KULDEEP SINGH CHEEMA
Gurgaon
Summary
Passionate and results-driven Quality Assurance, Material & Technology Engineer with a background in product development and textile engineering, dedicated to driving sustainable innovations and new home furnishing solutions. Seeking a challenging role within the Area Textile Furnishings to contribute to the company's mission of achieving circular product offerings at affordable prices. Professional expertise of approx. 14 years managing various projects in high volume production set-ups, manufacturing & retail to secure everyday product quality and compliance to meet company goals. Experience entails in leading Quality agenda with Product compliance, Innovating, developing and leading home furnishing business with consistent track record of achieving sourcing & quality which drives team efficiency, profitability & business growth with rapidly changing sustainable environments to deliver products meeting & exceeding customer expectations.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Head of Quality & Sustainability
VCNY Home
06.2023 - Current
- Leading Quality and Sustainability agenda within the region
- Spearheading material-related development projects, focusing on introducing alternative textile materials to align with VCNY sustainability goals
- Collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to drive sustainable product development and built roadmaps to meet Material Direction goals
- Led trials on the factory floor, developing proof of concepts for new solutions, ensuring end-to-end management from raw material to the final product
- Conducted material direction-related training, facilitating a better understanding of material-application fit and promoting sustainable material choices
- Ensured the registration, maintenance of records and specifications of materials in concerned systems
- Product Development, Textile Engineering, Stakeholder Management, Change Management, Project Leadership, Sustainable Materials, Circular Economy, Quality Assurance, Record Keeping, Innovation and Creativity
- Passionate about learning and committed to continual improvement.
- Used strong analytical and problem-solving skills to develop effective solutions for challenging situations.
Senior Product Compliance & Quality Specialist, Home Textiles & Hardlines
IKEA Services India Pvt. Ltd (PLA South Asia)
02.2018 - 06.2023
- Leading Product Development; Product Re-engineering; Quality Management, supplier management; Factory Audits and Vendor coaching to drive quality expectations and continuous improvement at suppliers
- Lead the supplier development for quality and manufacturing with responsibility to identify and implement actions and execution of Supplier Development Process projects
- Secure Quality Assurance including supporting for implementing process control for key processes in production
- Conducting Pre-production meetings, performing product audits and production risk assessments at supplier, Conducting GO NOGO Audits, Gate checks before first delivery
- Secure final inspection and regular follow up and feedback to the suppliers regarding quality performance
- Mapping and perform risk assessment of Products, critical chemical substances/materials, and processes to secure full compliance of IKEA Quality requirements
- Lead product deviation processes, securing root-cause analysis and implementation of corrective/preventive actions
- Leading and supporting the execution of total Quality assurance & product Compliance agenda of materials, processes, product requirements and quality GO/NOGO standard by establishing compliance fulfilment processes
- Addressing quality compliance risks and opportunities associated with materials, processes, and products to help suppliers demonstrate conformity to specified material & product requirements
- Lead and facilitate Quality training for Business teams and coaching Suppliers to develop competence about IOS Specifications, testing, ways of working, quality tools, working instructions and working methods, SOPs, protocols , Technical files
- Evaluating potential new suppliers by addressing risks/risk mitigation connected to Quality and product Compliance
- Leading the implementation of IKEA Quality & Chemical strategy at suppliers and ensuring South Asia APL reflects the Global APL for the Quality assurance, Chemical Strategy and follow up implementation
- Leading development 3rd party test laboratories at PLASA to ensure verification testing within the region
- Monitored product standards and quality-control programs.
- Educated employees on specific QA standards and confirmed maintenance of standards.
Quality Technologist – Home Textiles & Hardlines
SAINSBURYS SUPERMARKETS Ltd. (UK retail Chain)
10.2015 - 01.2018
- As a member of Global Quality Management team, I develop and lead implementation of global strategic, long-term quality, engineering and materials roadmaps across different regions and product segments
- Leading a team of highly capable and professional assistant Quality Technologists who drive implementation of key focus areas of Quality engineering & product development, improvement roadmap in multiple sourcing environments
- One of my key roles is to inspire and empower the engineering team and co-workers to perform to the best of their abilities and continuously develop in their assignments
- Responsible for execution of yearly engineering and quality action plans
- Follow-up on timely execution of quality deviation corrective actions and support business for the settlement of complex cases
- Leading development and implementation of Category Plans, setting quality and engineering priorities steering to improve the value chain and product quality and ensure compliance
- Leading to support suppliers with implementation of quality assurance practices through Lean and Six Sigma quality tools like 5S,5Why,7 wastes,8D Methods, Fishbone (Ishikawa), FMEA Production Risk Assessment, Prioritization matrix, spaghetti diagram, Value Stream Mapping, SWOT etc.
Quality Auditor-Production Services & Quality Assurance- Home Textiles & Hardlines
TARGET SOURCING SERVICES (INDIA) Pvt. Ltd. (US Retail Chain)
03.2014 - 08.2015
- Production capacity & capability Analysis, Supplier on-boarding, assessing production readiness
- Pre-Production activities, Process, and product risk assessments
- Implementation of Lean and Six Sigma quality tools used at manufacturing set-up of supplier factories and ensuring quality Assurance
- Product Inspections & follow-ups: During Production (DuPro) and Final Random Inspections (FRI) for different items like Top Of the Bed products, Top Of the Table products, Kitchen and Table Linen, Towels and bath coordinates, Carpets, Bath Rugs and floor coverings, Poufs and Wall-Hangings
- Vendor Development to empower quality ownership through continuous training of suppliers
- Continuous process development and follow up for the sustainability of the initiated activities are taken up consequently
- Quality Audits, Global Compliance and C-TPAT verification
- Project Management: Worked as Subject Matter Expert (SME) on Environment sustainability in wet-processing factories by reducing usage harsh chemical & dyes
- Manufacturing consult programs
- Performed continuous random spot reviews of daily log pages, non-routine and work package contents for completeness, correct use of appropriate references and approved data.
- Inspected work areas regularly to identify safety practices, quality control procedures and worker actions in need of improvement.
Technical Specialist
HUNTSMAN INTERNATIONAL (India) Pvt. Ltd.
06.2010 - 03.2014
- Quality Assurance & Technical auditing of processes, practices & machinery set-ups at different accounts (Vendors) to assure the best product quality through optimized utilization of resources safely & efficiently
- Conducting control trials on production machines and doing machine settings to ensure quality sustenance and repeatability
- Lead technical trainings & assistance to support Vendor needs in India & also in Bangladesh
- Benchmarking flow-routes to save water, energy & utilities to assist the customers to adopt go green approach
- To enhance productivity using the existing set-up through Productivity Improvement Programs (PIPs)
- Promote product or segment product offering through knowledge dissemination and trials at selected customers to meet product / segment revenue targets
- Assess customer needs and translate it into potential innovation projects
- Competitive product evaluation
- Actively share technical information within teams and across regions
- Work closely with sales to drive product launches and marketing concepts including promotion at key accounts
- Lead key business development activities in the region
- Update and upgrade application know-how in line with the market and technology changes.
Education
Bachelor of Technology in Textiles - Textile Chemistry
01.2010
All India Sen. School Cert. Exam - Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics
01.2006
Skills
- Project Management
- Agile
- Risk Assessment and Mitigation
- Lean management
- Operational excellence
- Team leadership
- Result-driven & Autonomous
- Committed & Adaptable
Certification
- Certified Internal Auditor for Integrated Management Systems- ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management Systems), ISO 14001:2015(Environmental Management Systems) & ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) by TV NORD
Accomplishments
- Lifetime member of The Textile Association (India).
- MD award for embracing Speed Is Life in technical Issue resolution at Target.
- Achieved Strategic Priority Award for Thought Leadership in 2014 from TARGET USA.
- Love award at Sainsbury’s for Technical trouble shooting.
- University Gold Medalist in Bachelor of Technology.
- Shining star at IKEA, a Leadership program
Personality Traits
- Project Management
- Agile
- Risk Assessment and Mitigation
- Lean management
- Operational excellence
- Team leadership
- Result-driven & Autonomous
- Committed & Adaptable
Timeline
Head of Quality & Sustainability
VCNY Home
06.2023 - Current
Senior Product Compliance & Quality Specialist, Home Textiles & Hardlines
IKEA Services India Pvt. Ltd (PLA South Asia)
02.2018 - 06.2023
Quality Technologist – Home Textiles & Hardlines
SAINSBURYS SUPERMARKETS Ltd. (UK retail Chain)
10.2015 - 01.2018
Quality Auditor-Production Services & Quality Assurance- Home Textiles & Hardlines
TARGET SOURCING SERVICES (INDIA) Pvt. Ltd. (US Retail Chain)
03.2014 - 08.2015
Technical Specialist
HUNTSMAN INTERNATIONAL (India) Pvt. Ltd.
06.2010 - 03.2014
Bachelor of Technology in Textiles - Textile Chemistry
All India Sen. School Cert. Exam - Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics
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