---
title: "Vishal Kumar - Assistant Vice President – Category Growth & Development in Bengaluru | Tal"
description: "Meet Vishal Kumar, AVP – Category Growth @Swiggy | Procurement & Category Strategy | B2B Commerce | Private Label | P&L Leadership | Ex – ElasticRun, Walmart India based in Bengaluru. AI stack includes claude, gemini, and github copilot."
image: "https://tal.club/meet/vishal-kumar-34/share-image"
---

# Vishal Kumar on Tal

## Headline

AVP – Category Growth @Swiggy \| Procurement & Category Strategy \| B2B Commerce \| Private Label \| P&L Leadership \| Ex – ElasticRun, Walmart India

## About

I believe sustainable business growth is built on disciplined sourcing, strong category strategy and scalable supply chain ecosystems that balance margin with market expansion\. Across 21\+ years, I’ve led large\-scale procurement, category and supply chain transformation initiatives across retail, rural B2B commerce and food\-tech ecosystems, building direct\-from\-origin sourcing networks and driving P&L performance in complex, multi\-state markets\. I currently serve as Assistant Vice President at Swiggy, leading the HoReCa B2B channel ownership across six major categories\. I focus on margin discipline \(CM1/CM3\), structured sourcing, competitive benchmarking and scalable operating models to build a capital\-efficient growth engine\. Previously at ElasticRun, I scaled procurement from early\-stage operations to unicorn scale, driving sales across 12\+ states\. At Walmart India, I led Staples category and private label expansion, strengthening margins through direct mill sourcing and structured inventory governance\. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿: • Building direct\-from\-origin sourcing ecosystems at national scale\. • Driving category\-led growth with strong margin governance\. • Scaling B2B and omni\-channel procurement models\. • Strengthening private label penetration and profitability\. • Building high\-performance procurement and category teams\. • Creating structured commercial frameworks in fast\-growth environments\. I am passionate about building resilient, margin\-accretive procurement and category ecosystems that serve as strategic growth engines, enabling organizations to scale sustainably while strengthening competitive advantage across complex markets\.

## Location

Bengaluru

## AI stack

claude

gemini

github copilot

## Work experience

Assistant Vice President – Category Growth & Development at Swiggy, Jun 2025 \- Present · 1 yr 4 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, As AVP, I am leading the institutional HoReCa B2B channel under Swiggy Assure, overseeing multi\-category portfolio strategy, profitability governance and expansion across key urban markets\. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: • Built HoReCa B2B channel from inception across Bengaluru and Hyderabad\. • Defined category playbook across 6 major categories with margin discipline \(CM1/CM3\)\. • Improved contribution margins through optimized portfolio mix and high\-margin segments\. • Established structured sourcing and competitive benchmarking frameworks\. • Led AOP planning and P&L governance aligned to ARR ambition\. • Introduced price crawling, wallet share tracking and assortment benchmarking\. • Built 30\+ member category organization with clear execution cadence\. • Strengthened breakeven roadmap through margin levers and cost\-to\-serve optimization\. • Enhanced enterprise onboarding and customer adoption processes\. • Created scalable operating model for multi\-city expansion\.

Director \- Procurement at ElasticRun, Jan 2019 \- Jun 2025 · 6 yrs 6 mos, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Led pan\-India procurement, category scale\-up and supplier ecosystem development for rural B2B commerce platform, contributing to scale from early\-stage to unicorn\. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: • Scaled procurement architecture from early\-stage operations to national footprint\. • Built food and commodity categories from inception to maturity\. • Developed direct sourcing partnerships across key agri\-commodity clusters\. • Launched bulk and breakdown trade models tailored to small retailers\. • Strengthened share\-of\-wallet through region\-specific assortment relevance\. • Optimized supply chain economics through hub\-and\-spoke distribution design\. • Institutionalized trade finance and structured payment frameworks\. • Created structured supplier governance and negotiation standards\. • Partnered closely with founders on expansion and commercial strategy\. • Built a high\-performance procurement organization with strong accountability culture\.

DGM – STAPLES \(Sugar, Pulses, Regional Rice\) at Walmart, Apr 2017 \- Jan 2019 · 1 yr 10 mos, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Led pan\-India Staples category including sugar, pulses and regional rice with full ownership across sourcing, private label, inventory governance and commercial performance\. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: • Owned end\-to\-end category performance across staples portfolio\. • Built and expanded private label across core commodity categories\. • Strengthened margin profile through direct mill\-level sourcing partnerships\. • Redesigned supplier engagement and long\-term commercial frameworks\. • Improved inventory planning and replenishment discipline\. • Led procurement process transformation aligned to SAP systems\. • Defined safety stock norms and purchase optimization frameworks\. • Enhanced assortment alignment with regional demand patterns\. • Strengthened compliance and food safety governance standards\. • Led cross\-functional collaboration across merchandising, supply chain and finance teams\.

Senior Manager – Fresh Business at Walmart, Jul 2014 \- Apr 2017 · 2 yrs 10 mos, Gurugram, Haryana, India, Led the Fresh category across stores with end\-to\-end ownership spanning strategy, sourcing, supply chain, profitability and in\-store execution, strengthening operational rigor and customer value proposition\. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: • Defined and executed the strategic roadmap for Fresh business operations across multiple stores\. • Owned full category P&L with focus on margin optimization and competitive pricing discipline\. • Strengthened supply chain architecture for major Indian fruits, enhancing sourcing efficiency and delivery reliability\. • Designed and institutionalized the WIBI product training framework to build commercial and operational capability across store teams\. • Pioneered a Direct Farm Initiative, establishing structured partnerships with Farmer Producer Organizations to improve sourcing quality and continuity\. • Implemented structured waste control mechanisms to reduce damages and expiries across the supply chain\. • Strengthened quality assurance processes to ensure consistency from farm to shelf\. • Established high\-impact visual merchandising standards to enhance product presentation and customer engagement\. • Aligned demand forecasting, replenishment and store execution to improve availability and rotation\. • Built cross\-functional coordination across sourcing, supply chain and store operations to drive seamless execution\.

Manager \(Buyer– Sugar \| Sugar Specialties & Ingredients\) at Walmart, Nov 2010 \- Jul 2014 · 3 yrs 9 mos, Gurugram, Haryana, India, Led bulk sugar procurement and private label development, driving direct sourcing, commercial discipline and supply assurance across the category\. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: • Led strategic bulk sugar procurement through structured rate analysis and market arbitrage evaluation\. • Leveraged commodity trend insights to optimize buying windows and sourcing decisions\. • Established direct sourcing partnerships with sugar mills, eliminating intermediary layers\. • Strengthened supplier relationship frameworks to ensure quality consistency and commercial reliability\. • Negotiated competitive commercial terms aligned to margin objectives\. • Conceptualized and launched private label sugar portfolio\. • Managed end\-to\-end co\-packaging operations including vendor onboarding and compliance alignment\. • Coordinated packaging design, regulatory adherence and brand positioning standards\. • Ensured supply continuity through structured vendor performance governance\. • Aligned procurement planning with inventory and demand forecasts to strengthen availability\.

Vice President Procurement at National Commodities Management Services Limited, Apr 2005 \- Nov 2010 · 5 yrs 8 mos, Mumbai, India, Led large\-scale agri procurement and PPP initiatives, building structured sourcing ecosystems across multiple states\. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: • Led PPP\-led MSP procurement programs for paddy and wheat\. • Managed multi\-state large\-scale grain sourcing operations\. • Designed structured procurement frameworks aligned to policy norms\. • Built scalable supply chain models for institutional buyers\. • Optimized logistics networks for cost and efficiency\. • Strengthened warehouse governance and quality controls\. • Coordinated with government bodies and private stakeholders\. • Established mandi\-level sourcing networks across regions\. • Improved procurement transparency and reporting standards\. • Enhanced execution discipline across agricultural value chains\.

Management Trainee at Radhakrishna Foodland Pvt\. Ltd\., May 2004 \- Apr 2005 · 1 yr, Mumbai, India, • Built an efficient origin\-led supply chain for Onion, Potato and Garlic categories, optimizing sourcing and logistics\. • Established strong farmer and supplier partnerships to ensure consistent quality supply at competitive commercial terms\.

## Education

Indian School of Business

BACP, Business Analytics, Great Lakes Institute of Management

[View the original profile](https://tal.club/meet/vishal-kumar-34)

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