Sanjana Iyer — Head of Operations
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Operations leader with fourteen years in freight, fulfilment and last-mile delivery, now running a 1,100-person function across nine cities. Took cost per delivered order from ₹94 to ₹58 in three years while on-time delivery rose to 97.4%.
Experience
Head of Operations, Saffronway Commerce · February 2021 – present
Owns fulfilment, last mile and customer operations: 1,100 people, nine cities, 9.4 lakh orders a month.
- Took cost per delivered order from ₹94 to ₹58 in three years by bringing 62% of last mile in-house and rebuilding rider payout around drops per hour.
- Lifted on-time delivery from 88.6% to 97.4% across nine cities while monthly order volume grew 2.7 times.
- Opened four dark stores and two sortation centres, each reaching planned throughput within six weeks of first dispatch.
- Cut customer contact rate from 11.2% of orders to 4.3% by fixing the three failure modes behind 70% of complaints.
- Promoted six of the nine city managers from inside the floor; attrition in that group is 4% against a 22% market rate.
Senior Manager, Fulfilment Operations, Palladane Retail Services · April 2017 – January 2021
- Ran three fulfilment centres dispatching 2.6 lakh units a month, taking cost per unit shipped down 29% over four years.
- Led the peak plan that absorbed a 4.1x festive spike at 99.2% shipped-on-time with no unplanned agency spend.
- Cut returns processing from nine days to 36 hours, putting ₹6.8 crore of saleable stock back on sale each year.
Regional Operations Manager, Meridian Cargo Networks · June 2013 – March 2017
- Managed 14 branches and 380 staff across Tamil Nadu, growing consignment volume 46% with headcount flat.
- Brought vehicle utilisation from 64% to 89% by pooling line-haul across branches and re-cutting departure times.
Operations Executive, Ashvale Freight · July 2011 – May 2013
- Scheduled 60 daily line-haul trips and cut empty running from 21% to 12% in eighteen months.
Education
- MBA Operations Management · Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode · June 2009 – April 2011
- B.E. Industrial Engineering · Anna University · July 2005 – May 2009
Skills
- Operations leadership: P&L ownership, Network design, Capacity planning, Peak-season planning, Vendor management
- Last mile: Rider payout models, Route density, Dark stores, Sortation, Reverse logistics
- Organisation: Org design, Manager development, Succession planning, Frontline attrition, Union and contractor relations
- Measures: Cost per delivered order, On-time delivery, Contact rate, Units per hour, Vehicle utilisation
Certifications
- Project Management Professional (PMP) — PMI
- Certified Six Sigma Black Belt — ASQ
