In today’s volatile global environment, supply chain leadership is no longer about efficiency alone—it’s about Resilience, Responsiveness, and Foresight. Pavan Maloo, Head – Supply Chain Management and Digital, VoltasBeko, has led the company through some of the toughest years—pandemic disruptions, crises, and fast?changing rules. His leadership has turned a young organization into an agile, locally rooted, and digitally enabled operation. His approach combines cross?functional understanding, quick decision?making, and a strong belief in agility.
Agility isn’t just a buzzword—it is essential for leadership. For me, leading supply chain and digital transformation at VoltasBeko means moving fast and staying clear?headed. Before I ever stepped into a supply chain role, I was closest to the customer. My career began in sales, where I spent four years understanding demand not through dashboards, but through direct conversations. That shaped my belief: demand is not a forecast—it is a signal. And the closer you stay to it, the better you can respond.
BUILDING A STRATEGIC VIEW THROUGH CROSS?FUNCTIONAL ROLES
Sales taught me to respond quickly. Strategy taught me how to scale that speed. After my time in sales, I moved into strategic roles where I led SAP deployments, procurement, and P&L. This wide exposure shapes the way I lead today. I don’t see supply chain as a separate function—rather, it is a key driver of business continuity and growth. Every supply chain decision affects other functions – finance, customer experience, product, and operations. My job is to connect these areas, not optimize them in isolation. That is why I focus on alignment, team empowerment, and building agility into the way we work.
A FACTORY LAUNCH FOLLOWED BY A CRISIS
When we launched our factory in January 2020, the timing couldn’t have been more challenging. Within two months, the pandemic struck. For a company incorporated in 2017 and operational since 2018, this was a defining moment. We didn’t stall—we accelerated. We had already planned to localize our supply chain, but COVID?19 pushed us to execute rapidly. Earlier, 40–50% of raw materials were imported. Today it is down to 20–25%. Finished goods imports dropped from 95% to less than 5%.
This change wasn’t just operational—it was cultural. We empowered teams, made quick decisions, and worked with urgency. Being a young organization helped. With fewer layers of bureaucracy, we could pivot fast. We rebuilt supplier partnerships, redesigned warehousing and distribution, and used digital tools for better visibility.
DISRUPTIONS DON’T KNOCK—THEY BREAK IN
The pandemic was just the beginning. The Red Sea crisis caused by Houthi rebel attacks blocked nearly 200 containers, with no clarity on delivery timelines. While we waited, energy efficiency rules changed in the destination country, making our products non?compliant. It was a double disruption—geopolitical and regulatory.
We did not simply react—we anticipated. My leadership approach includes scenario planning, contingency building, and cross?border coordination. These skills helped again during the floods near Hyderabad, which disrupted key transport routes. This time, we were ready. Past crises had trained us. Rerouting protocols were activated, and operations continued with minimal impact.
EMPOWERING TEAMS TO MOVE FAST
Resilience is built during a crisis, not calm periods. It depends on people as much as systems. Planners who reroute shipments overnight, procurement teams who find new suppliers in days, warehouse staff who adapt instantly—they create agility. Technology helps, but only when teams know how to use it. We use predictive analytics, traceability tools, and real?time visibility platforms. I always remind my team: digital thinking must be integrated with operational execution; tools matter only when they lead to better decisions.
CONNECTING DOTS ACROSS THE BUSINESS
My journey across sales, strategy, and supply chain showed me how decisions in one area affect the entire organization. I lead by connecting functions so that supply chain supports customer satisfaction and overall business resilience. I believe in systems, not silos. Leadership means enabling systems to work together—quickly, intelligently, and with purpose.
COLLABORATING WITH THE RIGHT PARTNERS
Logistics today is about momentum. A strong logistics partner understands that speed, scale, and flexibility aren’t just operational luxuries, but drivers that shape business outcomes. Consumer appliances require fast movement and quick adjustments, which can only be accomplished with the aid of our logistics partners. The best logistics partners are those who handle volume spikes, market changes, and evolving service expectations while maintaining reliability and cost control. Agility here means anticipating changes in a proactive manner instead of being reactive.
TECHNOLOGY HELPS, BUT IT IS NOT EVERYTHING
In our industry, technology offers an edge but is not always an absolute requirement. Given the nature of our products—large, easily identifiable, and straightforward to handle, many operations can run smoothly with a standard ERP system and experienced staff. But when workforce stability is a challenge, technology becomes important. WMS and TMS improve visibility, reduce errors, and make processes more consistent. Our logistics partners perform well even without advanced systems, but digital tools do improve transparency and scale—especially when the business is growing quickly.
THE FUTURE: VERTICAL AUTOMATION
We recently implemented a Transport Management System (TMS) to streamline delivery operations and improve coordination across our network. But rising land and warehouse costs are pushing us toward vertical warehousing. Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) make better use of space
VoltasBeko’s agility is our strength. We reduced finished goods import dependency from 95% to under 5% in record time because we were prepared. Supply chain leadership is not about reacting to disruption—it is about anticipating it, building flexibility, and enabling teams to act fast. My cross?functional experience taught me that resilience comes from Insight, Speed, and Intent.and improve throughput have proven to be key in vertical warehousing. ASRS is a future?ready investment that will help us scale efficiently by enabling a resilient, future-ready warehousing model that can scale with demand and optimize space utilization.
LOOKING FORWARD
VoltasBeko is still evolving. Disruptions will continue, but so will our progress. My focus is on strengthening digital capabilities, supplier networks, and building a supply chain that is efficient and intelligent—one that senses, adapts, and leads.
LEADERSHIP: TURNING MOMENTUM INTO MEANING
As we scale, my role is shifting from driving agility to shaping long?term impact. Leadership means aligning every action with purpose and turning disruptions into opportunities. I aim to stay close to demand, stay connected across functions, and build a supply chain that drives the business forward.
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