IT Leverage in Indian Manufacturing Industry

IT Leverage in Indian Manufacturing Industry - An ISB-NASSCOM Initiative

Hyderabad, October 17, 2006: The Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, in collaboration with NASSCOM, conducted a one-day conclave addressing the role of IT utilization in small and medium enterprises (SME) in India.

The SME sector, which contributes to almost 70-80% of the manufacturing economy has for long been unorganized as far as IT solutions go. The conclave raised some hard questions about the cause of inefficiency in the current system of the manufacturing sector and how leveraging IT could benefit the sector. It also highlighted whether the existing services and solutions were relevant, portable, and cost-effective to the manufacturing economy system. Among the key speakers were Mr. Ramalinga Raju, Founder and Chairman, Satyam Computer Services Limited, Mr. Rajesh Gupta, Chief General Manager - IT, Maruti Udyog Limited, Mr. Srikant Mokashi, Chief (IT, STEEL) - Tata Steel.

Also present at the event were M. Ramamohan Rao, Dean, ISB, Prof. N. Vishwanadham, Executive Director, Centre for Global Logistics and Manufacturing Strategies, ISB.

In his address, Dean Rao said, "The penetration of IT in the manufacturing sector is very low, we want this conclave to address these challenges. The three Centers of Excellence at the ISB will take forward the findings of the conclave and will set the roadmap for the future."

"There has been a major shift from China to India as far as the manufacturing industry is concerned. This transition should be taken advantage of," added Mr. Ramalinga Raju. He conveyed that IT solutions in this sector were affordable and dependable. He stressed on the creative use of technology and judicious use of Soft Infrastructure like Human Resources, Customer base, Building Processes, etc., which he felt were yardsticks of enterprise evaluation that do not reflect in the balance sheet.

Mr. Raju maintained that the demarcating lines between large and small enterprises are blurring and that quality, response to stake holders and understanding of the consumer and investor psychology should be on the forefront of any enterprise. He guaranteed that NASSCOM will continue to provide support to the SMEs.

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Contributed by -
Ms. Bhuvana Ramalingam,
Director - Communications,
Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

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