Reach out to grow

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VOL 13-14 MARCH 2016

THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF GODREJ & BOYCE VOL 13-14 MARCH 2016

REACH OUT TO GROW

FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ONLY

FOCUS

The SABIC Adventure

Willkommen in Deutschland!

Complex Problems Call for Co-created Solutions

Spreading Wings Beyond Borders

THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF GODREJ & BOYCE VOL 13-14 MARCH 2016

Exports – a key to becoming globally competitive

Editor

Emerging markets of West and South Asia, as well as those of Africa have been exploited well by firms from developed economies. Some Indian companies have made significant inroads into these markets, but there exists a large, untapped potential for Indian companies, including G&B.

The goal of 25% of our turnover coming from exports is indeed a challenging one in the context of global slowdown. At G&B, we face challenges on two fronts; the first is that of being competitive internationally. This means that we have to offer innovative products / solutions at prices which will help us with business against strongly entrenched global competitors. The second challenge is to be able to forge new relationships with institutional customers and channel partners for sustained business. We cannot cope with these challenges successfully unless the senior management in each of our businesses is deeply committed to making a mark on the export front and cultivating a mindset of ‘Exports’ across their business. Exports call for a unified and sustained effort over a long haul.

In this issue of CHANGE, we have stories from our B2B and B2C businesses of their engagement on the export front. The story from Godrej Process Equipment is about the commitment and hard work that is required to win a star reference order from a global giant. Godrej Storage Solutions narrates vividly the challeng-

es encountered in executing a large and complex project involving extensive site work, that too in foreign lands. Godrej Security Solutions and Locking Solutions and Systems share with us the stories of their forays into markets overseas and deploying different approaches for establishing a foothold.

On-time delivery performance has been a long prevailing area of improvement for Indian companies and G&B as well. Mehul Kaku and I make a strong case for deploying additional resources for making on-time delivery a norm, particularly for exports.

The new Experience Centre of Godrej Interio at Vikhroli has a contemporary design and it offers a display of an array of products that enables our customers experience Interio’s products in a real life milieu. This is vastly different from the case earlier.

Hemmant Jha shares his fascination with our heavy fabrication facility and his effort of using the essence of it to create something that is novel and useful – a large worktable. The photo essay tells it all.

Our artist in residence Jeremy Mayer recent-

ly created sculptures from parts of old manual typewriters. In these sculptures the parts are held together without any welding or other means of joining. Renowned photographer Chirodeep Chaudhuri captures the process in his photo essay.

Hemmant Jha, our Chief Design Officer has been of immense help in putting together this issue of CHANGE. He has guided the team of designers and us in all aspects of designing, including overall look and feel, layout, images and the rest. Thank you, Hemmant!

To appeal to the diverse interests of our readers and their families, we have articles on many different topics. We received favourable feedback from our readers for the new design and the content of the previous issues of CHANGE. We hope you will like this issue of CHANGE. Do send us your feedback and suggestions for making CHANGE even better.

Happy reading!

Indrapal Singh

TEAM

Anil G. Verma

Hemmant Jha

Nalini Kala

Deepak Banota

Nariman Bacha

Head, Edit Board

Chief Design Officer

Edit Board

Edit Board

Distribution

MESSAGE

Contents

04 Exports for Growth

FOCUS

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The SABIC Adventure

Willkommen in Deutschland!

The biggest risk is not taking a risk at all

Cracking the German code

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The Zambia Story

Complex Problems Call for Co-created Solutions

Spreading wings beyond borders

An innovative approach helps succeed in the international market

INSIGHT

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Hitting the Bull’s Eye, Every Time

Making Exports Everyone’s Job

A low-cost approach to boosting exports

The story of the Japanese janitor

32 Do women make better finance managers?

The perfect fit, naturally!

SUCCESS STORIES

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Blast from the Past

Flight of Success

The first export order of forklifts to Russia, 1977

ISRO’s GSLV Mark III launches into space

THE GREATER GOOD

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INSIDE G&B

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LAUNCH PAD

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Remembering Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam

Three Mandalas and a Giant Lotus

Nav-Tal NXT

Meeting an extraordinary man, first-hand

The art of Jeremy Mayers

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The Man with India in his Blood Setting new standards of bravery and endurance

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Poetry in Steel Showcasing our unique abilities

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Bus No. 489

Rebirth of an icon

Dussera-Diwali Function 2015

Goldilocks The everyday locker

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Electric Lift Truck Production booster

Getting together to make commuting easy

BOOKMARK

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My Companion Apps

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Healthy Holiday Hacks

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Want to Win New Business?

Collaborate.

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MESSAGE

Let us strive to accomplish our goals on the foundation of greater value and quality.

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Exports for Growth J N Godrej

We need to grow more aggressively to realise our ambitious vision. Exports offer a great opportunity to all our businesses to grow in a sustained way. Today, only about 15% of our revenue is from exports, which needs to be taken to a new, higher level of 25% in the coming years.

be studied in-depth for offering our existing, modified or new products. The markets of West Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa offer attractive opportunities for our consumer businesses. Our Industrial businesses also ought to explore foreign markets for new opportunities.

To achieve this, we must attain higher competitiveness and sharpen our focus on the carefully selected markets abroad. The needs of the consumers in these markets should

Let us strive to accomplish our goals on the foundation of greater value and quality. I believe this is doable. I urge everyone to work together to make this happen.

1 2 3 4 5 5 reasons why G&B should export more

To grow

To become agile

Profitable growth can be achieved by exploiting the good fit between what we have to offer and what is required in the emerging and other markets. Likewise, to exploit opportunities hitherto not attempted, locally, our businesses can bring back products and services.

To match the strengths of global players, our businesses will have to be agile in a way that matches these strong competitors. The effort of exporting more will inevitably make us realise that our existing processes have to be redesigned for greater agility and efficacy.

To become competitive

To cultivate a new mindset

To de-risk

In overseas markets, we have to fight and win against well entrenched global brands.

These encounters are a source of huge learnings, which if well imbibed can prove to be invaluable for not only boosting exports but for developing winning approaches for the local markets which are likely to face the onslaught of strong global brands, thus fostering innovation all around.

Our people have a mindset that is conditioned by local experience and hence lacks the breadth when viewed in the context of global markets. As we engage consciously with global brands overseas, the prevalent mindset will undergo a change and with some deliberate effort, evolve to suit the new business realities.

Striving to do more business overseas is a strong catalyst for forming a new mindset.

To mitigate the risks of conducting business only in the local market, it is essential that we widen our market scope by going overseas.

Having a larger market footprint across geographies would help us ride through the volatility of demand in the local market. As our imports are significantly larger than our exports, doing more business overseas will help us minimise the impact of currency risks.

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The SABIC Adventure The biggest risk is not taking any risk at all!

Rajeev Kulkarni, Godrej Process Equipment

In 2005-06, after having made three critical reactors for Valero Refinery in USA, (a premier American oil & gas company), we were hungry for more. We wanted to establish ourselves as one of the leading manufacturers of critical process equipment for the global hydrocarbon processing industry. We were actively looking for opportunities globally. And seemingly, for a true seeker an opportunity is always there.

Opportunity knocks Our chance came from the sleepy little town of Port Solent in south-east England. Aker Solutions (with whom we shared a strong rapport) is a major engineering contractor with a strong presence in Northern Europe and USA. We had previously established our credentials with them in the bidding stage of a project with timely and competitive offers for critical equipment. Aker, Port Solent, was selected by SABIC to work on its polypropylene project in Saudi Arabia (the PP Reactor is really the “heart “of a polypropylene plant). Aker recommended Godrej as a qualified manufacturer for the polypropylene (PP) reactor for the project. Bagging and executing this order would be our ‘star reference’ for similar requirements and substantial business from petrochemical industry globally, and the Middle East region in particular.

Background We had made a smaller PP reactor for a major Indian petrochemical company based on the same Dow Unipol process design. But the SABIC reactor was much larger (800 MT with the dome having a diameter of 9 metres at one end, a length of 48m, with shell wall thickness of 100mm). The challenge lay in fabricating this mammoth in just 6-7 months. Even Mumbai port had not handled equipment of this ton-

nage in a single piece! We thought we could deliver with additional resources, submitted our proposal, and emerged as the clearly preferred bidder over the stiff competition from European manufacturers. Then, SABIC put the whole project into cold storage. The team and Godrej Process Equipment (GPE) was disappointed at this outcome.

SABIC decided to revive the project after many months. This delay had a direct impact on the input costs, but if we wanted the order, it had to be at the old Advantages price, insisted SABIC. » Prior design experience With the longer-term » A do-or-die attitude view on growth and » An eye on the big prize the huge potential with SABIC for more Challenges business, we took on » Extremely large reactor size the risk of very slim » Rapid Turnaround Time earnings, with this » Low profit margin rider: if we delivered earlier than the stipulated 14 months, SABIC would reward us with an early-delivery bonus.

On 2nd May, 2006, SABIC awarded us the contract worth USD 3.5 Million, with a 14 month delivery period and early delivery bonus clause.

The clock had started ticking.

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Middle-east

SABIC is a major petrochemicals company (sales revenue USD 50 billion) head-quartered in Saudi Arabia and globally reputed for extremely stringent quality requirements.

At Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli

At Pirojshahnagar, Vikhroli

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Ship Loading

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A WORLD-CLASS PERFORMANCE “I DOUBT WHETHER ANY KOREAN MANUFACTURER WOULD BE ABLE TO SHIP OUT A HUGE EQUIPMENT LIKE THIS IN A SPAN OF 13 MONTHS.” Inspector from Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd. based out of Seoul, Korea.

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FOCUS

At the manufacturing location, Plant 15A

The key requirement

Challenges » Creating a large-enough manufacturing space » New welding capability » Heavy lifting capacity » Transportation

We needed a new manufacturing space on the eastern side of our campus to ship the dome from the Eastern Express Highway on to the jetty and to the port. We had to make and bring the reactor shells from Plant 19 on the western side to this new facility to complete the reactor. This meant a large new welding capability on the eastern side. The new manufacturing facility had to have suitable cranes and heavy load-bearing floors with rails. Transporting the reactor to the ship in port meant widening roads and temporarily shutting down major electricity supply lines.

Keeping to deadlines In just 5 months, an open space opposite plant 13 was developed from scratch into a workshop that would accommodate 800 MT

and even heavier equipment. Our construction team got all permissions and completed laying the heavy load-bearing shop-floor with rails. The required additional machinery was installed on time; as soon as the raw material was received, fabrication could begin. Cranes were made available to lift heavy equipment. Our Construction and E&E colleagues ensured that the new manufacturing facility was commissioned in time, ready for production. We also set up a modular furnace for heat treatment on the dome. Lifting, moving and positioning the dome safely and quickly was made possible with innovative solutions from our people on the shop-floor. To transport the finished equipment within Godrej, the roads needed widening and had to be cleared by the Garden department who offered all co-operation.

The fabrication task was intense and de-

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On the barge

Challenges » Beating the delivery time-frame » Building and transporting the dome

What really helped » Planning and dedicated hard work » Teamwork and cooperation

manding; our execution team worked round the clock to meet SABIC’s high quality standards on time. The dome was obviously the most challenging part; its large diameter and shape meant a larger number of weld joints and more testing. Careful sequencing and maintenance of dimensional tolerances was essential. At various stages the Customer’s inspection too was involved as per the contract. Finally, the equipment was ready for dispatch and in less than 13 months’ time!

There was still the last challenge of transporting the equipment to Mumbai port through the jetty. We had to convince MSEB to shut off crucial supply lines at least for 30 minutes to allow the reactor to pass under them. Also, it had to be timed to the high tide required for transportation, or we would miss the window for loading the reactor onto the ship.

Rewards and recognition We developed excellent business relations with SABIC and have received more than USD 15 million worth of orders from them; today we are considered one of their preferred suppliers. We continue to use this ‘star reference’ for securing more international projects, a stepping stone into Saudi Aramco, IOCL, Reliance, Petrobras, Sasol, and other global giants. More importantly, it remains a beacon for us to aim for more critical and challenging equipment orders. When you manufacture something this critical for a world leader, you earn important credentials, not only for your company, but also for your country.

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Willkommen in Deutschland!

Cracking the German code Surojit Banerjee, Godrej Security Solutions

Europe has given the world some of the finest brands of safes and vault equipment, and some of the finest safes and vault doors are still manufactured there. As we began planning to make forays into Europe, we were aware that trying to replicate their quality and elegance was going to be a daunting task.

With more than a century of experience in safe manufacturing, Godrej Security Solutions (GSS) was ready to take on the challenge.

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Europe GSS is the Indian pioneer and market leader for manufacturing certified Physical Security products.

By 2007, apart from the BIS certifications, we had already acquired a number of International certifications for fire and burglary-resistant products from reputed test laboratories like Underwriters’ Laboratories, USA, and S P Test laboratories, Sweden. However, the entry barriers to the European market are far more stringent and required a level of fit, feel and finish, features and certifications that necessitated a

paradigm shift in our product strategy and a Herculean effort on the certification front.

The chance for change The first opportunity for this change presented itself in the winter of 2007, when we invited Mr. Mike Cripps to visit us in Mumbai.

Mike represented Insafe International Ltd., a very well-known entity in the UK safes Industry,

and during his visit, was pleased with what he saw at our plant. He envisioned our becoming a major player in the European market, albeit with the right effort, in the right direction, in the near future.

Insafe Ltd. was keen to work with Godrej and offered our design team exposure to the Physical Security products and design concepts prevalent in the UK market. A lot had to be

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FOCUS SWEDEN

RUSSIA DENMARK IRELAND

NETHERLANDS

UK

FRANCE

SPAIN

SWITZERLAND

ITALY GREECE

Köln was a natural choice, because of its proximity to the three major ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp

achieved in a short time – identifying the right products, getting the right certifications, and above all changing our perception about how a safe had to have superior quality of fit, feel and finish.

Benchmarking against the right products, standards, and certifications was the key, and kudos to our Design, Engineering and Manufacturing teams, who achieved it in quick time – it was not very long post the first visit of Insafe, that GSS was able to unfurl its own portfolio of products in the UK.

Marching on Europe With these baby steps, GSS had begun its foray into the European market. However, the realisation soon dawned that Europe was not a

homogeneous continent but several countries, whose similarity ended with the geography, topography and climate. Each country was conspicuously different from the other, separated by language, culture and choices. Consumer behaviour from country to country was distinctly different. The initial gains in the UK and Ireland did not amount to much for making an entry into Europe.

It did not take us long to evaluate that Germany was central to the European markets. German engineering and manufacturing had survived the onslaught of Asian manufacturers because of its enviable location. Sharing its borders with Poland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic – it is close to the Eastern

European Block of countries, the Balkans and the Baltic countries, Russia, Southern Europe, the Scandinavian countries and of course the UK and Ireland.

Our initial quest into Germany was met with stubborn reluctance, suspicion and mistrust.

But our efforts remained focussed on analysing customers, competition, products and certifying agencies. The entire product range had to be revamped to suit the tastes of mainland Europe, tested and certified once again at VdS Test Laboratories, Germany, which is the most stringent and most reputed test house in Europe.

It is interesting to note that when we first approached the European Market, they were hugely apprehensive about our capability to

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Clockwise from top left: Office in Köln, Showroom in Köln, CEN Safes team, European partners at the Köln office

design and manufacture products required for the high-end European markets. However, after a short passage of time, they recognised our design and manufacturing capabilities.

Consequently, I am a member of the Working Group of ECBS – Germany, which formulates the Physical Security Standards for Europe, as the only non-European member.

Welcome to Köln The final hurdle now was to give the products a local flavour and for that GSS needed a small operations base in Germany. Köln was a natural choice, because of its proximity to the three major ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp.

GSS soon had a new address in Germany – a modest 700 sqm office with showroom, con-

Functionality was merely a hygiene factor; the safes had to have a million-dollar look

ference room and warehouse in Rösrath – next to the Köln Bonn airport, adjacent to the major highways connecting Belgium and the Netherlands, and just a few kilometres away from the Köln city centre – a superb location.

It was a small beginning, but we were right in our assumptions - the local flavour was an added impetus to our quest for finding new partners. Slowly, countries and partners started rolling in – Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Italy, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland came one by one. From a non-existent player, GSS slowly became a noticeable European player. Our sales have grown four times in the last four years. Indeed a significant achievement.

The Köln operations gave us the initial start

but it was now time to evolve further and GSS has taken another bold step forward. From a Dealer-managed operations base in Germany, we are moving on to establish our very own representative Branch office in Frankfurt. The year 2016 will witness this change, as GSS slowly spreads its wings in the European continent.

This journey so far for GSS has been challenging, exciting and fascinating – and even though we have not donned the mantle of global leader yet, the journey has begun!

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The Zambia Story Spreading wings beyond borders Prasad Sane, Godrej Locking Solutions & Systems

An effective distribution network is the key to success. In the development of the 10X10 perspective plan, growth in international business was considered an important driver of overall growth. Project BIG was launched in November2013 with the aid of the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG), to create a clear, actionable and strategic roadmap to enable us to reach our desired goals. We are proud to announce that our business is now spread across 28 geographies with more than 45 channel partners; a good beginning to realising our ambitious plans.

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The five-step plan The five-step process charts Godrej Locking Solutions and Systems’ (GLSS) international business strategy: a country-wide prioritisation followed by a detailed understanding of each geography. This enabled us to formulate strategies specific to each geography that GLSS targeted.

Significant learning enabled a smooth transfer to the BCG team, and the development of a realistic roadmap for our international busi-

Country prioritisation

Detailed planning

ness. An important part of the process was the detailed planning of market studies and interviews prior to our visits where we wished to establish our presence. We used numerous data sources including import and export databases, and detailed meetings with several stakeholders such as architects, distributors and contractors working in these markets. Some of the markets selected for development are Zambia, Mozambique, UAE, Saudi, Qatar, Oman, Ghana, and so on.

Market visits

Country specific strategies

Overall Strategy

Africa

Our aim is to steer the international business to a CAGR of 45% over the next 10 years.

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Zambia calling One of our key strategy implementation success stories comes from Zambia, a country in southern Africa, considered the continent’s “fruit basket”.

Assa Abloy is at the top end of the market and a global leader for locks and latches, marketing Yale and Union, worldwide. The Chinese players are very aggressive and generous with their trade discounts. Their product quality is not as good as ours, but as in most developing markets, customers with limited incomes always look for ‘value for money’ products, making the Chinese formidable competition in Zambia. There are very few established distribution networks in Zambia and it is very difficult to establish one’s own network. Also, collecting payments on time from channel partners is extremely challenging.

ed by the business head and the International Business Council (a cross-functional body responsible for ironing out any issues that come in the way of speedy progress). The council also regularly reviews the chosen market strategy and its implementation to make mid-course corrections. Finally: deployment of a robust process for selecting and developing local channel partners.

Our approach centred on establishing our presence with more than 125 dealers across Zambia. We wanted to focus on the B2B segment and market our products directly to the customers in the segments like real estate, hotels and spas, postal authorities and so on.

To achieve this, we partnered with Vista Zam in 2010-’11, a well-known company engaged in the import and distribution of stationery, hardware,

adhesives, electrical goods and similar products. Vista Zam already distributes the products of leading Indian companies such as Pidilite and Havells, and has a presence in about a dozen countries in Africa and the Middle East. Their familiarity with Indian firms and way of conducting business led us to form a partnership that is only growing stronger.

In addition to Vista Zam, we engaged with leading wholesalers and key retailers who promoted and distributed our products further downstream to smaller retailers in remote regions. We have three key retailers who distribute our products to smaller retailers, enabling us to penetrate deep into the market. In the vicinity of key customers like copper mines and others, we got wholesalers and retailers to exploit the local market. We set up a fairly robust

Our strategy We gained a strong foothold in Zambia by developing the market deeply rather than skimming.

Three important factors contributed to our success. First: the formulation of a clear market entry strategy, upfront, across the business.

Second: articulation of a well thought-out implementation plan, which was strongly support-

Zambia at a Glance GDP

USD 21 billion

Population

14 million

Per capita annual income

USD 1400

Potential market for locks

USD 30 million (^3% p.a.)

Main competitor

Assa Abloy

Others

Various Chinese companies

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We respond quickly, localise our market tactics, develop variants for B2B segments, and work diligently as a team to build and strengthen our international business.

distribution network and invested in channel branding. We also conducted many influencer management programmes for architects, interior decorators and carpenters. On the product side, we invested in developing market-specific products to grow our international business.

Our achievements In a span of three years, we have created a base of 125 retailers across Zambia. We also have three key wholesalers who procure our products and help us penetrate the market effectively. We have a showroom in Lusaka city that exclusively displays the complete range of GLSS’ product line. We have tapped many companies in various B2B segments and have laid a strong foundation for future growth. As of today, it is safe to say that our partners are happy with the progress we have made jointly so far. We have emerged an important player in

the locking systems space in Zambia. We have made a noticeable dent in the share of Assa Abloy and a small one in the business of the Chinese players. Despite difficulties and a lower-than-average sales growth, we have grown at the rate of about 20% per annum over the last 3 years.

We are confident of replicating our success in Zambia, in other African markets and the markets of other developing countries because of the strong support and encouragement from Mr. Shyam Motwani, our Business Head, and his deep commitment to developing our international business.

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Complex Problems Call for Co-created Solutions An innovative approach helps succeed in the international market A. M. Visvanathan and Team, Godrej Storage Solutions

For many years we were focused on growth in the Middle East market – but with limited success. The really large projects and the multinational customers continued to look at us as an “Indian company” without sufficient references outside our home market.

To the credit of our Middle East sales team, our efforts to get a breakthrough with a large account were dogged and relentless. The year ‘13-‘14 was our year of success. Not only did we grow our business many fold, over 60% of this higher turn-over came through success with big customers.

In our business, we need a strong blend of technical solution development and project sales efforts to succeed, and I believe that this case is one example where we got it abolutely right.

a. It was the largest and one of the most complex solutions we attempted. b. It was in Saudi Arabia, one of the most hostile territories in which we have operated. c. It was a true case of co-creation: customer demands and the solutions proposed literally “fed” into each other continuously, making the process interactive but extremely demanding at the same time.

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Middle-east

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A needle in a haystack

Understand the customer

Co-creation at its best

Imagine a warehouse the size of 6 football fields. Imagine the task of storing and retrieving efficiently from a warehouse this size. This was our challenge: to design a distribution centre for one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East. 38,000 Sq metres.; millions of SKUs; volume stored equal to 1000 or more 40 feet long containers; 100 despatches everyday; and the challenge of creating a “benchmark facility”... This was the scope of the project.

We had to immerse ourselves in the warehouse operations to understand its complexity. In 2013, when this project started we did it intuitively, and it helped us focus on aspects beyond just storage. It forced us to look at the entire system.

Traffic management: from watching people pushing/ pulling their trolleys with material piled high, in busy working aisles.

Product demand: some items moved faster than others; we had to build this logic into our storage plans.

Safety: from seeing people working at heights of upto 10m.

The sheer complexity of the operation, the high rate of growth of the customer’s business volume, the uncertainty of the retail industry – all meant that the customer was learning with us at every step. Every technology/ idea we proposed would spiral into 10 new thoughts/ dimensions for the customer. We literally cocreated, taking the concept beyond its function as a marketing tool. In this layout of the warehouse and the various permutations and combinations attempted, you will recognise the brands stored, and the complexity of handling them all in one integrated solution.

The volume, the location, and the management of each of these brands, independently and together as a single warehouse, made it a truly demanding solution development project.

We had to immerse

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Communication is the key Design and marketing worked out of Chennai, our sales team was based in Sharjah, the customer’s user team was in Jeddah, while the brand managers and project leaders were in Dubai. Teamwork and understanding between our own team members apart from ensuring complete and consistent communication with the various customer teams was vital. Presentations, solutions, simulations, calculations and analysis of not just the storage capacity, but the throughput and efficiency of the operation, all played a critical part in arriving at the final solution. And we had to beat established international competition as well. The design team led by Ravish, Unni and Shiju, sales efforts led by Ganesh and Gnan in Chennai, and Krishna, our key regional lead in Dubai all played a huge part. While cost competitiveness is always a factor in such large projects, this was truly a case where the process of development or co-creation of the solution played a huge role in giving confidence to the customer in choosing Godrej.

GSS bagged an order worth USD7.6 million from the customer, our largest order till date.

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REBIRTH OF AN ICON

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N AV- TA L N X T Godrej reinvents the iconic brand Nav-Tal

India’s demographics have been changing rapidly with its population getting younger.

By 2020, the average age of the Indian population is expected to be around 30-35 years. This young population would want to be served with a new generation of products that offer them a new sense of aesthetics and performance. What served the older generation well would no longer appeal to the next. Also, young Indians are getting a lot of international exposure, as a result of which they are demanding designs and aesthetics that are the latest and global.

Further, Godrej’s promise of Brighter Living also calls for delighting customers with innovative products that live up to the brand promise. This mega trend created a dilemma for Godrej Locking Solutions and Systems (Godrej LOCKSS) namely, should it reinvent the iconic brand Nav-Tal or design a completely new product.

In-depth studies and much thinking yielded a solution that the iconic brand of padlock Nav-Tal needed to be reinvented, keeping its core intact.

Godrej Locks and Godrej IDC worked closely with Foley Design for the task. The brief was to create a tangible new design while retaining the intangible promise of dependable security. “It’s tougher to redesign a well known and respected product than a new one,” confesses Michael Foley, Head of Foley Designs.

In-depth consumer research was initiated and an intensive study of the design transformations of locks was carried out.

The Foley team worked in close coordination with the Godrej teams to determine the

different aspects of aesthetics, such as lustre of the brass, the polish on the shackle, the shape of the loop that would replace the circular shackle and much more. Also, the size of the new design padlock emerged as an important issue that needed to be worked on. Ideally, the padlock should fit into one’s palm to be called a padlock. Most of the padlocks available fail this test. The new lock was designed to meet this criterion as it settles in the palm readily. Ease of use was also considered. A pet peeve of users was that it was difficult to locate the matching position of the ferule for the insertion of the key. This was resolved innovatively by having a P-shaped groove in the body of the lock.

The Godrej logo embossed on a convex seal sits on the lock. A concave seal on the key head with Godrej embossed on it makes it easy to hold the key. The key is moulded and not made from sheet metal, making it virtually impossible to replicate.

The name Nav-Tal was retained for the new lock to leverage the brand heritage, and NXT appended to it to convey that the new lock was of a different generation and a contemporary product. Quality, the hallmark of Godrej, is assured by the rigorous testing of the new lock for 50,000 cycles as against only 10, 000 cycles – the industry practice.

The Nav-Tal NXT was launched in November 2015 and within two days of the launch, 50,000 NXTs were lapped up by the market.

Godrej LOCKSS continues to be inspired by the spirit of invention of Ardeshir Godrej, the group’s founder. We believe being ahead on the curve is the key to success.

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INSIGHT

Hitting the Bull’s Eye – Every Time A low-cost approach to boosting exports Mehul Kaku, Godrej Process Equipment, and Indrapal Singh

In the early ‘90s, when Indian companies were aggressively exposed to global businesses, they learnt that the main requirement was accept acceptable quality of goods and services at competi competitive prices.

Over the last two decades, Indian companies have, by and large, improved the quality of goods and services, and have succeeded in meeting the expected price points. This has resulted in engineering exports of USD 70.65 Billion in FY 2014-15, growing at the rate of around 12-15% for the last few years. This figure, though large in an absolute sense, falls short when viewed in the greater context of the potential.

On-time delivery is an absolute must to conduct business with customers overseas. Wellestablished companies seldom forget the suppliers who deliver on time, every time. Likewise, these companies seldom forget those suppliers who consistently let them down, hurting them both financially and operationally.

The benefit of delivering on time is of course zero penalties on account of late delivery, which

in turn adds to profits. The combination of acceptable quality and reliable deliveries is a potent one, if brought into play with a degree of consistency. It creates assurance in the minds of customers that encourages them to do more business with companies who can be trusted for timely deliveries. Good performance on this front tends to get converted into strokes of appreciation, either in the form of recommendations, or more importantly, in the repeat business, potentially at higher prices. Internally also, a network of good customers becomes a strategic asset that helps create a sense of certainty about the inflow of the business so very essential to keep a team of suppliers and sub-contractors.

Experts believe that engineering exports could be still larger if we manage to remove the curse of unreliable, delayed deliveries.

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Imagine how much extra business we could win if we could deliver 100% on or before time?

Why can’t we deliver on time?

Late Dr. Sumantara Ghoshal

Most Indian companies struggle to adhere to committed schedules. On digging deeper, it is found that the real culprit is non-availability of raw materials on time and the uncertainties surrounding it.

In cases where dependence on imported materials is high, this could well be the reason.

But why make untenably short commitments in the first place? Was there a plan of work devised which could absorb the delays in the receipt of materials? Quite often, delays occur on account of delayed shipping. Do we routinely explore alternatives to trim shipping times or control them better? To offset the delays in the receipt of materials is difficult but not insurmountable if approached with a degree of earnestness and ingenuity.

Another frequently cited reason is that we do not have the skilled manpower in the required numbers. To keep production costs low, most Indian companies deploy a mix of skilled permanent employees and semi-skilled temporary employees. This mixed workforce yields work

of uneven quality, resulting in larger amount of repairs and rework. This obviously results in longer work cycles. Add to this the unpredictable absenteeism of the temporary work force.

Poor quality work and low resource levels result in delays that are very difficult to overcome.

On the other hand, if the companies were not so obsessed with keeping the labour costs low, and would routinely engage higher levels of skilled workmen, then it may be possible to finish jobs on time perhaps at marginally higher labour costs. Delivering on time in this way would prevent penalties for late deliveries, which will more than offset the additional labour costs.

The prevailing mindset is: if the raw materials are delayed then ‘what could we do’?

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How much can we gain?

It appears that scrounging on the incremental cost of labour is clearly a case of being penny-wise and poundfoolish.

Our gains of the last two decades on quality and cost can be leveraged significantly in the future by enhancing reliability of deliveries. An increase of 15-20% in the value of exports can be had if the promise of the delivery is met consistently.

Culture is the Key And finally, quality manufacturing, planning and scheduling has the maximum impact on timely deliveries. Notwithstanding the use of planning and scheduling software, plans and schedules are made on unrealistic assumptions and are devoid of contingencies. Companies rush into execution with gusto, but sadly the preparation is inadequate. Resources are wasted, which results in chaos, rework and frustration on the shopfloor.

Clarity of plans and schedules could well be the most important contributor to the smooth flow of work.

The widespread failing of Indian companies on the delivery front is on account of factors that are well within their control. But these factors are not attended to, resulting in a continuous loss of business.

The onus is on the senior management to make resources and approvals available on time. A constant sense of urgency should be the tone for making things happen on an ongoing basis as opposed to the tone of “ho jayega” or “chalta hai”. A system of short cycle reviews must be put in place to monitor the execution of exports business.

At an individual or a departmental level, appropriate measurements should be put in place to ensure that the work is done according to the priorities set and on time. Collaboration across functions and businesses and enablers must be systemically built and encouraged. Delivering on time could become a common metric for all concerned. Such measures would help cultivate a collective mindset that places a premium on delivering on time.

To take the initiative of Make in India forward, the most important and impactful thing any company can do is to put in place leadership, culture and a system of work that would enable it to deliver on time, every time.

At the organisational level, the challenge is to create a culture where everyone does everything on time.

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Korea beats China Earlier, ships were built largely in European shipyards. Korea entered into the fray and soon snatched a major share of business from the European companies, because of the cost advantage and their consistent adherence to specified quality standards and delivery times. A few years later, China entered the same battle with aggressive pricing and it appeared that it would decimate Korea. However, after their initial victories, customers worldwide pulled away from the Chinese companies when they found that

quality standards were not complied with and deliveries were almost always late. The Koreans had already started further streamlining their processes for greater quality and reliable delivery. Today, Korea not only makes more money on the ships delivered but has succeeded in garnering a larger share of business. Korean shipyards have their capacities booked for the next three to four years, while the Chinese shipyards are languishing without orders.

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Let’s make exports everyone’s job The story of a Japanese Janitor Indrapal Singh

By the mid ‘80s, Japan had swept the USA with its onslaught of superior quality products at lower prices. The exports from Japan were so huge that American companies could not dismiss the phenomenon as the result of the weaker Yen or some trade policy manipulation. American companies had begun to understand that Japan was aggressively employing an exports-led strategy. Japan had become so powerful that they had an eye on becoming world leaders in the automotive, entertainment, electronics, appliances, cameras, heavy engineering and other industries. As a result, many delegations of American businessmen started visiting Japanese companies to understand what was really behind their phenomenal success.

During one such visit, an American businessman had to use the rest-room, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was exceptionally clean and gently perfumed.

As he finished washing his hands, he wondered whether he had ever used a rest-room as clean as this back home.

A janitor entered unobtrusively, greeted him politely,

“Good afternoon Sir“

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and immediately started vigorously scrubbing and washing the washbasin

The businessman took a look at the janitor and returned the greetings

Thank you, Good afternoon

The businessman was impressed with his diligent effort and could not stop himself from asking The janitor continued with the task, without lifting his head, trying to wipe clean that last invisible drop of water

Why are you working so hard at keeping this rest-room so clean and dry?

Somewhat intrigued, the businessman asked

“In which way are you helping promote exports, doing this?“

The janitor replied

It is my job to keep this rest-room clean and dry, and besides, in my own humble way, I am helping my company in promoting its exports.

The janitor replied

When our esteemed customers from abroad visit us, they need to use our rest-rooms.

Imagine if our rest-rooms were filthy, what kind of impression they would form of my company and the quality of its products? By doing my job well, I make sure they have a pleasant experience so that they can relate favourably to my company.

The businessman was taken aback and giving a smile he saluted the janitor and walked out. It was at this moment he felt that he had found the secret behind the success of the Japanese companies. It was all a matter of Mindset. He was convinced that unless the American companies cultivated this sort of mindset, it would be impossible for them to compete with the Japanese.

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Do Women Make Better Finance Managers?

The perfect fit, naturally!

By Chitra Iyer, Samruddhi Ghogale, Janhavi Shinde, Priya Krishnamurthy, Banking Team Corporate Procurement & EXIM Finance

The readers of CHANGE harbour many anxieties, with one of the biggest being the careers their children should choose for.

Almost accidentally, when we met Chitra and her colleagues, we decided to ask them to write a piece for our readers about careers in finance, particularly for their daughters.

My team members and I wholeheartedly believe that women indeed make better managers in finance.

We do not intend to imply here that women have some inherent superiority in certain personality traits that make them better at finance.

We state our position on the basis of our belief that certain values and habits imbibed by women over the years in their daily lives and which are specific to Indian culture enable them to be better at the management of monies. We realise that managing finance is as much analytical as it is intuitive. A mix of these two contradictory approaches when deployed effectively yields better outcomes. This has been borne out by the fact that today in India’s banking system, we have many more women managers at mid and senior levels than any other nation in the world.

Today, the largest banks both in the public and private sectors in India are headed by women of exceptional talent who have spent their entire careers in banking.

Some of the traits that enable women manage finance better are: Habit of saving: Traditionally, in all house-

holds it is women who have been managing money to meet household needs. Women have always saved from the amounts given to them; something is saved monthly. This habit leads to an approach of handling money which is meticulous and deliberate as opposed to impulsive and frivolous. Sensibilities honed with this habit over the years, enable them to perform their duties in the banking system with a sense of ownership, caution and care.

Now, imagine the benefits of this deeply ingrained habit when the sums involved run into crores of rupees. People in the banking systems are aware of this aspect, hence women are preferred for managing funds in the banks.

Ability to negotiate: Women are always keen to get good value for their money. They routinely engage in ‘research behaviours’ like window shopping, exchanging ideas with friends, surfing, reading magazines, asking questions, and the like. Their strong desire to get good deals combined with the constant search for better options enables them to make decisions that are smarter. For reasons that are difficult to specify, women tend to judge the

right value of offers more readily than others.

Perhaps an intuitive advantage. As their sensing of the right value is sharper, women tend to engage in the process of negotiating with a clear expected outcome in view, and also with a lot of patience and skilled arguments that are well-grounded.

The combined effect of these behaviours when transposed to the world of finance creates an unbeatable advantage for women in terms of being able to spot opportunities quicker and having done so, strike deals that are hugely beneficial.

Women are able to accomplish these tasks with a degree of finesse that ensures win-win outcomes devoid of negative side effects. In the banking sector, where relationships are vital, and uncertainties prevail, these skills prove to be invaluable.

Process orientation: We believe that women are wired to be process-driven. We have no clue as to why women are this way but give the same task to a group of women and men, and you can observe how they carry out the task.

Men tend to argue endlessly about the way the

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task should be carried out. Assuming that an agreement is reached, some of the group members will insist on sticking to their own ways and resort to deviations during implementation, resulting in a chaotic situation and an unpredictable output. In contrast, women will reach agreement readily about how the task is to be performed. Having reached the agreement, no one will deviate from what was agreed upon and together they will proceed to execute the task in a methodical manner. In short, they will adhere to the process defined. As a result, the outcome will be of high quality and predictable with no signs of chaos.

Process orientation is of utmost importance in the banking sector where a high degree of computerisation calls for precise and complete inputs and tightly governed working, in a sequential manner. The work has to be done meticulously and without errors, so that the chances of rework are eliminated. Also, full focus on the task enables women to come up with suggestions to eliminate non value-added work and thus, make work processes better. No doubt it’s the women who run core banking op-

erations with great efficiency and skill.

Creativity all around: In most mid-income homes, money is always a constraint. Women try and derive maximum value from the resources available. This effort of getting more out of what is available spurs their creativity in terms of finding novel solutions or creating permutations and combinations which are endlessly different and useful. This habit of finding creative solutions on a daily basis comes in good stead when applied in the workplace. It enables women to modify the offerings of their employers to present a better competitive advantage. Also, women continuously come up with innovative ideas to structure their products better so that their organisation becomes the preferred one amongst many. Also, in many cases they come up with creative ways of presenting their offering, making them score better.

Professional education: We believe that all these inherent qualities combined with post graduate professional courses like CA, CFA, ICWA, MBA, and so on, would help aspiring women to do well in any sector of the economy where managing money is key.

If your daughter has to choose a career, we would urge you to suggest a career in finance as one of the top options. A career in banking and finance would be highly beneficial as it would enable her to utilise effectively not only her inherent strengths but also the acquired knowledge and skills.

Today, in the world of finance, women dominate the world’s two largest economies, USA and Germany, managed by Janet Yellen and Angela Merkel. The IMF is headed by another remarkable woman, Christiana Lagarde. We believe that the future in the financial sector for women is bright, and who knows, the RBI might have a woman governor sooner than we can imagine!

SUCCESS STORIES 36 SUCCESS STORIES

Blast from the Past The first export order of forklifts to Russia, 1977 Vrunda Pathare, Godrej Archives

A few months ago, Indo-Russian trade ties made headlines when the Trade Ministry of the Government of India, geared up to boost exports to Russia. Here was an opportunity for India to encourage exports to Russia in the face of Russia’s souring relationship with the US and the European Union, because of the Ukrainian crisis.

Politics apart, Indo-Russian trade ties go back a long way and it is not surprising that the Indian leadership, even today, looks at Russia as a “time-tested and reliable friend”. A visit by our then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Soviet Union in 1955 and Khrushchev’s trip to India in the same year charted the way for a friendship that was to strengthen throughout the Nehruvian era. Since 1953, seven long-term trade agreements have been signed between these countries that assured cooperation in machinery, vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, defence, and many other sectors. the ‘70s and ‘80s, economic relations with Russia were at their peak, following the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, and by 1990-‘91, more than 16% of Indian exports were to the USSR. While India’s relationship with Russia was developing, Godrej – a practising believer of ‘Make in India’ – was creating products hitherto unimaginable for Indian businesses, at its newly-established Industrial Township in Vikhroli (Mumbai). For Godrej, as for India, the ‘50s and ‘60s were a period of transformation

– the period in which Godrej not only dared to introduce new products locally, but was also ready to tap global markets.

Among the new products which were added to the Godrej portfolio during this phase, were Forklift trucks. Started in 1961, forklift trucks of 2.25 tonne capacity were ready to be marketed by 1963. In the decade that followed, Godrej successfully indigenised forklift trucks and geared up to serve the international market with its wide range. A major breakthrough came in 1977 when Godrej bagged the first export order for forklift trucks from Russia, which by then had emerged as one of India’s biggest trade partners.

The order for 50 forklift trucks of 2.25 tonne capacity was placed by Machinoimport, a Russian joint stock company that was engaged in the import and export of mechanical and electrical products, including trucks, equipment for ships, railways, and so on. Mr. Kaikhushroo Naoroji, who had joined Godrej in the early ‘60s to promote exports, had put in substantial

personal efforts to secure this prestigious offer. Mr. Naval Godrej and Mr. Kaikhushroo Naoroji flew to Russia to sign the agreement with Machinoimport, a landmark event in the history of G&B. This was just the beginning for our Material Handling Equipment business (MHE), which in the coming decades would take great leaps forward and export its products to several countries, particularly in the Middle East and in Africa, with an export turnover running into several crores. To boost export efforts in the coming years, MHE set up a network of trade partners and after sales service facilities to serve the burgeoning market.

Through its collection of archival material, Godrej Archives brings back memories of the first export order for forklifts, the order from where the journey initially started.

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The order for 50 numbers of forklift trucks of 2.25 tonne capacity was placed

by Machinoimport, a Russian joint stock company that was engaged in import and export of mechanical and electrical products

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Flight of Success ISRO’s GSLV Mark III launches into space Team Change

It is not widely known that there is a shortage of transponders (a wireless communications device attached to a satellite which receives and transmits radio signals) in India for its commercial and military communication needs. As a result, organisations in the country have to rent transponder hours from the foreign-owned satellites which are not only costly but also pose a security risk. Currently, India depends on the foreign agencies to launch its 4 tonne weight communication satellites. ISRO plans to meet the shortage by launching our own communication satellites in larger numbers over the next few years. For this programme to be successful, it is absolutely essential that India has its own launch vehicle (rocket) that can put 4 tonne satellites into geosynchronous orbit at a distance of 36,000Kms from the Earth.

After this success, ISRO had another successful flight of GSLV MK III last year, with the indigenously developed cryogenic engine for which GA-MTAR consortium supplied vital as-

semblies, including the thrust chamber and gas generator. In both the flights, L110 Vikas engines deployed, which were supplied by Godrej-MTAR consortium over the years, and have been performing to a textbook perfection. In the recent GSLV flight, the indigenous cryogenic engine also gave a flawless performance, indicating that soon ISRO will be able to offer our own GSLV for launching heavy communication satellites.

All these developments bode well for India as we will have considerable savings in the cost of launching satellites and and the independence vital to secure our outer space. If all goes well, ISRO will be able to offer satellite launching services to other developing nations and emerge as one of the world’s top five players .

Congratulations to our engineers at GA and the team GSLV MK III at ISRO for these stupendous successes.

Image Courtesy: ISRO

On 18th December 2014, put in substantial personal efforts to secure of India’s heaviest and most powerful launch vehicle Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III made ISRO’s scientists, and India, proud. The engineers at Godrej Aerospace (GA) were also delighted at this success because of their long partnership with ISRO on the GSLV Mark III programme.

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D A P

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MY EVERY EVERYDAY LOCKER

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GOL D I LOC K S India’s first personal locker for the security of everyday valuables

Keeping its commitment to deliver innovative security offerings, Godrej Security Solutions (GSS) recently launched Goldilocks - India’s first personal locker for the safekeeping of everyday valuables.

Today, everyone has a number of daily use valuables such as ornaments, wallets, keys, chains, watches, mp3 players, iPods and so on. According to a study conducted by GSS, a majority of people have no means of protecting these valuables from theft. It was found that people do not have one specific place where these items can be kept safely and accessed readily. For this purpose, home safes and safe deposit lockers at banks are simply inadequate as they are not easily accessible and are generally used for keeping items of greater value. This analysis led to identifying the need for a solution which would be portable, accessible and secure, allowing users to keep their valuables of daily use safely. This consumer insight led to the development of Goldilocks.

Breaking away from the general perception that lockers are bulky, GSS ensured that Goldilocks had a small form factor and a stylish, modern design that offers both convenience and security. It has a touch panel access control and a smart panel that triggers an alarm if tampered with. The touch panel allows the user to set and reset the password. Goldilocks is currently available in two attractive colours - metallic white and metallic black.

Goldilocks was recently unveiled by the well-known street magician Ugesh Sarcar.

Engaging in a tête-à-tête with the audience, Ugesh Sarcar whisked away their valuables and demonstrated how easy it is to lose everyday valuables.

Shortly, GSS plans to unveil a wall-mounted variant of Goldilocks that can be shared by many users, simultaneously, to safe-keep their everyday valuables.

THE GREATER GOOD 42 SUCCESS STORIES

Remembering Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Meeting an extraordinary man, first-hand S M Vaidya, Godrej Aerospace

On 27th July 2015, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam passed away, leaving behind millions of grieving young Indians, who were inspired by him to find innovative solutions to get India from where it is, to where India wants to be. In more ways than one, he also inspired us at Godrej to do what we never dreamt of doing.

Dr. Kalam was an admirer of Godrej and a staunch supporter, who was only too willing to take up cudgels with the bureaucracy of the Government for finding a way forward. We would like to remember our two decades-long association with Dr. Kalam by narrating a few incidents that clearly showed that he was impressed with the developmental work that we were doing in aerospace and was always willing to encourage and guide us. He would always exhort us to do more and push forward.

In 1985, Godrej Process Equipment (GPE) and Godrej Tooling (GT) were identified by the DRDL for precision machining and sheet metal forming of sub-assemblies for India’s missile programme. This called for large-sized machines, jigs and fixtures and special toolings which were then collectively developed by GPE, GT and our erstwhile Godrej Machine Tools. A year later, in 1986, our association with Dr. Kalam began and it continued until recently.

Dr. Kalam visited us in 1986 and urged us to participate in the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme envisioned by him for meeting India’s strategic as well as defence needs. The cornerstone of this programme was participation of private industries, research laboratories and academic institutions for making India secure. He had urged us to develop riveted structures for Agni, Prithvi, Trishool, Aakash and Nag missile systems. Dr. Kalam wanted to create an ecosystem where different industrial houses would specialise in various sub-assemblies for meeting the requirements of most, if

not all, missile systems. In response, between 1985 and 1991, Godrej Aerospace developed various sub-assemblies such as Boat-Tail, Base Shroud, Nose-Cone, Oxidizer and Fuel Tanks, and several others. In the years that followed, i.e., between 1991 and 1996, Godrej faced various sanctions imposed by the Western powers and as a result we had no option but to curtail our participation in the defence sector. It is here that Dr. Kalam supported us and the others in the industry with all his energy towards the removal of the Indian industry from the international entities’ list. He pushed various ministries of the Govt. of India to work for getting the Indian industry out of this very constraining set of sanctions.

After a while, we succeeded in making the first riveted structure for the DRDL and we invited Dr. Kalam to inspect it at our works. As I recall, ours was a humble affair with the facilities that were quite basic and simple; none of the hi-tech there. Our success however, made him mention in his speech that Godrej indeed had made an honest effort in a humble way and yet they have delivered successfully on all the dimensions and quality parameters specified by the DRDL. It was a tribute to our ingenuity. He had this rare ability of focusing on the essentials and the positives instead of getting swayed by the peripherals.

The DRDL wanted to serially produce the 3 tonne LP engine for project Prithvi in the mid nineties. In this case also, we were identified as one of the suppliers. Obviously, we had to

carry out considerable developmental work to be able to make an offer for the supply of the 3 tonne LP engines and compete with others.

The work that we had put in helped us win the order. Dr. Kalam was elated on learning that Godrej had won the order and told us that he would like to take a look at the developmental work that we had done. At the end of his visit, he remarked “I see that you have taken the trouble to understand what is required to be done and have done it well, therefore, I will not review this project anymore.” We had executed the entire order successfully, In 2000, when ISRO’s Rotary Vacuum Brazing Facility (RVBF) was fully established at our works, we invited Dr. Kalam to take a look at the completed development of the RBVF and the other assemblies of the Cryogenic engine.

Dr. Kalam was visibly delighted to see the RBVF and was greatly impressed with the in-depth knowledge that we had acquired for one of the most sophisticated facilities of its kind that ISRO had put into the private industry. Dr. Kalam congratulated both the ISRO and Godrej teams and remarked that running such a facility required a lot of courage and passion as the complexities involved were enormous.

In the same time-frame, Dr. Kalam was working with Dr. Sivathanu Pillai on their pet project of the BrahMos supersonic missile. It took Dr. Kalam more than eight years to get the necessary approvals for the project. Finally, in 2000, with his encouragement, we decided to participate in the BrahMos project for the

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He had this rare ability of focusing on the essentials and the positives instead of getting swayed away by the peripherals.

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development of assemblies as well as the serial production. Somewhat beyond our expectations, Dr. Kalam wanted us to be considered for the production of the entire missile system.

He was fully convinced that the well known shortcomings of defence production in India could only be overcome if the private industries were brought into and well integrated with the system. Successful productanisation of the BrahMos missile has now created a role model for producing advanced missile systems in a collaborative mode, where academia, research labs, industry and the technology providers, all came together for a beneficial outcome.

In 2001, we received the order for the BrahMos sub-assemblies. Dr. Kalam invited us to Delhi to impress upon us the importance of the BrahMos project and the need for the

private industries to succeed. He wanted us to bring together multiple disciplines of engineering to minimise the imported content. In 2005, and subsequently in 2007, he visited us and we presented him with the testable hardware of BrahMos sub-assembly. During his speech, he not only appreciated our efforts, the infrastructure and the kind of investment we had made, but he also remarked that Godrej had clearly demonstrated what he had told his scientist colleagues: that by working together we could make strategic missiles, and now Godrej had proved it.

In addition to meeting him at Godrej, I had the good fortune of participating in various closed door meetings with Dr. Kalam at BrahMos offices in Delhi. It was always an extraordinary experience to feel his energy, passion and patience

that he brought into play for pushing forward the national agenda. Every time he would urge all of us to set higher milestones and achieve them. He was a team leader par excellence who could ignite the minds of his team members and enable them take up huge tasks that they had never thought of as within their reach. His superb leadership always made them exceed themselves. All in the service of the nation.

Dr. Kalam at Godrej Memorial Hospital Daisy Raj

For many months, all of us at Godrej Memorial Hospital (GMH) were excited about Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam’s visit. All of us, including Dr. Arvind Joglekar (then CEO of GMH), and I had gathered to welcome this distinguished son of India to our hospital.

I could see some anxiety on the faces of people even though we were ready for his visit.

The children had their autograph books and the grown-ups had questions in their minds.

The patients too were eagerly waiting to get a glimpse of this great man who they might never see in person again.

Dr. Kalam arrived at the scheduled time and was greeted with flowers, which he accepted graciously and he walked towards the ceremonial lamps at the centre of the lobby.

As he acknowledged greetings, he noticed a group of children from rural Maharashtra who had surgeries for the cleft lip and palate under the project Smile Train. He went to them and conveyed a few encouraging words while Dr. Joglekar briefed him on the project. I could see his eyes brighten, perhaps with a tear of compassion. After lighting the ceremonial lamp, he interacted with the doctors, staff, patients and children without any hurry whatsoever, giving

equal importance to everyone. He visited all the departments and was visibly impressed with the cleanliness and the layout.

After the tour, we moved in to the auditorium where the invitees, the doctors and the CEOs of the hospitals in the vicinity had gathered to listen and to interact with him. His speech was short as he had decided to spend more time interacting with the audience. He gave wonderful answers to the questions posed but I was particularly impressed by his answer to the question about the education system in India and the students in larger numbers opting for education abroad. He said, “Educationists should build capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among the students and become their role models. The students should be encouraged to think differently, travel the unexplored paths, conquer the problems and succeed.”

Someone asked him a question about cor-

ruption in India and what was the way out. To which his answer was, “If a country is to be corruption-free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are 3 key societal members who can make a difference; the father, the mother and the teacher”.

Having left the audience spellbound, it was time for him to move on to the next engagement. We all wished him a warm goodbye and returned to our desks somewhat dazed by his wisdom and compassion.

I will cherish the time Dr. Kalam spent with us as one of the most memorable and precious, all my life.

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A salute to a great man D. K. Sharma, Godrej Tooling

“What is that process called when you make two halves of the mould and apply blue ink to match both?”

Frankly speaking, I wasn’t prepared for this domain-specific question, thrown at me by the former President of the country.

I replied promptly, “Spotting”, to which Dr. Kalam nodded in the affirmative, with a smile.

This is how my conversation began with this magnetic personality, as I stepped forward to receive him at the Inauguration of the Die & Mould Exhibition, in Mumbai in May 2014.

Dr. Kalam stood in the sun, continuing his conversation with me, on how he was involved in the development of Tooling when he was with ISRO. I was mesmerised with his knowledge on the subject – while internally, preparing myself with the answers to his questions, as also trying to match his pace – that I did not realise that I should have led him to the shaded area.

Such was Dr. Kalam’s passion to gain knowledge on the subject on which he was to speak.

The Tooling fraternity of nearly 2000+ audience, remained spellbound and listened to Dr. Kalam for more than an hour, during which he spoke about his vision for the Tooling industry and the importance of Tooling.

His speech was peppered with technical terminology that only a seasoned tool-maker would know.

On a personal front, those initial 15 minutes of my interaction with Dr. Kalam – in which I was fortunate to hold his hand for a minute or so – left me with unparalleled vibrations and thoughts, for me to cherish for my lifetime.

THE GREATER GOOD 46 INSIDE SUCCESS STORIES G&B

The Man with India in his Blood Setting new standards of bravery and endurance Geetanjali Krishna

On July 15, 1999, a young major was grievously injured in Kargil during Operation Vijay. Surgeons declared him dead in the army hospital; then managed to save him after amputating his leg.

Today, that same soldier has run 12 half marathons, a feat as miraculous as it is inspirational.

Every time he crosses that finish line, Major D P Singh doesn’t merely win a battle against his beleaguered body - he sets new standards of bravery and endurance for people like us.

“When I learnt I’d lost my leg, I told myself that this would be yet another challenge in my life,” says Singh. He endured 10 painful years of recuperation thereafter. “I just couldn’t get used to the sympathetic glances I used to get from people. After a while, I was desperate to change that,” he says. Although in his earlier days he’d been more into rally sports, Singh decided to take up running. “I just wanted to show people I could do it,” he says.

It wasn’t easy. Singh signed up for his first marathon in 2009, and began training with his prosthetic leg. “I found I could hop with my good leg, then drag the prosthetic,” he says. Within few days, he was able to hop-run for about four to five kilometres. “Sweating it out after so long elated me. Although it was slow going, I managed to run two half-marathons like this,” he

says. Then Singh heard about the fibre blade prosthetic, made famous by Oscar Pistorius the South African amputee runner. Today he holds the Limca record for being the first Indian to run a half marathon with the blade, earning him the epithet of India’s Blade Runner.

“Every time I run, my mind and body continuously battle with one another,” says Singh. “But one has to overcome physical discomfort to carry on.” Singh’s training routine sounds gruelling.

Every morning, it takes him over one-and-a-half hours just to get ready and wear his prosthesis.

“So to run at 5 am, I wake up at 3,” he says. “And that’s only the beginning. When I run with my blade, I feel the jarring impact of my feet on the ground all the way from hip to head. I run for the sheer exhilaration of it, but when I finally stop, I’m bruised all over...”

Still, he runs. “Running is so wonderfully spontaneous. When you run, you depend only upon your body and mind - nothing else...” he muses.

It has also given him what no other rehabilitation effort has - renewed self-esteem and a sense of purpose. “When I lay dying in the bat-

tlefield, my mates carried me to safety risking their own lives. I owe a huge debt I can never repay to those countless people who worked tirelessly to save my life...” he says. “This has made me want to give back, somehow.” Singh has begun a support group for amputees, The Challenging Ones, to encourage and enable people like him to strive to rise above their disability through sports.

When Singh reflects upon his tumultuous life, he becomes pensive. “I owe it all to my upbringing as a Sikh and training in the Indian army, which has given me the ability to convert adversity into opportunity,” he says. India’s Blade Runner continues to soldier on, aiming now, to run a full marathon of 42 km. He seems confident of accomplishing this feat. “When I was injured, I received blood from countless people of different castes, creeds and states,” he says.

“With the blood of India running in my veins, I feel like I can do everything...”

Reproduced courtesy Business Standard, 16-08-2014

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With the blood of India running in my veins, I feel like I can do everything...

Blood Donation Drive 2015 Mukesh Chaudhary and Nariman Bacha

The 28th annual Blood Donation Drive was held in August 2015, to mark the death anniversaries of Mr. N P Godrej and Dr. B P Godrej, our founders. The drive was held at all locations of G&B as well as other companies of the Godrej Group. This year, timely promotion of the drive as well as the appeals by the members of the senior management inspired larger number of donors to donate their blood. The 6451 units of blood collected this year is more by about 32% over 5020 units of blood collected last year.

It is noteworthy that more donors are coming forward at our upcountry locations where the blood donation drive is relatively a recent phenomenon. CHANGE congratulates our people outside Mumbai for their vigorous participation in the drive.

Overall, Godrejites should feel proud of having done their bit for saving thousands of lives!

THE GREATER GOOD 48 INSIDE SUCCESS STORIES G&B

BUS NO. 489 Getting together to make commuting easy Sahista Iqbal, CSR Cell

A reason to smile dates back a year when an initiative of a few women provided relief to a large number of working women commuting between Ghatkopar and Dahisar, a distance of 26 kilometres. The relief was in the form of a Ladies Special bus – No.489 – started by BEST in the peak hours of the evening.

BEST started the service on the condition that it would continue to operate only if occupancy exceeded 50% within six months. For the first few months, the occupancy ran below 50%, which caused a great deal of concern among the regular commuters. These women decided to take matters into their own hands: they

started talking about this special bus to all their friends, and fellow commuters on the same route but in different buses. The word of mouth helped spread the news.

Four of us (Sheetal Ambulkar from Godrej Construction, Namrata Munj from Godrej Locks, Vasundhara Khanvilkar from Cipla

Pharmacuticals and I) formed a Whatsapp group and texted updates on our current location to commuters waiting en route. This information helped the ladies save on waiting time and mitigated anxiety about the arrival of the bus, reaching work on time, and so on. These women then shared their experience with oth-

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On 1st August 2014, it was a great sight to see: ladies dressed in pink, awaiting the bus at their stops with a great deal of excitement and smiles on their faces! er commuters travelling the same route but on other buses, who then switched to Ladies Special bus no. 489. Within a month, occupancy soared to 100%, and BEST had to continue this special service.

To commemorate the completion of one year of bus no. 489’s service, we formed a group of ten women who were assigned different tasks for celebrations. We decided on a dress code for the day: pink salwaar kameez or a sari that all regular commuters would wear. The regulars also contributed a small amount from which balloons, ribbons and banners were bought for decorating the bus.

When the bus reached the IIT Market stop, a small pooja was performed and a garland tied.

Snacks were distributed, songs sung and games played to mark the moment. It was indeed a remarkable journey.

With assistance from Mrs. Kiran Mulun (a regular) the Ladies Special featured in the next day’s Mid-Day Daily, English and Gujarati editions. We felt good about it. Even better, we learnt that BEST had started two more Specials on different routes just within a few days!

If more women came together and acted as we did, then many problems faced by women travellers would be solved with everyone’s cooperation.

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Three Mandalas and a Giant Lotus The art of Jeremy Mayers Chirodeep Chaudhuri

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rawn by the strangeness of a man who makes sculptures out of typewriter parts, I first met Jeremy at the Hubble.

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I must admit, I have a bit of a strange habit of imagining my photographs in the weeks leading up to an assignment, and populating them with details and situations. I had pictured Jeremy to be a senior gentleman, with a thick, white-speckled beard and crow’s feet emerging from the corner of his eyes – an artist with a gravitas-laden face. I also imagined him to be talkative and boisterous for some reason. Perhaps because I had been told that Americans are very talkative. Jeremy, however, was anything but what I had pictured – a young man with a boyish face, a stylish haircut, sporting dark jeans and a

t-shirt. On that first meeting he was rather shy, extremely quiet and spoke only to answer my queries. My wife peppered him with more questions than I did that afternoon, all of which he answered very patiently. I sensed this would be an assignment more difficult than I had thought.

With time, as visual artists, Jeremy and I had much in common and would have lengthy conversations about the process and importance of pre-visualisation in our individual practice.

His work was all about “making the parts have conversations with each other,” as Jeremy liked to say. This wasn’t very different from what it

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HIS WORK IS ALL ABOUT “MAKING THE PARTS HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH EACH OTHER,” AS JEREMY LIKES TO SAY

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took to create a photo-essay where I would have to make individual images converse with each other and building it up, one image at a time. In Jeremy’s case it was one screw, one bolt, one spring at a time. Soon we became friends. His process, much like mine, being accretive, was hard to visualise, in terms of where it all was headed. I had imagined a workshop where there would be much hammering and welding and sparks flying (both real and verbal), but on some days, it all seemed tediously slow.

In a parallel universe, on a factory floor some distance away, in another corner of the sprawling Godrej complex, another kind of action was unfolding and many hands were at work. A pipe which would form the stem of the lotus, was being bent to just the right angle. Simultaneously, various other parts that would go into the final lotus to make the petals open and close on cue, were being engineered on a computer and

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I have to constantly remember to forget the original utility of the parts

assembled pieces were being welded, scraped, polished and painted. Sometimes, deadlines were stretched and so were tempers and then a quiet Mr. Mayer would transform into a harrowed, tightly-wound bunch of nerves. Once he cast a glance at the mandalas lying on the floor, a calm would start to descend, and he would be lost again in a world of tiny parts and multitudes of options of how they can be assembled. On each visit, I would be surprised, by the direction in which progress was made.

As I would walk around Jeremy’s studio at Plant One, and see the floor littered with the tiny typewriter parts and tools, a thought would sometimes strike me: What if, one night, E.T. were to sneak in here and find these disembodied parts, most of which would be unrecognisable to any layman (as belonging to a typewriter, that is). What if he were to start tinkering around with them, much like in a ‘found objects’ art project? What would ET create? And what

would be the chances the assemblage would resemble a typewriter? These and many other thoughts would cross my mind as I would watch Mr. Mayer at work.

During my initial visits to the studio, calm prevailed over the premises. Disassembled parts sat in boxes on shelves, some lay on the floor, arranged in neat little piles. Drills, pliers and screwdrivers awaited their turn at usefulness, sheets of paper with measurements, scribbles and doodles of ideas in varying degrees of precision lay scattered on the tables, and a flower-like cardboard maquete with movable ‘petals’ sat beside the electric kettle. In those early weeks, there was a lot of staring and quiet contemplation. Aditya and Janak often looked lost as they sat staring at parts, perhaps trying to see beyond their original functions. It takes time, after all, to start seeing in one’s mind’s eye a spring, a metal wire and some ring-like parts come together as a bird. This is what Jeremy

was busy doing, silently, in his corner – making a bird with outstretched wings. He would be seen screwing on parts, tightening bolts, sometimes re-doing the whole set of actions to get the anatomy, aesthetics and balance right. It wasn’t difficult to get hooked, and I did.

An average typewriter has around 1,500 parts and so the possible permutations are endless.

“I have to constantly remember to forget the original utility of the parts,” Jeremy said one day as we sat around sharing lunch at the studio. In the course of his career, Jeremy has used the parts from typewriters to create an assortment of sculptures – anatomically-accurate full-length female figures, busts, skulls, a swallow in flight, a deer, a penguin, an octopus, and even a dead cat. During the three months that I had been photographing his young assistants, Aditya and Janak, and him at work, I saw the body frame of the Godrej Prima transform into the petals of a lotus, pins turn into the feet of a demoiselle

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crane, a tiny lever transform into the beak of a bird and platen knobs change into the pollen of the lotus.

As days passed by, the studio got busier. The whole place started looking like a playhouse and I joked with them about how they looked like happy, little boys tinkering with their Meccano sets. It all seemed like such a lot of fun that I sometimes had to resist the urge to keep away my camera and join them. Photographically speaking, as the studio floor got busier, compositions got tougher, making it extremely tricky to separate forms – the boys at work from the ‘unwanted’ elements. It got tough to find a few inches of clean space to stand and shoot without crushing anything.

In documentary photography, it is always fascinating to see the ‘process’ and this is the sort of assignment I revel in. To stand face to face with the creations that emerged from the process that seemed like chaos (at times) is nothing less than thrilling. Most of the readers who have seen these sculptures at the Hubble will have little idea of how they came to be, and the back-breaking labour that went into assembling the pieces, some of which look as intricate as the precision mechanism of a watch. I hope my photographs will offer you a glimpse into the work that went on behind the scenes which involved many hands from different departments that makes up the Godrej & Boyce family.

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Poetry in Steel Hemmant Jha Chief Design Officer

Even fifteen months after joining Godrej, I discover new things at the company. I am pleasantly surprised by what we do, and what we can do. To a designer, these abilities are about the most powerful set of tools one could hope to have access to. I will highlight one specific business, or project, or collaboration [or just something cool] that we’ve done, or discovered, in every issue.

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We make a lot of stuff at Godrej, and we have many dedicated teams and factories. One factory visit I put on every visitor’s calendar is Process Equipment - I love what they can do, and I love that they accomplish seemingly impossible things. Precisely bending 14” thick slabs of steel into perfect arcs, flawlessly welding thousands of parts together into something larger than most human dwellings, baking them till they glow red hot, pressure testing them to perform perfectly, and exporting them across the world it’s fantastic, and something to be proud of.

I wanted to see what would happen if we designed a piece of furniture with Allen’s crew and

facilities in mind. What could we accomplish? It would have to be something we’d never done before, and something only we could do if we put our minds and skills together. Here it is: a visually-light, perfectly-balanced 1/2 tonne mild steel - a simple, honest, solid, communal table with no mechanical fasteners or welds. A single object in a single material that showcases our unique abilities.

This is a photo essay of that journey. Stop by the Godrej IDC and check it out.

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Dussera-Diwali Function 2015 Vikas Chaudaha Godrej Commercial

It is a long-standing tradition at Godrej to pay homage to the founders, and honour the Godrej family at the annual DusseraDiwali function.

On 7th November 2015, the Dussera-Diwali function was organised with the theme ‘Make in Godrej’, which resonates well with the broader and larger theme of ‘Make in India’, promoted by the Government. Make in Godrej implies that we have to make products meant both for the markets in India and overseas. As our products are well-known in the local market, our businesses showcased their forays into international markets at the function. Godrej Process Equipment, Storage Solutions and Security Solutions led the way. The footprint of our exports was beautifully mapped on a world map which attracted attention in a big way.

The song and dance performance by the students of Udayachal School marked the beginning of the programme. It was followed by a skit performed by our employees, highlighting the theme in a novel and interesting manner. The impact of the theme on the lives of our people was clearly communicated to the audience by these performances. Like every year in the past, the audience packed the venue.

As we know, the Godrej family has always emphasised on the building blocks of success in business, such as customer satisfaction, quality, productivity and competitiveness.

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Adi Godrej: “If we carry forward Make in Godrej theme, it will be very beneficial in future and it is possible to realize only with everyone’s cooperation.

Productivity should be our main focus and we should work together at increasing productivity to make ‘Make in India’ a success. Currently, 750 million consumers use Godrej products daily and if this number keeps increasing then our manufacturing will grow and the company will grow too.”

Navroze Godrej: “We are doing Make in India at Godrej since last 118 years. This year is quite difficult for us. We have to come up as one Godrej to face these difficulties. Together, we need to understand customer needs to develop best quality products for global markets to address the global demand of such products, and then only the success will be ours.”

J N Godrej: “G-mark certification from Japan for Good Design of our Refrigerators is very important for us as well as India. It is so because Indian products are not appreciated for their good design globally. Awards such as this from other advanced countries will also help open up more export opportunities.”

Harpreet Kaur, P&A: “We all should come together and collaborate to compete and grow.”

Vijendra Petwal, Central Works Committee: “If the customer is satisfied and happy, only then we will be able to sell in the market. We need to make products like no one does so that we can progress.”

Rambali Yadav, G&B Shramik Sangh: “From making locks to secure our homes to making products that secure the nation is what Godrej is all about.”

I would like to thank the audience, our businesses and the departments who helped us make this event a success. Also, my thanks to the teams of Udayachal Schools and our peo-

ple for their performances. And lastly, I would like to thank my team at Godrej Commercial for all the work they put in voluntarily.

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PRODUCTIVITY BOOSTER

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ELE C T RI C LI F T T RU C K The new Godrej electric forklift truck (FLT) boosts productivity In recent years, Godrej Material Handling (GMH) found that their customers were eager to increase the productivity of their forklift trucks (FLT) by handling larger loads per pallet, and improve the density of storage by reducing the aisle width. This quest for greater productivity with the need to reduce pollution, both air and noise, in the workplace, has led to a greater preference for electric FLTs over diesel. To tap this opportunity, GMH decided to extend their range of three-wheel electric FLTs to the next higher capacity of 1.6 tonne.

It was soon clear that this truck would have to be developed afresh. The marketing team worked on a comprehensive brief for the design team for this challenging project. The salient features of the brief were that the truck would have to be suitable for the world market and not only the local. Also, the truck would have to have the fit, feel, finish and performance that would make it possible to sell in sizeable numbers in the markets abroad.

This brief created a host of new challenges for the design team. The team had to carry out an in-depth study to determine what uses this FLT would be put to and identify the specific applications where it would score over the others. In other words, the target market had to be identified rigorously so that the truck could be designed to meet the stringent requirements. Conformance to international standards of safety would be a must. Keeping in view these considerations, the truck would have to be very well engineered with a high level of functionality

and aesthetics. This new truck would have to be one of the desirable options for buyers instead of being merely a cheaper, third-world option. Another factor that required careful study was operator comfort.

Ergonomics were carefully analysed for building in features for improved operator productivity..

With these findings, the design engineers began the demanding design and development journey. The team also had to develop quite a few totally new assemblies, such as wet-disc brakes, electro-hydraulic controls, a rear wheel power drive train with power steering, and so on. It was quite a task but once these developments were incorporated into the design, the new truck became as contemporary in design and function as any other truck available. The distinctive stamp of GMH’s design capabilities was there for everyone to see.

Immediately after the launch, the truck began selling in good numbers with fresh enquiries flowing in at a healthy rate.

The GMH marketing and design teams were thrilled with the outcome and decided to compete for the CII Design Excellence Award, which they won.

This enhanced capability of design at GMH clearly signals that now onwards Godrej Forklifts will be superior both in design and functionality, offering unmatched value.

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My Companion Apps

Google Flights

Trip Advisor

XE Currency

Hemmant Jha, Godrej Innovation & Design Centre

Winoj Wilson, Godrej Tooling

Allan Antao, Godrej Process Equipment

I’ve used them all, and I always come back to this. Wherever you are and wherever you want to be, nothing matches the ease of use and the flexibility of Google Flights.

Prices and schedules appear at a glance, and update continuously as you change different parameters - flight dates, trip duration, number of stops, duration of each trip (important for cross-continental flights). Discover new destinations by region and price. Stymied by your travel agent’s inability to plan complex trips? Will easily put together an itinerary using different carriers for multi-city and multicontinent travel. Save and compare itineraries - if prices change, it will update prices for saved itineraries, and will display the difference from the time that you saved your itinerary, with direct links to booking sites - all through a simple, uncluttered, flexible interface. Blissfully devoid of ads and fluff, this planning tool is very user-friendly.

I usually travel to different countries and I end up referring to TripAdvisor app before travelling to any new cities. Those who know TripAdvisor as a website already know that it is one of the largest data pools of individual experiences, of hotels and destination reviews, ratings, photos, and so on. The app allows me to verify user experiences of a hotel or restaurant before I choose to book or visit. You can also use the app to check restaurants near your location with a map view. TripAdvisor is your best bet to see if the amenities you need are there, or if people who have stayed there before report horror stories in their wake. On the map it also highlights nearby attractions.

I would say that TripAdvisor provides basic awareness and a satisfaction of choice.

I need to calculate currencies on the go. With XE Currency app, you can access live exchange rates, view historical charts and calculate prices on your smart phone. XE is versatile enough to convert 180+ currencies into a currency of your choice. As it stores the last updated exchange rates, it can give you the information that you need even when the internet is down. XE Currency works on all iOs, Android, Blackberry and Windows platforms. This free and simple currency calculator is amongst the top 20 travel apps. I would urge everyone travelling abroad to have XE Currency on their phone to safeguard against any currency fluctuationrelated losses and have the updated info at their fingertips.

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Travelling on business has always been demanding, and in today’s rapidly-changing business world, it can prove to be rather stressful. Mercifully, technology has advanced to make travel on business easier through the availability of application-based softwares, popularly known as Apps. Try researching Apps and you will come across Apps in every conceivable category – business, finance, weather, utility, networking, news, food, health, fitness, travel; and the list goes on. Seemingly-endless lists confuse the ordinary business traveller; as a result it is most likely that he may not opt for any. To make business travel more productive and less demanding, CHANGE decided to identify some commonly-used Apps based on feedback received from the Godrejites who travel extensively. Here is a selection of Apps guarenteed to prove useful on your next trip overseas.

Skype

WhatsApp

Surojeet Banerji, Godrej Security Solutions

S P Sarma, Godrej Security Solutions

My all-time favourite communication app is Skype. It is quite handy when on the move and it does not even cost a dime. Free WiFi connectivity ensures that you are never far away from your internet lifeline. Skype comes with Video Calling, which is a great advantage, when you need to assess client’s reactions during negotiations on the move. After all that little twitch or the quiet hasty blink could be the tell-tale signs of a winning game. Also, to make a quick decision, I use Skype for vital inputs from my team over a group video call.

WhatsApp is the soul of communication for my team at Security Solutions. Understanding customer requirements and responding quickly is the key to success in the international market. A few clicks on the mobile camera and the picture or a sketch of the solution required is available to the entire team which is part of the WhatsApp group, for a quick response.

All this at practically no cost. WhatsApp today allows us to not only send messages but also to speak to each other from across continents.

With a good data connection, the voice is crystal clear and all aspects of a customer’s requirement are easily captured – with the specs in a message and the clarifications over the voice. The world has indeed been shrunk with this wonderful app!

In addition to these, to make your trips more productive routinely, it is essential to ask two basic questions: why this trip? And, what is being planned to be accomplished? On your return, take some time out and measure the accomplishment against the plan. Notes can be created for corrective action in future. Also, a reflection on the very purpose of the trip can help better define the purpose of trips in the future, making them more productive.

Going a step further, to make your leisure travel more enjoyable, CHANGE suggests that you look up the link http://bit.ly/1R24spT and have a collection of apps that supplement the apps above.

In case you have been using some other Apps which you find useful then do share these with us and we will ensure that these are shared with the readers of CHANGE.

BOOKMARK 68 INSIDE SUCCESS STORIES G&B

Healthy Holiday Hacks Because none of us asked Santa for bulging bellies Karishma Sakhrani

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October, November, Drink-cember…!

With weddings, Christmas, New Year, end-of-year office parties, the last month of the year definitely calls for a re-christening. It feels like an enormous task to manage not to slip in to a serious food coma, and to maintain the same dress or pant size. I’m often scolded for being the constant health police. But I do drink that glass of wine, eat leftover pizza for breakfast, give in to midafternoon chocolate cravings. I do it all.

The idea is to seek balance and building a sustainable lifestyle.

And this becomes especially helpful during the holidays!

Because we all just want to have our cake and eat it too. Right?

In my case, well, I want to bake it too! A little dissection here will help us understand how to balance eating right, working out and of course indulging!

The pre-emptive approach

At the party

Midnight munchies

Rather than beating the holiday bulge, it’s a smarter idea to rev up your workout routine and nutrition game before the party season actually begins! So if you know you have an indulgent few weeks ahead, try to squeeze in some extra time every day at the gym and work up a serious sweat. The extra calorie burn will help ease off the pressure on your body later. Also, try to avoid the casual dinner catch ups with friends and team lunches prior to the party season. Instead, go cycling on the weekend with friends, or sign up for an exercise class together. The advantage of having your friends around won’t make working out seem like a task.

Learn to say no! You don’t have to eat everything that is served to you, or every time the waiter comes by. Be aware of how much you’re eating, even more than about what you’re eating. Not exercising portion control can be the most damaging. And there are always healthier, or at least slightly less unhealthy snacking options available. Simple things like whacking the bun off a burger can also make a big difference.

Sometimes, you just need to get in a snack before going to bed because you had one too many drinks, or were so busy dancing that the buffet wound up before you could get there.

Having a small snack before going to bed is not so bad, but of course it depends on what you eat. It’s a good idea to stock up your bedside table with a few healthy snacks and dried fruits and nuts. And of course, plenty of water. That way, you won’t dive in to your cheat stash.

The day of the party

Make it your way of life

Make sure to work out, eat clean and stay hydrated through the day. Many people tend to eat unhealthy even when they’re off party duty, thinking their diet is anyway off track during the party season. But, it all boils down to numbers.

And every calorie adds up. So cut back wherever you can. It also helps to eat a healthy, but small snack just before you head out. That way you won’t reach the party ravenous and attack the canapés like a vulture.

The easiest way to make the best food choices is when you make eating healthy and working out your way of life. Embrace a healthy lifestyle as something positive and understand why it’s good for you because your state of mind is the most important driving factor to staying healthy and fit.

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Want to Win New Business?

Collaborate.

R K Shankar Mercury Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

As this issue of CHANGE was being wrapped up, we learnt that our Mercury Mfg. Co. Ltd., Chennai, had just secured their largest single order of about A$ 1 Million from the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia. It is a fascinating story and so we decided to share it with our readers.

A few months ago, the Government of New South Wales (GNSW), Sydney, took the decision to renovate the Powerhouse museum, a home to the material heritage of Australian culture, history and lifestyle. The renovation involved scaling up the museum facilities and upgrading the standards of preservation, storage and retrieval of items housed in the museum.

Usually, tenders for such requirements are solicited from the vendors who had supplied and installed the equipment at the existing site or those who had supplied similar equipment to museums elsewhere in Australia.

On learning about this requirement, our partner in Sydney, Ian McDonald of Steelco, literally gatecrashed the office concerned and made a pitch to GNSW that Steelco should also be allowed to submit an offer as they were capable of providing an “Appropriately Engineered Solution” which, in his view, would be superior to all others and that too at a lower price!

Ian’s forceful presentation and this somewhat outlandish offer, led to some fresh thinking in GNSW circles, who somewhat sceptically, allowed Steelco to bid for the job.

Let me add here that Steelco and Mercury did not have any experience in providing Storage Solutions to museums. Steelco, is essentially a manufacturer of Industrial Racking and Mercury

is a manufacturer of office equipment from steel.

Once the invitation to bid was received, the real work started in terms of understanding the needs of the museum, their usage patterns, various specifications, and so on. Also, an attempt was made to identify the ‘points of irritation’ experienced by the museum in the current equipment, which needed to be addressed by future suppliers. This intense engagement helped us win the confidence of the museum authorities and also gave us the necessary insights for developing solutions that met their needs. Mercury made several prototypes of the storage equipment etc., which were integrated with the racking system of Steelco for making a composite offer to GNSW. Our offer was carefully scrutinised and was found to fit well with the needs and was, of course, lower in cost. As opposed to this, the offers from the prominent players of the industry smacked of the attitude ‘we know what is good for you; don’t dispute, accept it’. Their offers were higher in price. GNSW was suitably impressed by the work we had put in and the offer that we had made. They had no hesitation in placing the order on us.

On receiving this large order, no doubt we were delighted but there was a lot of hard work in store for our designers and engineers. The

Steelco team took on the task of supplying load -bearing structure and Mercury took on the task of developing and supplying storage and retrieval items. The capabilities of our engineers were duly stretched as the storage and retrieval items were meant to house the articles of a variety of shapes, sizes and weights. I am glad to say that the final solution presented was well accepted by the client and the project is now under execution.

In my view, from this episode, many important learnings emerge for securing new business in export markets. First, your partner has to be proactive, good at spotting opportunities, refuse to take no for an answer, and should be a team player. Second, we, as the principal need to be very supportive of such a partner and should be willing to rise to the challenge and overcome them without any cribbing; the foreign partner must be supported fully. Thirdly, we have to understand and unravel the real needs of the customer in great depth. And finally, we have to work as a team to win against the well-entrenched, global competitors.

Surely, we will exploit this newly-unleashed power of collaboration to win businesses in different markets.