenance
  • Consumables
  • Indirect manpower
  • Utilities
• Define and periodically validate overhead absorption rates:
  • Machine hour based
  • Labour hour based
  • Activity-based (where relevant)
• Identify root causes for overhead inflation:
  • Low capacity utilization
  • Inefficient batch sizes
  • Idle time
• Work with Plant Head to convert overhead insights into:
  • Capacity planning changes
  • Batch optimization
  • Make vs buy decisions

8. Labour Cost & Productivity Control (Direct + Indirect)

• Own labour cost per unit / per order / per SKU
• Track and analyse:
  • Direct labour productivity
  • Overtime trends
  • Contract labour dependency
  • Skill mismatch and learning curve losses
  • Validate standard labour hours in routing vs actuals
• Highlight labour-driven margin erosion in:
  • Low-volume orders
  • Customised products
• Support decisions on:
  • Automation vs manual
  • Line balancing
  • Shift planning from a cost lens

Skills and Qualifications

Qualification & Experience

• CMA with costing background
• 3–8 years experience in manufacturing industry
• Strong SAP & Excel skills

Skills Required

• Cost accounting & margin analysis
• Manufacturing cost control & inventory management
• Strong analytical and coordination skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced production environment