2017 Vol 1 | Issue 1
The Global Rainbow
news & views to glue us together Quarterly Newsletter for YOU
Launches across GCC Images on Pg 5/6
PHOENIX EDITION
Change & I Read on Pg 11
Read on Pg 29 & 30
The Causeway Story Read on Pg 6, 9 & 10
What’s in the PHOENIX EDITION
The PAGE 3 SPECIAL
From the EDITOR’S DESK Pg 03 The LEADER SPEAKS
Bahrain Pg 07 Bangladesh Pg 08
Pg 04-05
The SPECIAL COVERAGE The Causeway Story Pg 06, 09, 10 Change & I are old friends Pg 11 Factory Launch Indonesia
The GLOBAL HUES Nepal Pg 16 UAE Pg 17 Oman Pg 18 Singapore Pg 19 Egypt Pg 20 Bangladesh Pg 21 Fiji Pg 22
Pg 12 to Pg 15
The MUMBAI HUSTLE
ESF Perspective Pg 23 Supply Chain Perspective
Did YOU KNOW ?
Country Trivia FIJI Pg 29, 30
Pg 24
Finance Perspective Pg 25 Marketing Perspective Pg 26, 27
HR Perspective
Pg 28
FEEDBACK Pg 31
LOOK OUT
Word Search Pg 32
From the EDITOR’s DESK
Tom Thomas Harshil Sethi
Just imagine that if we were to ask in our office a simple question, “How many of you know how to draw?” We will get very few responses in Yes, but now imagine asking the same question in class 10th of school, you will get at least more than 40-50% responses in Yes, and if we take this question to pre-primary school, everyone will happily raise their hand and say Yes. So the point that I am trying to make is that most people “grow up” out of creativity and grow into fear and apprehension, only to return back to creativity as they retire. There is an undeniable connection between a young child and a grandparent. They both are free of worldly wisdom and apprehensions that stop us all our life,
Sanika Bhawalkar
“What would my boss think if I do this?” “If I sing this bad, people will laugh” “Let me not dance or I will end up making a fool of myself” And thousand such questions that haunt us before we make any decision or do anything, while a child thinks of nothing and does what he wants to, in process he creates something which might or might not make sense but is still unique. If we all could just keep that child in us alive and keep rooting for our natural disposition to create and to not care of the world around, we all can create a safe place for people, our co-workers, our subordinates, to create and explore without fear of judgment, without the fear of being made fun of.
“All birds find shelter when it Rains, but the Eagle avoids the rain by flying above the clouds. Problems are common, but attitude makes the Difference!! “
APJ ABDUL KALAM
With this thought, we are revamping and re-launching Rainbow, as a tabloid that will connect us all. In Greek mythology, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor, based on this mythological belief, we have themed this edition Pheonix, it draws strength from its predecessor, yet it has renewed lease of life, it offers many interesting reads, it has a flavor of all our units. This magazine is meant for all of you to read and explore various key agendas going on across the world, it gives you a sneak peek into the various functions and geographies, it has many inspiring reads about how intent backed with content has moved mountains. Some highlights are - the thoughts from the new unit head of Ethiopia, Pictures of festivals celebrated across the units, the launch of SHAMIL in GCC units, a dedicated section on Causeway story. Your feedback and support is what will drive this tabloid in the years to come, so please send in your feedback on what you like, what you don’t like and what you want to see in this magazine in the future.
Editorial Team:
Tom Thomas, Harshil Sethi, Sanika Bhawalkar
We hope you will have as much fun reading it as we had making it.
Supported by Correspondents : Anirban Biswas, Jaffer Mohammed, Divya Singh & Kasturi Ghosh.
03
The LEADER SPEAKS
Dear All,
Manish Choksi
Almost everyday newspapers mention about various global issues - political, social or economic. These happenings in the other corners of the world impact our world and us much more these days. The global economy continues to be challenging. We are living in a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) world. Under these conditions, we had a mixed year 2016-17, with some units doing great business and the others battling with significant challenges. Overall, when seen at a cumulative level the international operations have delivered a good performance driven by volume growth and benign material cost which translated into a strong bottom line. Now let us talk about our tomorrow, In the year that we are half way through, our focus is on Africa, South Asia, Middle East and South Pacific. Since the business environment across the world is not as great as we would have wanted, we all must focus on being more efficient in our operations and adding more and more value to the system and the company. We have also grown our family; Causeway Paints Lanka is the new addition to the family. The group acquired 100% stake in Causeway Paints Lanka, a key player in Decorative (including wood finishes) and Automotive paints. This addition will help us address the Lanka market more comprehensively. The South Asian region has grown well and taken some good initiatives in the areas of retailing, loyalty programs on Hybris CRM, social and digital media campaigns, etc. The Middle Eastern geography has seen turbulent times as far as political outlook is concerned; the trade embargo on Qatar has impacted our business, but our units in the GCC region have shown remarkable resilience to counter the situation and maintain growth and focused on marketing initiatives such as Colors of Arabia digital campaign and Retailing. In the other part of Asia, the construction work for the Indonesia paint facility with an initial capacity of 5000 KL per annum, which was started in August 2016, has been completed and the plant was commissioned in a grand ceremony in September 2017. This edition will throw light on this in detail in a special feature. A new visual identity for Kadisco was launched recently bringing in the strong association of Kadisco and Asian Paints, together with new products, new logo and collaterals. New websites for Fiji and Singapore were launched. We continued our focus on sustainability initiatives by investing in renewal energy wherever possible and deploying the 3R (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) strategy. Our emphasis on customer centricity has been further strengthened by NPS surveys and subsequent actions which have been undertaken across units. In marketing, this year we have chosen a different approach. We partnered with units to identify a set of strategic themes like retailing, digital marketing, loyalty program etc. Based on these themes the units have made three-year marketing plans, this will lead our marketing efforts to become more focused and will help us create a sustainable impact on our markets. We are also upgrading and revamping Icare, our CRM system, to enhance productivity, drive efficiency and improve business controls in the sales function across all units. 04
The LEADER SPEAKS
Manish Choksi
To strengthen supply chain, the backbone of the whole system, we are working towards adoption of planning systems through Navision and making it the complete go-to system in all the units. Also our ESF team along with concerned units are working on expansion projects like Emulsion Plants set-up in Ethiopia & Egypt and planned expansion in Bangladesh, Causeway Lanka & Nepal.
We all are the brand ambassadors of this company, and we all should now work towards defining what AP means to the end consumer, what it stands for. What should our customer and consumers know us as. We should all work towards strengthening the parent brand, the AP brand. Our product innovation and consumer stories should continue to inspire us to bring in newer products, to make the customer awestruck with our commitment to deliver the best product every single time. While we are doing all this, the most important element of our recipe remains our people, all of you. We have strengthened our people initiative in various ways, one key people initiative is the ER agenda, the cumulative view of the entire gamut of our people initiatives in one coherent brand, we have launched the ER Agenda (SHAMIL) in GCC in a grand way, involving people across all cadres. And we have parallelly strengthened the existing ER initiative TAKI agenda in Fiji Islands. Finally, to conclude I just wish to put on record that you have all contributed in various ways to strengthen our position outside India, all of you have made the company proud by going beyond the usual call of duty, by constantly giving your best every day at work. Looking forward to the same commitment and zeal in the time to come. The team here has created a nice tabloid for you to read and find about various happenings across the group. Wishing you a fun filled and inspiring read.
Wishing you a fun filled & inspiring read.
05
The SPECIAL COVERAGE
Navjyot Sarnaik
Nitesh Desai
THE CAUSEWAY STORY
As boundaries dissolve, and the global village comes closer, we are happy to welcome Causeway
Paints Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. (CPLPL) in the Asian Paints family.
Causeway is a 2 decade old company and is a key player in the Sri Lanka coatings market and supplies mainly Decorative paints (including wood finishes) and Automotive Refinish paints. In order to enhance APL group’s presence in the Sri Lankan market, Berger International Private Limited, Singapore, an indirect subsidiary of APL, entered into a Share Purchase Agreement for acquisition of 100% stake from the existing shareholders of Causeway Paints Lanka (Private) Limited. A formal launch event had taken place earlier on 2nd April, 2017, and here are interesting snippets from the event – The event was a grand affair and happened a day prior to APL entering into an agreement with CPLPL; and was graced by the presence of all key members of the company.
The purpose of the event was to express gratitude towards the legacy left behind by the erstwhile management team, as well as to welcome the Asian Paints team. Needless to say, all outgoing directors had attended this event; while Mr. Manish Choksi, Mr. Jayesh Merchant, Mr. I.K. Jaiswal, Mr. Sanjeev Ahuja, Mr. Parag Rane and Mr. Nitesh Desai represented the APL family. During the event Mr. Manish Choksi and Mr. I.K. Jaiswal also shared insights about Asian Paints group and its journey of 75 years.
.
...Read more on Pg. 9
I K Jaiswal Sharing Insights into Asian Paints & it’s journey for 75 years.
06
The PAGE 3 SPECIAL
Events & Celebrations across the globe BAHRAIN
07
The PAGE 3 SPECIAL
New Year Celebration
Events & Celebrations across the globe BANGLADESH
Women’s Day Health Awareness 08
The SPECIAL COVERAGE
THE CAUSEWAY STORY Continued from Pg. 6
Integration to APL A
s part of the integration journey, the very first step was to implement ERP Microsoft Navision at CPLPL at the earliest. This was not an easy implementation by any standard mainly because of the transaction-heavy nature of the unit, matching the data entry pace of the customer care function of Causeway and the process of migration from a no formal system of production to our NAVISION manufacturing module. Despite of all these hurdles, the spirit of the teams did not die down and what resulted as the outcome was commendable in many ways. Not only did the team manage to deliver the project within specified timelines with zero business downtime, but also managed to develop customizations which could match the data entry pace of CPLPL staff. Their older system and NAVISION were run parallelly for a week’s period to ensure comfort level and sufficient hands-on training of all the users. This implementation also enjoys the status of being one of a kind since it’s the first ERP system to be hosted on cloud in our entire AP group. Kudos to IBU HO team, central IT Team and the Causeway team for making this possible!
Noteworthy contribution was also extended by Alle Technologies, with whom we had partnered for this project.
While ERP implementation was a major success, it’s just a stepping stone in the journey of integration of 2 families. Like we have achieved success in this step, we are sure that these two companies will achieve success in all steps of the synergy
New Causway Paints Logo post successful integration
09
The SPECIAL COVERAGE
Vaithilingam Kiritharan
THE CAUSEWAY STORY As told by Mr. Vaithilingam Kiritharan, General Manager, Casueway Paints Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd
Causeway Paints Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (CPLPL) is delighted to come under the umbrella of Asian Paints Limited,
which is among the Top 10 Paint Companies in 2017, globally. CPLPL is a market leader in 2K Automotive, NC Automotive refinish & industrial products segments while enjoying healthy market share of decorative & specialty paint products also. In 2014, CPLPL started Water Based wood coatings (AQLAC Brand) manufacturing process in Sri Lanka while most of other competitor products were imports. CPLPL also trades in DEBEER 2K Refinishes (Holland), Farecla Car detailing products (UK), Ralston Colour Mixing & Toners (Holland) and Aeromix aerosol sprays (Malaysia). CPLPL was started in 1994 with a handful number of people in a suburb of Colombo sharing a greater vision. Today, we are part of the APL family as one of the major paint manufacturers in Sri Lanka. Our team’s dedication and commitment towards excellence remains the same when we find new synergies with a Global giant in paint industry. In a grand event that concluded on 2nd April 2017, the new APL management was welcomed by Causeway. Mr. Manish Choksi’s speech in the ceremony gave reassurance to all staff that the future is bright for Causeway Paints. The story on the legacy of APL India and their remarkable expansion in recent years was met with eager minds. CPLPL earlier relied on DOS based customized software package for IT requirements. The new ERP (NAVISION) system was introduced by APL family as part of the integration process. The APL team supported and guided our team in a superb manner in this endeavor. I would also like to give a pat-on-the-back to CPLPL team. Because of their quick adaptability we are now operating 100% on NAV. To celebrate the success of this, the APL team organized a vibrant party with DJ and music. It was indeed a fun filled affair. Mr. Nitesh Desai and myself shared views on future plans and integration processes along with valuable contribution from all heads of departments in CPLPL. With the strength of APL, CPLPL will become a stronger and formidable player in local arena. New development plans are in progress, new synergies are developed. The global sourcing power of APL will enable CPLPL to become more competitive in Sri Lankan market. With an increase in capacity through structured expansion programs undertaken with the help of APL, Causeway Paints Lanka (Pvt) Ltd is destined to be a shining star in the Sri Lankan paint industry.
10
The SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANGE & I ARE OLD FRIENDS
Gurpreet Sarna
Over the plains of Ethiopia the sun had risen like I had not seen in years. I was still in flight and was
expecting it to be hot after landing in Addis Ababa. There was tiff between what I had learnt about Africa since childhood - of it being hot and water starved zone; to what I got to know through colleagues and Google of Addis being a cold and rainy place. the aircraft had started its descend and I could see the empty sky flushed a little above the rim of dark mountains. The landscape below gathered itself from the dark and showed a pale gleam of grass, sheen of water. The red deepened and pulsed, radiating streaks of fire. The quick and cool breeze coming out of the airport was was indeed a pleasant surprise. People around were convivial with a smile on their face, City moving at a comfortable pace. And as the Sun was slowly setting for the day, I was moving towards a new dawn of my life… As Unit Head, Ethiopia.
Change and I had been friends for long time, It all started with choosing a sales career after completing my academics in Legal stream. After working in Sales, Colour world servicing, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Corporate accounts… the moot question was, now what? And then an offer from IBU happened. I was very excited to take up the unit. I had seen sales during most of my professional years and while being in Audit and Accounts, I also got the opportunity to see and understand other functions from close including IBU. And now there was opportunity to experience everything wrapped in one as a Unit Head. As they say any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. And this movement was no exception. My family was comfortably and happily settled in Mumbai and often used to tell me that during my next posting they will leave me but not Mumbai. And just around one such conversation I broke the news to them! Kadisco Asian Paints is a fun place to work and learn. There is so much to get inspired by and yet so many areas to work on. I am bringing in all my experience and learnings to ensure that I leave my mark here. Just to share, I am in Addis with my family. (Fortunately, my wife chose me over Mumbai). The life has started amazingly well. Transition from DBU to IBU has been exceptionally smooth, courtesy all my superiors (previous and present function) and specially HR. Just when Sarnas were thinking they were settled… the journey started!! It is said, When you're finished changing, you're finished…
And I’m Starting and how!
11
Ethiopian Sunrise
The SPECIAL COVERAGE
FACTORY LAUNCH INDONESIA 5th SEPT 2017
Kasturi Ghosh
PT Asian Paints Indonesia, was essentially setup on 20th July, 2014, when the first employee of the company and the
current President Director of the unit, Mr.Rahul Bhatnagar came to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. This was a departure from traditional international units of Asian Paints, part because it was one of the largest green-field ventures undertaken by the company in recent times, and part because of the unique culture of the country in which the venture had been undertaken. Known as the archipelago of 17,000 islands, Indonesia boasts of varied ethnicities, cultures, languages, while English as a language is spoken and understood by only a small section of populace. The country is connected by the sea, which largely limits travel only to air. Several religions are accepted and practiced, as are several dialects.
Navigating the cultural context of a country with such diversity across all spheres, would have been difficult under normal circumstances, setting up a business from scratch and in the scale and size imagined was a challenge indeed. However, it was the challenges, which made the achievements more memorable. From the first office rented as headquarters, to the joining of the first local employee, from the first sales order punched, to the first production trial batch, the milestones kept piling up as time moved faster than it ever did.
So it was with some surprise, on the morning of 5th September, 2017 when we stood in front of a 350 strong family, of employees, distributors, suppliers, vendors and respected dignitaries, for the launch of the first factory of PT Asian Paints Indonesia.
Indonesian Islands 12
The SPECIAL COVERAGE
FACTORY LAUNCH INDONESIA The Stage is SET... Construction for the factory had started on 2nd August, 2016 in Surya Cipta Industrial estate of Karawang regency. A Bhoomi puja was conducted on the factory grounds. The event was attended by all employees, project partners for factory construction and the Projects team (ESF) from India. While the factory land sprawls over 5.5 hectares, the main structures are built over a modest hectare of land.
Fully operational at the time of launch, the factory stood resplendent on 5th September morning with a fully equipped Shopfloor, Warehouse, ETP and Admin building. The invitees list included respected dignitaries - Mr. Teddy C. Sianturi as Director of Downstream Chemical Industry – representative of the Ministry of Industry, Mr. Zainuddin, Director of Secondary Sector of West Java Region, as well as the Vice-Bhupathi for Karawang regency and Commissioners of Police and Commander of local Military.
All distributors, suppliers and vendor partners for the company added to the milieu, as did the 100 strong workforce.
To the Factory
Barren Land
13
The SPECIAL COVERAGE
FACTORY LAUNCH INDONESIA The Launch Day... The day started with a press conference attended by over 20 media representatives from leading dailies and
business magazines. Mr.KBS Anand, MD and CEO of Asian Paints, Mr. Manish Choksi, President – International Business, IT, Supply Chain and Chemicals, Mr. I K Jaiswal, Regional Vice President, International Business Unit and Mr.Rahul Bhatnagar, Unit head of Indonesia explained about the vision with which the company was setup and the growth plan in the next 5 years. This was followed by a factory inauguration and symbolical ribbon cutting by Mr.KBS Anand, Mr. Manish Choksi, Mr. I K Jaiswal, Mr. Teddy C. Sianturi and Mr.Zamakhsyari, the Vice Bhupathi.
The event was drum-rolled by a performance by local percussion artists, unique and resounding music created using recycled instruments. While the chief dignitaries and members of media were taken on a guided factory tour, the remaining guests were welcomed to the 1000 sqm tent constructed for the purpose of the launch and a light breakfast. The second performance of the day, Taman Sari, a prayer-dance form of North Indonesia set the tone for the day. This was followed by addresses to the audience by Mr.Rahul Bhatnagar, Mr. KBS Anand, Mr. Manish Choksi, Mr. Teddy and the Vice Bhupathi. The respected guests spoke of the humble beginnings from which PT Asian Paints has started in the country, and the growth and achievements that have been accomplished with the support of all Indonesia counterparts.
Drum Roll
Button Push
14
The SPECIAL COVERAGE
FACTORY LAUNCH INDONESIA The Launch Day... Press Conference | Performances & Guided Tours Resounding applause welcomed as all speakers spoke of a bright future of the company in Indonesia. The final performance for the day was a local Karawang dance, to the surprise of a large section of audience who came from Karawang.
A vote of thanks by Mr.I.K. Jaiswal, concluded the events of the day.
A sumptuous lunch was arranged for all guests, which was followed by guided factory tours arranged by local employees for all guests and invitees, prior to their departure. The new factory of PT Asian Paints Indonesia, situated at Surya Cipta Industrial estate, Karawang regency, joins the list of 20+ manufacturing facilities of Asian Paints group around the world. The factory is focused on water-based paint production in line with the Indonesia National Standard set for paint products.
Grand Bufffet
15
Prayer Dance
The GLOBAL HUES NEPAL
Divya Singh
It is said that “Education is the movement from darkness to light”
and this turned out to be true for 10 operators from Asian Paints (Nepal) Pvt. Ltd.
These employees are part of the Adult literacy classes that took off 2 months back in Nepal. The need for this arose as some of the operators in the Hetauda factory were not able to read & write. This had restricted their possible work areas and thus built up pressure on the shop floor. Since they could not identify chemicals or read batch cards or container labels, it limited them from taking up alternate work assignments as rotation to their daily work. It was the factory team that pondered over this situation and they came up with this creative solution of adult literacy classes which used to be conducted in the unit 16 years ago! Back then, the operators were taught basics like writing their names, names of chemicals, signature and filling process slips. While re-launching this initiative, the factory team thought to have a more structured approach. So, the unit decided to tie up with external expertise, which can teach and at the same time encourage people to learn. This initiative, which was initially driven purely for professional development was much more impactful, as the Unit realized that it was also manifesting positively in the personal lives of these employees.
They expressed tremendous joy when they started reading along with their grandchildren in their homes, when their family members took pride in their new found ability to read and write. Some of them also said that now that they can read, nobody can con them by taking their thumbprints on forged documents.
GYAN PRABHA
This indeed is an example of how such a small step could bring a big difference in the lives of the people. The unit has now decided to continue these classes for the next 4 months and will be tying up with the Hetauda District Education Office for enrolling the identified members in school. The unit is quite optimistic that certificates of grades 2 to 3 from school exams can be achieved by successful participants.
The future seems to be bright as, this learning initiative got its own name “Gyan Prabha” - that truly portrays what it believes.
A Beam of light in Nepal Unit
16
The GLOBAL HUES UAE
A famous quote by Steve jobs goes like...
John Shelly
'We're here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?' Here is a story of a tint made a dent. Tinterman – A niche highly skilled job of matching shades to create a perfect blend for the perfect Asian paints’ walls, Most people wouldn’t accord too much importance to a tinterman when a discussion on Service levels for customers is underway, but the UAE unit thought differently. They analyzed and knew through the years of hairline receding and waistline increasing experience that the tinterman is a crucial cog in the wheel of customer service. His role can change an average customer experience into a delight. This brought the unit’s leadership and key managers to the drawing board, the process decided was gamification and the result was the “Tinterman Award”. These awards appreciate the hard work that these people put in ensuring the exact shade match happens in the least time, so accuracy and quality both have to be of the highest order in the limited time. When this award was started in 2013, the average number of shades that a tinterman could match in a hour was 0.37 , which meant around 2-3 shades in a day. The operators in plant were enthused by the move, but they were not sure that how these awards’ fairness will be ensured. The unit head and Operations head along with their team ensured that the data capturing is robust and employees have a visibility of the same. This was backed up with series of communication around why the performance of tinterman is critical. This built confidence in people on the floor about not just the award but also the relevance of their jobs, how & what they were doing was not just impacting the quality of product that the consumer received but also the service time. Today, this award is a revered one, employees work hard for a quarter to win this, the prestige associated with this is immense. The unit’s pride in serving customers better is infectious, the tinterman now perform a shade matching of 0.72 per hour which translates into 5-6 shades per day. The customer service levels are by 9AM for retail orders placed and the unit is now striving to further improve this.
THE TINT THAT MADE A DENT
Happy customers and happy employees, that’s making a dent with a tint.
17
The GLOBAL HUES OMAN
Jaffer Mohd. Baquer
W
e often come across great thinkers’ work that shows how “potential” or “capability” or “competency” can help oneself succeed. But have we ever felt like testing these theories in our careers? In case you haven’t, here’s some motivation for you to get going!
Once upon a time, a man acquired a job in a manufacturing unit as a workman to operate forklifts. As time passed by, he was promoted as a supervisor and managed a team of forklift drivers, as well as raw material batches. Give it ten years and he now handles an entire warehouse! This gentleman is Mr. Faisal Ali Ibrahim Al Bahrani, who is currently a Store Officer at Sohar, Asian Paints (Middle East) LLC. Mr. Faisal is famous for his knowledge and employees often consult him for their queries on raw materials. He also happily inducts newbies to this! Well, I can clearly relate this to a famous saying by Anne Frank -
Everyone has inside of him, a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is! This story of Mr. Faisal is commendable, but so is the vision of his supervisors, who identified his potential and gave him the right opportunities. And as we talk about it, such instances at APME aren’t less frequent afterall! For instance, we have Ms. Khadeeja Mohammed Khalfan Al-Maamari, who started off as a receptionist in 2015 at Sohar Plant. Ms. Khadeeja did show the inclination to learn more and hence, was eventually given a data entry role in production. She managed the reception desk and at the same time, attended training sessions for her new role. She is now an Officer – Production at Sohar.
And that’s what they call, “Making the most of one’s opportunities”.
WHEN POTENTIAL MEETS OPPORTUNITY
18
The GLOBAL HUES SINGAPORE
Seow Wei Tan
Culture, a word widely used in organizations but seldom understood. It takes a clear vision and lot of continued actions on the vision to create a culture where performance is appreciated and hence meritocracy thrives the way it should. At Singapore unit, one area where the unit’s leadership team has been working is strengthening the rewards and recognition piece, as an outcome, employees have been feeling more valued and more inspired to do better. The current FY was no different, there were many stand out performances that made a difference to the unit and in process they became better professionals. For instance, in Sales, employees like Damien and Heinrich achieved 253% and 169% of their monthly targets in an economy as competitive as Singapore, they put in their blood and sweat to crack big deals and ensure a constant pipeline of projects. In Purchasing where procuring TiO2 is always a tough challenge, Tina, worked exceptionally smart and tactfully, she managed all the stakeholders, ensuring that the unit got TiO2 at an excellent bargain. The culture of appreciation prompts employees not just at the staff cadre but also at the operator cadre to go beyond their call of duty, for instance, in production department, an Operator Mr. Xiang’s alertness caught an error in decimal places while adding of a RM, this saved company a batch of product and hence a significant loss was deterred. These are just a handful of the many instances where our efforts at building the right culture have paid off. We live by the following quote
“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” Simon Sinek, author, Start with Why
CULTURE OF APPRECIATION
19
The GLOBAL HUES EGYPT
K Vishwanath
They say “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. The HR team at SCIB Paints, Egypt definitely realizes this and hence for second year in a row SCIB Paints organized The Ramadan football tournament for 2017-18 as an initiative to increase the spirit of competition, cooperation and team work among all employees.
The participation this year was monumental with 20 teams competing with each other across departments and branches (10 players in each team). Every team chose one of the SCIB products’ names as their team name. So yes, it was a Royale v/s Decora v/s Breemo and so on. This tournament spanned 13 days and had a great impact on all employees participating in this tournament. Overall, this raised their morale and helped create a spirit of constructive competition and as well as teamwork. The opening and closing ceremony were attended by the Regional Manager, the Chief Executive and a group of department heads.
They also honored the top 3 winning teams in the Prize Distribution.
Ramadan Football Tournament 2017-18
Abdullah Helmy, Enas Mekki, Moustafa Desouki Egypt Unit HR Team
20
The GLOBAL HUES BANGLADESH
Sayeed Md. Wasiul Hasan
W
hile we skim through the pages of this magazine (or even in management books), we will find a handful of stories on how personality traits like determination, perseverance and a constant urge to learn more have led individuals to pave their way to success. But another important factor is being able to hold ground with the ever- growing expectations as one ascends the career graph.
Our Bangladesh unit has come up with a practical solution to this.
They have bridged the gap between two transition levels by introducing a “Staircase” or in Bangla, “SOPAN” between two levels. SOPAN is a three-month-long transition program and has been introduced as a pilot for 3 level changes (Sr. Officer to Executive, Executive to Assistant Manager and Assistant Manager to Manager). This program was formally launched on 20th July, 2017. In this program, employees are guided on the expectations from the new role as well as groomed to take up managerial tasks more effectively. In this curriculum, they have incorporated case studies, e-learning modules on strategic management and operations; as well as insights from their respective supervisors on individual development areas. The employees are welcoming this program as it helps them in transitioning seamlessly, the first edition of program is underway and the actual on ground results will start to show only after that.
But for now, the SOPAN is looking like the stairway to happiness.
BRINGING A TRANSITION THROUGH SOPAN
21
The GLOBAL HUES FIJI
W
hen I was presented with the opportunity to go and work in the as Project Lead in Facility Re-engineering in Fiji, I was nervous, excited and anxious all at the same time. When I googled Fiji for the first time, I feared owing to the mugging stories that I had read, but Fiji turned out very different. The team and the locals of the island were so supportive, they helped me in settling in. Fiji has a unique mix of cultures, natural beauty and tropical lifestyle for an amazing residential stay. People say, when you are having a good time, time seems to fly. It indeed happened with me, almost two years went by in a blink. The stint in FIJI has helped me by enriching my knowledge on International Standards and local work practice & helped me in upgrading my skill. It made me appreciative of how cultural nuances impact work. I was exposed to multiple functional areas and gained knowledge of other functions like Finance, Sales, Marketing & HR as well. This experience was worth its weight in gold. Every success is a result of a team effort and in this case the team was APCO & ESF team who were with me in the project like a rock, always sturdy and always supportive. On a personal level, Fiji is quite a popular destination for honeymooners, so my weekends and holidays were like an extended honeymoon, only alone (Pun intended). One of my most memorable moments is when FIJI won the Olympic gold in 2016 summer & there were celebrations in the whole of the country, that whole scene was very inspiring. The spirit and the enthusiasm is something that I won’t ever forget, it was quite like when India won the cricket world-cup. Overall, I had the time of my life in FIJI. The challenge, learning and fun when all three are combined, they make an addictive combination. I was privileged to be a part of IBU – ESF team, to have experienced this. I will recommend a short holiday to local islands in FIJI for a blissful vacation.
FACILITY RE-ENGINEERING 22
The MUMBAI HUSTLE
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THE ESF PERSPECTIVE
Kishor Deshmukh
ngineering is often considered a monotonous field job. However, we at ESF work with a different principle. We strongly believe in what Theo Jansen said,
“The walls between Art and Engineering exist only in our minds.”
We believe, what we do is as much of Art as it is Engineering, right from kind of machinery to where it will fit, working on building more capacity in space cramped existing plants or conceptualizing and building a dream plant up from dust. Over the last few years, we have been busy expanding our existing facilities and setting up the new ones and have experienced immense joy and satisfaction. This year so far, we have been working on multiple capacity expansion projects like AP-Bangladesh : 3150 KLPM
AP-Nepal Plant 2 : 1470 KLPM
Causeway Paints-Lanka : 2500 KLPM
We are also setting up Emulsion manufacturing facility for the first time outside India, which is quite challenging task. The facility at Kadisco will be ready by early next year while the one at SCIB will be ready in year 2019. In addition to this, later this year, we will also be starting design and conceptualization for Second Paints plant for AP-Bangladesh
New Head Office at Kathmandu for AP-Nepal
We at AP have a vision of World class manufacturing, and in this direction, we have taken quite a few initiatives this year for making all our facilities across the globe, a benchmark in terms of ‘plant upkeep’, ‘productivity’ and ‘cost effectiveness’. With this premise, we launched the ‘Asset Care’ agenda, that aims at upgrading engineering skills at our overseas plants. The program, comprises of periodic ‘Technical Webinars’ and ‘Knowledge Sharing Sessions’ devoted to specific relevant topics. In Q1, four webinars and one knowledge session was conducted for IBU Engineers. While for the coming half we have planned Induction program for IBU Engineers (in Q3) Launching PM module at one of the IBU plants
Our vision is a joint vision that, all of us will together lay the foundation of an automated and futuristic tomorrow.
art of engineering
We are looking forward to making the tomorrow real in today’s scenario.
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The MUMBAI HUSTLE
SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE
Navjyot Sarnaik
Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in
sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. As the scale of operations increases, more emphasis on automating decision making at all stages of the supply chain is required. Two years ago, we had taken a goal to develop a system based tool (zero-excel usage) for each stage of the supply chain management activities. The envisaged benefit for this was to have uniformity in planning across the units, minimize person dependency, to have a system based logic incorporating best practices across the units, automating the decision-making process and thus making the entire process more agile.
Today we can proudly say that we have a system based solution for every planning activity.
Forecasting Currently on i2, will be migrated to “Planamind� Production Planning through Navision Production Scheduling through Navision Material Requirement Planning through Navision Finished Goods allocation to depots through Navision
In the current year, closure on roll-out of all the planning tools across units is planned. Another major project for the current year has been ERP implementation at Causeway Paints Ltd. Lanka (CPLL). Post -acquisition the first step was to implement Microsoft Navision. ERP implementation at CPLL had its own set of challenges. CPLL handled huge number of transactions on a day-to-day basis. User acquaintance to computers was very preliminary in most of the departments. Additionally, the unit did not have a formal system to enter data pertaining to production order or to maintain batch records. The goal was to ensure seamless transition to the new ERP system with minimal/no impact to the business. The experienced team was determined to do whatever was required to achieve this goal. The ERP implementation team was divided to handle different departments of the company as well as to ensure the necessary infrastructure was in place for go-live. Basic data for master data preparation was sought well in advance before the visit. Majority of the master data was prepared and ready before the actual visit. To ensure that all the users get sufficient hands-on training and all types of transactions get covered, their older transaction recording system and NAVISION were run simultaneously for a period of 1 week. Once the team had the confidence, successful complete migration and go-live on the new ERP was done on 15th May, 2017. This implementation also enjoys the status of being one of a kind since it’s the first ERP system to be hosted on cloud in our entire AP group.
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The MUMBAI HUSTLE
FINANCE PERSPECTIVE
Meera Menezes
The endeavor of Finance has been to build the expertise of the finance managers in the units by sharing
best practices, providing assistance in improving the internal control environment and adopting governance standards at par with the best
In continuation of the above focus, some of the Key initiatives planned for this year by Finance include: On boarding the newly acquired Units by familiarising, training and supporting them in HO reporting, ERP support and adoption of Group Policies Developing a consolidated MIS report with the objective of avoiding duplication of efforts and ensuring minimal inputs/reports from units. Building and maintaining an Important document repository on land and share ownership. Provide an authority matrix to units covering purchase, customer facing transactions, employee reimbursements/advances, production, IT Controls etc. Web based FIT conference addressing change in accounting standards, ERP training and challenges faced in statutory audit and reporting.
We have so far worked on the following Support during ERP Implementation in Causeway
Caribbean Divestment
Support to Indonesia in monthly and quarterly reporting and ERP areas.
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The MUMBAI HUSTLE Ronojoy Chakravarty
MARKETING PERSPECTIVE
Jigar Shah
As Steve Jobs said “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to
them” We at IBU marketing team, believe this. We have been doing some exciting work with all our units, a glimpse into that world is mentioned as below... Colour Ideas : A feather in the IBU’s cap The 1st quarter of 2017-18 marks a new chapter in the Bangladesh unit's retailing journey with the planning, execution and opening of 2 new Colour Idea stores at par with India Colour Idea 3.0 plus version. The unit's foray into an evolved retailing format, enabled by state of the art technology, is designed to address the customer expectation of best-in-class retail experience. Thus, acting as a significant strategic differentiator against other competition in Bangladesh. This also marks a new beginning of an extremely coordinated approach with the India Decorative business to assist in the planning and design of the Colour Idea stores. The entire store has been designed keeping the consumer journey at the centre of the approach. The intent is to aid and assist the consumer in the paint purchase process through help in Colour Inspiration and Visualization through technology enabled tools, Product and Colour Consultation through the in-store colour consultant, Creating awareness about waterproofing problems and solutions therein, Providing the consumer with the world of opportunity for paint and home décor. With the roll out of the Colour Idea store, we are also looking at introducing retail linked consumer services like dealer-led end-to-end painting service of Paint Total, promoting home visualization through ForePics services to name a few.
Contractor Loyalty Program (Bangladesh) In coordination with the Asian Paints India’s IT team, we have managed to successfully design and roll out a Contractor Loyalty and Engagement Program, aptly named, “Progoti Club – ujjwal bhobishyot er jonyo” or “Progress Club – towards a brighter future”. Long have the painters and contractors been neglected by major paint companies in Bangladesh and this program allows us to take a leadership position in this community to take up their cause and nurture them towards a brighter and more secured future. “Progoti Club” elevates a contractor program to much beyond an incentive/gratification program to address various needs of the painter community like Training and Skilling, Providing identity and status, creating platform for rewards and recognition, mitigating risk through Accident insurance, health check-up etc. Post the back-end system readiness, the Bangladesh team, managed a mammoth launch in 11 cities across the country in just 7 days. The program since its launch has seen a lot of positive response from the painters, contractors and the network with over 6000 painter/contractors already enrolling in the Progoti Club program. With the success of the Contractor Program in Bangladesh, we look forward to extending IT-enabled Contractor Loyalty & Engagement program across other IBU units in the next 2 quarters.
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The MUMBAI HUSTLE
MARKETING PERSPECTIVE Some interesting Campaigns are as below Power to Pink-Nepal
T
he Power to Pink Nepal Campaign is targeted to the Nepali women consumer, specifically housewives. The objective of the campaign is to empower housewives to influence the purchase and re-purchase process of house paints focusing on “makeover of home” and “makeover of self”. The makeover of home includes Art and Crafts, Décor Tips, Colour and Paints. The makeover of self includes Zumba Tips, Healthy food tips, Makeup and Hair Style. The campaign concept was launched through 5 TV episodes featuring two prominent celebrities Malina Joshi and Reema Bishwokarma doing the makeover of each other’s rooms, keeping the outcome as a surprise. The campaign is a perfect example of an integrated marketing campaign, where different media channels-Television, Press and Digital are used to communicate the core message of “Empowerment” and “Engagement.”
APCO-Hibiscus Campaign
Hibiscus is a very popular occasion in Fiji where people gather on the streets and celebrate. The atmosphere is carnival-like and
each organization in Fiji sponsors participants, who take part in a personality contest. The theme of this festival this year was Climate Change. APCO FIJI did a contest on their Facebook page asking consumers to share their thoughts on climate change. Additionally, we had also asked consumers to spot the APCO float at the event for which we got an encouraging participation of more than 30 interactions on the page. The engagement on the page during the campaign increased 5 times and we also acquired more than 500 new followers on the page.
There are exciting new campaigns in other geographies like Berger Singapore (Love all Colours), GCC Digital Campaigns like Summers of Arabia and Shade of Festivity,Digital Campaigns from Sri Lanka like Avurudu, Father’s day,Classique and Wood Finishes and Digital Campaigns from SCIB Egypt. Watch out this space for more in the next issue of the magazine.
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The MUMBAI HUSTLE
HR PERSPECTIVE
Sudakshina Ghosh
A big hello !! from the Human resources team. As they say change is the only constant … keeping with
this theme, the entire IBU HR team had undergone a makeover. For all of us in the team, this first year has been exciting.
HR department is quite like the backstage team, the efforts that go in ensuring the basics are important while the result is business as usual. HR is also perhaps the only department that connects or attempts to connect the individual stories with the large organization narrative. So here is a sneak peek into the central HR of the world (we have taken the liberty of calling ourselves that since it has a super heroic feel to it and we really like how it sounds). One of our key focus areas every year has been the capability building of people in IBU. In this space this year, we have conceptualized and designed a module called Leadership @ Workplace, this module has been designed for all key managers across our units, it has been designed to give employees inputs on leadership styles, how to handle developmental conversations, and coach employees. The module is being rolled out across all units in IBU. We have also been working closely with different units and supporting them in functional capability building . For sales capability enhancement, we have partnered with Miller Hieman for a program in Bangladesh and Srilanka , while for Nepal, we have worked with Dale Carnegie. HRIT integration has also been a key theme for all IBU units. Most of our IBU units have gone live with HRIT, which means all employee actions are captured in the system. The local teams and nominated HR spocs have been putting in tremendous efforts to streamline the system and ensure HRIT system remains dynamic and alive. Our local HR teams have been going on top gear with employee engagement initiatives like SHAMIL and TAKI. The initiatives focus on sharing, learning and teamwork. We are working with them closely to provide support in terms of ideas, concepts and design of activities.
As they say… well begun is half done... the first half of the year has been exciting and filled with amazing interactions and learning. In the coming months, we wish to carry forth the momentum and focus on strengthening core HR processes for all units. Human resources is just an enabler and acts like the oil in the machines. The actual work on people and with people is done by each one of you. Hence please fill us in with your ideas… suggestions and comments.
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?
DID YOU KNOW
S
COUNTRY TRIVIA
o, BULA everyone, this means “Hello” in Fiji and this is how the Fijians greet everyone. They say it with a lot of enthusiasm and with genuine smiles. And some locals might ask you to repeat it loudly if it didn’t meet their satisfaction in the enthusiasm gauge. Fiji or Republic of Fiji is an island nation with about 332 islands and out of these 110 are inhabited. About three quarters of the over 800,000 people live on its largest island of Viti Levu. Suva, its capital city, is also located in this island. The islands are mostly mountainous with rainforests in addition to its beautiful beaches. Some locals also say that Fiji name comes from
“Fun In Jungle Island”. Kava or Yaqona (pronounced “Yangona”) is Fiji’s traditional and national drink. It is made from the powdered root of a plant from the pepper family. It is mixed with water in the traditional bowl called Tanoa. Fijians use Lovo Pits or underground ovens as a traditional method of cooking. The food is buried underneath hot coals with banana leaves or palm fronds. The marinated meats and fish are laid in the bottom and root crops like cassava, taro and yams are placed on top. The Meke is a celebration of Fiji’s culture through traditional dance and storytelling using songs. It was a way to pass on traditions and stories through generations. It’s a collaborative effort between the men and women where the men are supposed to portray masculine gestures and the women are soft and feminine.
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KAVA
MEKE
?
DID YOU KNOW
FIJI TRIVIA...
They are mostly performed during festivals and celebrations
but more often during cultural shows at resorts.
Fiji was once known as part of the “Cannibal Isles”. Cannibalism existed here until the Christian Missionaries arrived in the mid 1800s. It was believed that cannibalism started from long sea voyages with not much choices to survive and these practices were brought over to the islands. You can still buy four-pronged wooden forks in village craft and souvenir shops that used to be an essential part of Fijian culture but now are just quaint reminders of Fiji’s cannibalistic past. One of many Fijian superstitions says that coconuts have eyes and watch for certain people on which to fall from their trees. If you are the recipient of a coconut bomb, expect bad luck to follow you for several days. So one has to watch out for falling coconuts!! The most precious gift to give at funerals, marriages and important rituals or holidays is sperm whale teeth. Presenting sperm whale teeth to another is always preceded by a lengthy, formal speech about the occasion and the people involved. Fiji is located on the International Date Line which is the imaginary line in the Pacific Ocean that splits consecutive calendar days and where one day begins and another ends. There is a marker in the island of Taveuni where visitors can have one foot, arm, etc. on today and the other half on yesterday. One can also jump from today and yesterday
If you travel to Fiji, you will repeatedly hear, “Don’t worry, you’re on Fiji time”. It is representative of the laid-back lifestyle and the concept of island time. Things move a little slower and sometimes, set times are mere suggestions.
There’s an unhurried, relaxed vibe here so expect it and enjoy it.
I’m ON
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KAVA
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