Product Manager
KEMIN CBR
JOB DESCRIPTION
PRODUCT MANAGER – KEMIN CBR
Job Title
Product Manager – Kemin CBR
Function
Marketing
Sub-function
Retail Marketing
Reports to
General Manager – Kemin CBR
Location
Chennai (Includes travel)
ROLE SUMMARY
- Responsible for developing and executing product and marketing strategies for the Kemin CBR ruminant and veterinary retail portfolio, with accountability for portfolio growth, market development, brand positioning, gross margin, and marketing effectiveness.
- Manage the marketing mix across product, price, place, and promotion, translating scientific evidence, market intelligence, and customer insights into differentiated and commercially relevant product propositions.
- Lead product lifecycle management, new-product launches, scientific communication, sales enablement, farmer education, veterinary and veterinary doctor engagement, and marketing-cost optimization to support sustainable retail-business growth.
- Collaborate closely with Sales, Technical Services, R&D, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Finance, Quality, and Supply Chain to deliver portfolio priorities and achieve approved sales and profitability objectives.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Product Strategy and Portfolio Management
- Develop and execute annual product and marketing plans for the assigned ruminant and veterinary retail portfolio.
- Define target customer segments, product positioning, value propositions, pricing recommendations, and promotional strategies.
- Establish and monitor portfolio sales, gross-margin, market-development, and marketing-expenditure objectives.
- Identify portfolio gaps and new-product opportunities through market research, competitor analysis, customer feedback, and field insights.
- Manage product lifecycle activities, including new-product introductions, brand repositioning, portfolio improvements, performance reviews, and rationalization recommendations.
- Translate veterinary and scientific knowledge into clear, commercially relevant product benefits for farmers, veterinarians, distributors, retailers, and other channel partners.
2. Market Research and Retail Business Development
- Conduct market research to understand farmer needs, purchasing behaviour, retailer feedback, competitor offerings, and opportunities in ruminant health and nutrition.
- Assess market trends, competitive pricing, product differentiation, and gaps in retail availability.
- Support Sales in developing territory-specific marketing plans and identifying opportunities for geographic and channel expansion.
- Conduct joint field visits with Sales and Technical Services to engage distributors, retailers, veterinarians, and farmers.
- Gather, analyze, and consolidate customer and channel insights to guide product development, communication, and promotional priorities.
- Build professional networks and strengthen relationships with veterinary professionals and relevant industry and channel stakeholders.
3. New-Product Development and Launch Execution
- Prepare new-product proposals for R&D, supported by defined market needs, competitive analysis, scientific rationale, and commercial potential.
- Coordinate with R&D, Technical Services, Sales, Quality, Supply Chain, and other relevant functions to support product development and launch readiness.
- Contribute veterinary and customer insights to formulation discussions, product differentiation, and the development of science-backed claims.
- Develop integrated launch plans covering positioning, pricing, promotional materials, sales training, sampling, channel activation, and field execution.
- Coordinate product evaluations and field trials with technical teams, and translate findings into approved marketing and training materials.
- Monitor post-launch performance, consolidate customer feedback, and recommend corrective actions or product improvements.
4. Scientific Communication and Brand Promotion
- Develop scientific articles, technical bulletins, product presentations, sales manuals, training modules, flyers, and customer-education materials.
- Translate research findings and technical information into clear, audience-appropriate product messages.
- Ensure product communications and claims are scientifically substantiated and reviewed through the appropriate internal approval process.
- Plan and execute marketing campaigns, product-awareness programs, and brand-building initiatives aligned with portfolio objectives.
- Develop point-of-sale materials, retailer branding, and farmer-facing communication tools.
- Coordinate with approved vendors to ensure the quality, timely delivery, and cost efficiency of promotional materials.
5. Sales Training and Technical Support
- Train sales teams and channel partners on product knowledge, positioning, differentiation, responsible use, and customer-objection handling.
- Develop structured training modules and conduct post-training assessments to evaluate learning effectiveness, in coordination with sales training faculties.
- Provide scientific and technical support for customer presentations, field meetings, product demonstrations, and sales campaigns.
- Coordinate with Technical Services and R&D to address complex product queries and customer feedback.
- Strengthen sales effectiveness by providing timely promotional inputs and practical field-communication tools.
- Ensure consistent product messaging across sales teams, channel partners, and customer-facing materials.
6. Farmer Education and Veterinary Engagement
- Coordinate farmer-education programs on livestock nutrition, preventive animal healthcare, and productivity topics relevant to the portfolio.
- Work with veterinary and technical teams to develop practical educational content and field-engagement activities.
- Support farmer meetings, veterinary interactions, and product demonstrations in coordination with Sales and Technical Services.
- Collect and analyze field data and customer feedback to evaluate engagement activities and identify improvement opportunities.
- Apply veterinary knowledge to understand customer needs and support responsible product education and communication.
7. Commercial Performance and Cost Optimization
- Track product-level sales, gross margin, marketing expenditure, and campaign performance against approved plans.
- Prepare periodic portfolio-performance reports and recommend actions to improve growth, profitability, and execution effectiveness.
- Optimize expenditure on sampling, promotional materials, vendor services, and marketing activities without compromising execution quality.
- Work with Purchasing to evaluate competitive sourcing opportunities that support approved product and cost objectives.
- Collaborate with Manufacturing and Finance to evaluate standard costs and support agreed cost-improvement targets.
- Assess the commercial effectiveness of launches, campaigns, and field activities to improve resource allocation and return on marketing investment.
8. Cross-functional Coordination and Process Improvement
- Coordinate with Sales, R&D, Technical Services, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Finance, Quality, and Supply Chain to execute portfolio priorities.
- Establish effective processes for customer feedback, technical-query escalation, and response tracking.
- Improve workflows for product launches, training delivery, promotional-material development, and marketing execution.
- Maintain accurate product documentation, training records, market intelligence, project updates, and approved marketing materials.
- Support team coordination, knowledge sharing, and timely delivery of agreed initiatives.
- Escalate material portfolio risks, project delays, budget deviations, and investment requirements to the General Manager in a timely manner.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- Must have: Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Animal Nutrition, or a related scientific discipline.
- Preferred: A postgraduate qualification in Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Animal Nutrition, or a related veterinary discipline is preferred. A management qualification is an added advantage.
- Approximately 5–7 years of relevant experience across animal health, veterinary practice, research, technical services, sales, or marketing.
- At least 3 years of experience in product management, animal-health marketing, veterinary affairs, or a closely related commercial role.
- Demonstrated experience in product launches, market research, scientific communication, sales training, and cross-functional coordination.
- Experience in ruminant health, livestock nutrition, farmer engagement, or retail-channel marketing is preferred.
- Candidates with companion-animal product-management experience may be considered where they demonstrate relevant livestock exposure and transferable commercial and technical capabilities.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Commercial and Product Management
Product strategy and lifecycle management; market research and competitor analysis; opportunity identification; brand positioning; launch planning; sales and gross-margin analysis; marketing-budget management; cost optimization; retail-channel and customer engagement.
Scientific and Technical
Veterinary scientific knowledge and evidence interpretation; scientific and technical writing; product training and knowledge transfer; technical sales support; customer-query coordination; translation of research findings into product communication; field-data analysis and reporting.
Behavioral and Execution
Cross-functional collaboration; team coordination; influencing; presentation and interpersonal communication; vendor negotiation and relationship management; planning and project management; customer orientation; problem-solving; accountability; decisiveness; continuous improvement.
TRAVEL REQUIREMENT
- Approximately 15–20 days of domestic travel per month, as required by the business. Travel may include field visits, customer meetings, channel engagement, training programs, and product-launch activities.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
This job description is intended to provide a general overview of the role’s responsibilities and expectations. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties. Responsibilities may change in response to evolving business priorities, portfolio requirements, and organizational needs.