How does technology charge up a business like yours?

Technology has a big role to play in communication part. Since our technology is strongly guarded, no external emails can work. We have an internal system for that, wherein we set up an internal server and have 250 internal users, with 50 external ones. This seamless interface is now managed by us with some help from outside. In 2005, we also decided to move to ERP of Baan.

In the earlier system, there were still needs on production, planning etc. Now we are upgrading it to a new Baan version which will hopefully cater to requirements on production planning and scheduling.

 

We first evaluated the needs in 2004. And during that evaluation, we also took some users opinion. What we found was that many other big ERP names are like a tiger. You can’t tame them. You have to work as per their outlines. Also Baan fit very well with our industry requirements.

 

Yes. In fact, it’s not always the run-of-the-mill stuff. We have CCTVs in our campus that apart from fulfilling security needs, also help in process control, thus helping in centralized control. It helps to observe how furnaces are behaving and enables to take immediate and corrective action, if any.

 

We have a team of 70 people, who have a good knowledge of the ERP. They also take care of any kind of customization if required.

 

It depends on the location. We are based in Bhopal and have 24/7 user requirements. Also, the company is growing fast and in the long run it is cheaper to have your own people taking care of it. Of course, when you invest in your own resources, you have to make sure that they are utilized fruitfully. There is a trade-off for sure.

We expect to go live with ERP upgrade by April. This would be followed by four to five months of stabilization, then we will think of CRM, SCM etc.