T G Dhandapani, CIO, TVS Motor Company, that bagged the Gold CIO trophy at the CIOL-Dataquest Enterpise Connect Awards in the above Rs 1000 crore segment this year, talks about the areas that he is touching with IT to achieve further acceleration on the tracks of business, in an interaction with CMN. Excerpts:

CMN: What was the IT strategy scripted for TVS?

T.G.Dhandapani: IT has been used in various areas so far. We have reaped its benefits for getting on-field product information, new product design inputs, reducing the NPD ((New Product Development) time, improving quality, collaborating with the suppliers online, for free exchange of business information, using data mining capabilities for R&D, enhancing vehicle safety and performance.

CMN: How have you brought IT down to the level of shop floor?

TGD: From generation of engine number to frame number, everything on the shop floor has been integrated into IT. It has also been used to track quality performance data directly from the testing equipments. We have digitized manufacturing execution systems, TPM (Total Plant Maintenance), preventive control, root cause analysis, breakdown analysis etc besides using IT to put JIT (Just In Time) into operation. We have improved equipment and line efficiency by more than 50 per cent.

CMN: How easy was the implementation bit?

TGD: That was not easy. But we tried to make it so by bringing in business orientation for every IT project. If you look at IT from an IT perspective, it won't work. But of you undertake every IT initiative from a business perspective, the results and the difference is starkly visible.

CMN: Did the results echo your confidence in these projects?

TGD: We put in ERP six years back -- for example. It has paid back in around two and half years only. More than the financial figures, it has reflected its worth in the degree of operational hygiene, discipline, and help in managerial decision-making's speed that followed the numbers.

CMN: What would be next targets?

TGD: We will now do more stuff on data mining that will help us gain more insight into the customer's profiling and demographics. We also address vehicle safety and security on a broader scale with IT.

CMN: Would this mean upping your wallet for IT for these future investments?

TGD: About 20 per cent of our total IT spending, which is in the range of Rs six to eight crore per annum, is injected on technology for business. But, we have a different mindset for IT. We don't do IT for the sake of it. If business demands, we go ahead with the investment. Our target is not budget but deliverables. IT at TVS is not bound by budgetary control. IT does not cost. IT pays.

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