mjPost, September 2015

JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015 | VOLUME VII | ISSUE III

Dear junctionites, The festive season is upon us and along with it, a slight nip in the air, signalling the onset of a transient winter in this part of the country where mjunction is headquartered. The social implication and impact of a festival, to my mind, often far outweighs its religious aspect and I believe these are great opportunities for bonhomie, celebration, the family getting together and a spirit of goodwill.

Existing as we are in the B2B e-commerce space when there is much ado about B2C specifically e-retail and travel, I would like to dwell a little upon our line of business. A leading economic daily of the country recently said that the businessto-business market, which stands at $300 billion today, is estimated to grow to $700 billion by 2020.

However, the e-commerce part of the business is still at a nascent stage, primarily driven by companies dealing in industrial goods, and would not exceed an estimated $1.5 billion as opposed to $5-6 billion of the B2C e-commerce segment.

They have said mjunction is the category leader in the B2B e-commerce segment, and this is where I would like to add that we have had the advantage of being one of the pioneers in this space and if we have to take advantage of the huge market that awaits us, we have to move swiftly to make use of the huge digital wave sweeping the country, backed by the Digital India and Make in India initiatives.

As things stand today, the B2C segment is more visible because everyone is a consumer.

However, their target group is not a captive audience and I believe that sooner rather than later, B2C e-commerce players will realise the vast opportunities and scope of the B2B space, and also the fact that it is profitable. It is then that they will also slowly come into the B2B space too. Till then, the fact that they are spending so widely on advertising can only benefit us as they are promoting the use of e-commerce, which is primarily transactions on

From the MD the Internet. For us, this is the right time to build and capitalise on the visibility that e-commerce is getting, thanks to such spends.

I also believe that the future of B2B e-commerce lies not in simply e-transactions but in application of digital technologies. And that is what mjunction is striving for. To give an example, our business unit straightline, which is into loyalty programmes and corporate gifting, has gone one step further to provide channel improvement solutions through data analytics and mobility. Backed by robust back-end data analysis and behavioural tracking, our loyalty and gifting programmes now begin with programme design but no longer end in merchandise fulfilment. Rather, with the help of Analytics, they are able to provide to our clients in real time the performance of their distribution channel so that corrective action may be taken. As also opportunities spotted and taken advantage of on the fly. This is just an example of how technologies

can be applied to our businesses to create value.

Needless to say, digital technologies also include a digital marketing strategy, which reaches out effectively to the audience it seeks to address.

Social media is a powerful tool and very effective for the B2B segment. Identifying our stakeholders is crucial and equally crucial is to devise effective ways and means to reach out to them.

The fact is that awareness will play a key role in the growth of the B2B e-commerce segment. People from the industry have to step forward and see how e-commerce can affect their supply chains and distribution networks. What is also required is the support of the government, mainly because the government, especially in India, is a major player in the B2B segment. Apart from being owners, they are also regulators and sometimes also the customers. So, the role of the government becomes an important cog in the wheel in the case of B2B e-commerce as opposed to B2C. I also want to talk about the downturn in the steel markets, and I have heard apprehensions from several quarters regarding how this might affect our company. I want to quell all such fears as over the years, we have become an extremely diversified company which operates in several other sectors.

Thus, we are not dependent on steel only for our growth. As a matter of fact, other new services in new verticals now account for four-fifths of our revenue. That insulates us effectively from the bearish phase the steel market is going through.

I wish all of you and your families a happy and peaceful festive season.

Regards,

WHAT’S INSIDE Knowledge sharing sessions...2 | India coal story at Canada conference...3 | MD chairs national AGM of MSSI...4 | MD article in Financial Express...5 | MD article in Times of India...6 | financejunction holds channel finance distributors’ meet...7 | Interactive session @ mj...8 | Client Speak...9 | Knowledge Management and Innoverse awards...10 | Know Your Junctionite...11 | Escape to the seas...12 | Wedding Bells...13 | New mjunction offices...14 | The newborns...15 | ejunction : Power to Empower...16

Volume VIi | Issue IiI | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

Knowledge sharing sessions enrich junctionites

FROM THE

EDITOR’S DESK The ‘Big’ Picture Dear junctionites, “It’s your life, make it Deshapriya Park.” This is a modification of a tagline of a brand where instead of Deshapriya Park it states “large”. It was the biggest brand campaign that this city has ever witnessed. This Durga puja was all about height of the idol. The campaign claimed that this is the tallest Durga in the world, 88 feet tall. So the catch phrase was “Such a big truth”, where “big” was the operative word.

The concept was unique, the Rs 8 crore 360-degree campaign included hoardings, TV commercials and print advertisements. Like a well-planned campaign the teaser started well before the pujas and slowly the “Big truth” was unveiled. The sponsor, a cement company, became a household name. On the surface, a successful campaign, but what about the Puja? On the inauguration day, the extensive hype resulted in stampede and serious injuries. It had to be closed down on Day 1 itself. People, to their dismay, realized that the pandal was tall, not the idol. Net result: Credibility of the brand was tarnished.

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ollaborative knowledge sharing sessions in mjunction aim to bring employees together for learning and sharing of knowledge on pre-decided topics and henceforth use that knowledge for work. The third such session was held on August 21, and focussed on the topic “Converting EPS to a product”.

About thirty junctionites attended the session, which was held by Mr Ashis Ray, Chief Horizon 3, Marketing & Sales and CTO, who shared the perspective of an application and product and how it has a bearing on the EPS platform of mjunction. As returns are much higher if EPS is positioned as a product instead of a mere application, he shared the roadmap to develop EPS as a product.

Mr Ray also shared his plans to promote B2B and B2C exchange platform as a product while promoting revenue earning modules such as EMD management, payment gateway, workflow management, eProcurement analytics etc.

The next session on September 11 focussed on the topic “Achieving Excellence in Business Processes”, which was attended by 18 junctionites.

Mr Suvajit Chakraborty, Head Strategy & Business Excellence, shared how excellence is defined in the context of business process.

Back in 2005, I was a part of a campaign in Mumbai for launching the DNA newspaper. The campaign was “Speak Up, it’s in your DNA”. So the campaign entailed 360 degree promotions where during the teaser, lips were taped and people were not allowed to speak. And then finally the tapes were taken off and DNA was unveiled as the newspaper that captures what Mumbaikars want to speak about -- their lives, their issues. It was a very successful campaign and it did successfully capture the voices of the people. The campaign was successful because DNA kept its promise.

This is the biggest truth: For any brand the first thing that needs to be understood is that honesty is the best brand promotion policy. You remain honest, you remain credible and top it with innovative, strategic and targeted brand promotions to increase the reach and awareness, but only communicate your virtues and brand attributes. That’s the only mantra for brand success.

And unlike this Big puja, never lose the plot in the whole jamboree.

Wish you all Happy Diwali.

Editorial Advisor Editor Madhuchanda Dasgupta Design Debal Ray, Sobhan Jas For suggestions, feedback and queries, please write to mjpost@mjunction.in

Additionally, different quality frameworks were discussed to bring out what these frameworks actually aimed to achieve. Some simple tools to improve the daily work processes were also discussed.

Participants asked many questions and there were subsequent discussions on the same which helped to clear the queries.

Both sessions were heavily interactive and ended with requests to the participants to share their suggestions.

Visit us at www.mjunction.in Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the prior permission of mjunction services limited. Please inform us if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed.

Disclaimer: This document is for information purpose only. Certain information herein has been acquired from various external sources believed to be reliable. While we have taken reasonable care to compile this report, we in no way assume any responsibility for any error or discrepancy in regards to information contained herein. Readers are requested to make appropriate judgement without any prejudice or compulsion.

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Volume VIi | Issue III | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

MD shares India coal story at Canada conference

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he mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi spoke on the topic: “India, the coal markets’ brightest jewel. Reality or Mirage?” at the Coal Association of Canada’s 2015 Conference held at Vancouver from September 16 to 18. The talk was part of the opening session of the conference titled “Coal’s Fortunes: Half Full or Half Empty?”

Mr Oberoi said while India’s coal consumption has been growing at 8% over the last few years, production has been growing at 6%, which has led to higher import of coal, and over the next five years, imports will cross 300 million tonnes. Production in 2015-16 is projected to grow 6%. India’s coal story thus looks positive and is poised for a big leap, he added.

MD discusses FDI in e-commerce with Modi govt

MD addresses ICT East

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he mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi, who is also CII chairman of the National Committee on e-commerce, delivered the welcome address at the inaugural session of the 14th ICT East held on August 6 and 7 in Kolkata. Dr Amit Mitra, the West Bengal minister for finance, commerce & industries, delivered the inaugural address.

Mr Oberoi also chaired a CXOs’ session on The Strategy for Internet of Things (IoT).

The two-day conference stressed on how IoT, a chain of physical objects that can be retrieved through the Internet, can revolutionise lives.

MD chairs CII ERC seminar

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r Viresh Oberoi, CEO & MD of mjunction, and Chairman of CII National Committee on e-commerce, was session chairman and delivered the opening remarks at CII’s Eastern Regional seminar in Raipur in July. The session topic was “Critical Success Factors and the future of e-Commerce”.

Mr Oberoi said the efficiency, transparency and the convenience that e-commerce provides benefits everybody, especially the small buyers and the small sellers. He dwelt on B2B e-commerce, which he said accounts for 90% of e-commerce all over the world. And he then went on to give the example of mjunction, which began with selling steel and then explored various facets of B2B e-commerce subsequently.

One of the key points that were deliberated in the session was how the governments can work out favourable taxation policies and regulatory frameworks that are conducive to attracting investments by the e-commerce companies. Dr Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and Mr Vivek Dhand, Chief Secretary, government of Chhattisgarh, participated in the seminar.

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n early July, the Modi Government held discussions on e-commerce with various industry stakeholders, where e-commerce players raised state specific issues and foreign direct investment, while traditional retailers wanted clarity on definition of retail and also said FDI in e-commerce will make India a dumping yard.

The mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi in his capacity as the Chairman of CII National Committee on eCommerce was a key part of the meeting and has been quoted by national dailies.

Mr Oberoi told the media: “e-commerce is here to stay and it is of great benefit not only to consumers but also to SMEs. It is a great leveler. Now we need to facilitate and allow this wonderful story to unravel. We have to now spread the word to the states and make them more aware of its benefits.”

Mr Oberoi also said: “E-commerce players raised state specific issues like taxes, value added taxes, and bringing them under ambit of local body taxes. What is required is to spread the awareness benefits (of e-commerce) rather than bring in regulations and control. There was no concrete decision reached on the issue of FDI in e-commerce.”

Volume VIi | Issue IiI | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

MD judges Tata Group awards

Mr Oberoi chairs national AGM of Multiple Sclerosis Society of India

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he mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi, who is also National President of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India (MSSI), chaired the organisation’s national AGM in

Mumbai on August 22 and 23.

The event started on August 22 morning with Mr Viresh Oberoi in the chair with other members of the national team. The national role holder positions were discussed at length. The number of registered patients remains a concern for all chapters especially for a metro city like Kolkata.

Mr Oberoi spoke on the need to tap large hospital chains for the cause as well as the need to create national awareness through advertising and other media such as the radio.

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he mjunction CEO and MD Mr Viresh Oberoi was part of an eminent jury of top Tata Group leaders, which judged the the finals of Tata Business Leadership Awards or TBLA for 2015.

The theme for this year's competition was 'E-commerce: Capitalising on the Potential, Driving Future Growth'.

The mjunction case study was presented to the teams for identifying an innovative, sustainable, scalable and clutter breaking go-to-market approach.

Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus P. Mistry felicitated the winning teams at a ceremony held in Mumbai.

mj wins Birla Sun Life award

New CII position for Mr Viresh Oberoi

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r Viresh Oberoi, the mjunction CEO & MD, is now Member of CII's National Services Council for the year 2015-16. The Services Council will strive to create an enabling ecosystem within the country to make India the most attractive destination for investments, build opportunities to expand exports of services and conduct interactions with the Government at the Centre and State levels to highlight the issues and concerns of the Services Sectors.

Mr Oberoi is also Chairman of CII's National Committee on e-commerce and Member, CII Public Policy Council, for 2015-16.

mjunction was awarded “Partner of the Year” at Birla Sun Life’s maiden partner summit on August 27 in Mumbai. mjunction is a partner in Birla Sun Life’s rewards & recognition programme, and was recognised in the category of client engagement and service delivery.

Mr Oberoi on Radio One 94.3 FM

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he mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi was on air on July 13 on RadioOne 94.3 FM in a live freewheeling tete-a-tete with RJ Roy. Mr Oberoi, as founder CEO of mjunction, shared the story of the birth of the organisation, its journey of success, and how he has inculcated the culture of intrapreneurship and innovation within every junctionite. He also shared a bit with the listeners on his passion for golf and squash. Mr Oberoi advised future entrepreneurs on how important it is to follow ones passion and constantly think of how one can innovatively add value.

The show received great response on social media from its listeners.

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Volume VIi | Issue III | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015 trainer to check out my swing that I wisened up to such nuances. He suggested that I needed a new golf set and not golfing lessons. I had to pay him Rs 1000 for the golfing advice though.

Pace and Shots On the par-4 and par-5, I normally tee off with my Calloway Driver and then use the Irons. Short of par-3 it's usually the 6 or 7 Iron, which gets me on the green. I quite enjoy chip shots. Unfortunately, I am yet to get a hole in one. I am quite happy to make the green with my drive on a par-3. I also putt in for a par and at times a birdie.

On the Green Though I have played on a number of golf courses both in India and overseas, the most memorable experience has to be the two rounds that I played at the Royal Melbourne Golf Course in 2011. I had won the Economic Times Leaders Challenge Tour held in Kolkata and therefore, was selected to play the National finals held in Australia.

It was awfully chilly and I had to get used to wearing a thick jacket while playing golf. Additionally, I had to remember to pull my golf cart as there were no caddies and it was a walking course. It was a great experience and I look forward to doing it some time again.

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he September issue of the largest business magazine Business Today carried a feature, "I try to retain my handicap," on our CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi's passion for golf and squash, and how he has been pursuing his passions over the years amidst his busy schedule.

We reproduce the article below: For Viresh Oberoi, MD and CEO of mjunction, a venture promoted by SAIL and Tata Steel, golf is a late love but a cherished one. His weekends are incomplete without a few hours spent on the green. He's also an avid squash fan. He gives the lowdown on playing golf in Kolkata in scorching weather and still loving it.

Fitness Routine Admittedly, I'm able to make time for golf only on the weekend. That too just one day in a week, so it's a challenge just retaining my handicap. However, I don't make an exception to this habit even when the mercury touches 40 degree Celcius and humidity crosses 90 per cent. Apart from golf, I used to be keen on tennis. Now I

prefer squash because 40 minutes on the squash court is enough exercise for a day. For me, it pans out into squash on Saturday and golf on Sunday. Two days a week, I hit the gym and two other days it's a round of power walking.

From Tennis to Golf On my first job with Tata Steel in Kolkata, I was transferred to branches and regional offices across the country. In the eight cities that I covered before I returned to Kolkata I played tennis and vowed that when I got back to Kolkata I would take up golf at the Tollygunge Club.

I stuck to my guns when I returned and I hit the driving range at Tollygunge Club.

Learning Curve I have a TaylorMade golf set with a Calloway Driver.

The clubs have a regular shaft and they suit me well.

When I started playing, I bought a used set from a national champion-a Golden Ram Stiff Shaft Steel set. Then I hadn't realised that you need to be a single handicapper if not scratch player to use such a specialised golf set. It was many years later when I approached a golf

Love for Squash In my home club, I'm among the top three players. Squash is the sort of game that gets you really pumped up and it brings forth my natural competetiveness. With regard to shots, I can pull off most shots but I try and play in response to my opponent's weakness. In my games, I use the double yellow dot ball and play in singles. Now, I play at Tollygunge Club in Kolkata but I learnt the game at Delhi Gymkhana Club.

Travel Bug My work requires me to travel overseas frequently. I find that one of the best ways of learning is by exchanging ideas. On my last international trip, after spending five days in Las Vegas at a technology conference, I hired a car and drove to Silicon Valley on Highway 1. It is one of the most scenic routes for driving, more so because it passes through the panoramic Pebble Beach. I remember spending a night many years ago with a French couple in their home in Lille. They spoke only French and we spoke only English but we got on famously, drinking wine, eating fondue and dancing the bhangra to French music.

Govt can play key role in supporting social enterprises The mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi’s article was published in all editions of The Financial Express on August 28. We reproduce the entire article for you.

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social enterprise, by definition, is a business created to espouse, support and further a social purpose and cause and is typically aimed at a specific group of people who are socially disadvantaged.

A sustainable enterprise aims to achieve this in a financially sustainable and scalable manner.

A primary duty and responsibility of any government is to look after and help uplift the socially and economically disadvantaged of the country.

That is the reason it exists. However, whereas governments in several Scandinavian countries have been able to do this for their people through efficient governance, systems and processes, emerging economies such as India have fallen way behind in this respect. Social enterprises in India have recognised the gaps in the system and have come up to address this need in diverse development areas and sectors.

In a country like India, where the social equation is still very skewed despite an ever burgeoning middle class, the government’s primary responsibility should lie in correcting that equation. Which is why it very clearly needs to reevaluate its priorities and ascertain whether it should at all have anything to do

with businesses other than infrastructure – airlines and hospitality, for instance, just to take two examples. I find there is very little reason for them to exist in these two sectors, when ideally their focus should be on upliftment of the socially and economically challenged sections.

The government has to support the social enterprises much more actively, and play a very clearly defined supporting role in nurturing them.

There are two ways in which this can be done. One, by supporting them.

The support does not necessarily have to be financial. It can come in various other ways and one possible way that comes to mind is formulating a very fair and transparent system of rewarding and recognising the value that is being created by the social entrepreneurs.

The second way is stepping in when scale-up is needed. At a very basic level, the governments, both central and state, can help make social endeavours widespread and scalable. The media too can play a role in spreading awareness about these enterprises.

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Volume Volume VIi | Issue VIi | Issue IiI | JULY-SEPTEMBER II | April-JUNE 2015

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achin and Binny Bansal of Flipkart don't run the largest e-commerce company in India. It is run by a man called Viresh Oberoi. Oberoi is the CEO& MD of mjunction, which runs the largest online steel marketplace in the world. mjunction is a joint venture(JV) formed by SAIL and Tata Steel. In 2013-14, the Kolkata based company's transaction value was more than Rs 43,000 crore compared to Rs 6,000 crore (as announced) gross merchandise volume of Flipkart in the same year. In fact, the revenue of mjunction in 2013-14 is more than twice the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Maldives. Founded in February 2001, the firm has done more than Rs 2 lakh crore worth transactions till date. Facts like these provide two crucial insights about the B2B (business to business) e-commerce space. One, the massive volumes of business that sector does. And two, the lack of hoopla in the space.�

In an article on the B2B e-commerce space and entrepreneurship, the Corporate Dossier of The Economic Times has taken mjunction as an example to show the growth of the B2B e-commerce sector in its July 17 edition.

In the article, the mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi, has been quoted as saying that: "The way you do it online has to be way superior to the way you to do it offline, which is not merely being online. It is really (about) understanding what the problems are, in the current offline process and to solve those problems.�

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require and therefore, seek to transform the way that they can acquire goods and services, once again leveraging technology.

he Times of India job supplement Ascent, carried an article on Internet-enabled jobs written by the mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi, in editions all over the country.

Traditional requirements stay While there may be certain specific skills that are required, I believe as far as commerce is concerned, the traditional requirements will continue, of which the first is drawing up a business plan, which has at its core, a value proposition for the customer. A revenue plan and a marketing plan would follow. All these elements were there in traditional businesses, but now all these functions will need to be understood through a technology prism to understand how technology will be able to bring about improvements in each one of these fields. Thus, marketing professionals will need to learn how technology will help them to reach out in a cost-effective and efficient manner to the thousands and millions to encourage and entice them to avail of their services, and continue to do so.

Therefore, the power of mobility and analytics will have to be learnt and applied. What will also need to be learnt and applied is the use of the different media that are now available to reach out and build relationships in a real time and ongoing manner with your target group.

The same would apply to business strategy and would be all about how one can bring together two disparate value propositions in a seamless and integrated manner so that the two together are far more value creating when offered jointly as a service to a customer. A good example of this is a taxi ordering functionality integrated with Google Maps, which together created some of the leading taxi apps today. Finally, creation of products and intellectual property would be the way forward and leading academic institutions can bring together global as well as Indian developments and align them with the changing needs of the customer. When all these are fused together, a true value-creating business proposition will emanate.

As far as the future is concerned, an increased interaction between government, industry and technology needs to take place to make our people more attuned to delivering such services and creating new products. The facilitation and mentoring of this interaction will need to be provided by the academic institutions.

Fancy an e-career?

One sector that is growing by leaps and bounds in the country today is the e-commerce sector. This is reflected not only in the high FDI that has come in for the sector, as much as 91 deals worth $3.9 billion in 2014, but also by the high employment rates that this sector has generated. E-commerce is consumption-based investment, which has met the untapped and unsatisfied needs of India both in the B2B as well as B2C sectors.

What kind of people do we need?

People who will add value to as well as get employment in this sector are people who are confident and innovative and who can also straddle effortlessly both the business as well as technology sides of a transaction. Unfortunately, till very recently, we had one set of people from business and another younger set from technology. One group did not understand the other group and possibly even had no interest in understanding what the other was saying. The future is going to be with people who understand both sides and are able to walk this fine balance.

This space will be occupied by what was called the MSME sector and what I prefer to call the start-ups. People with ideas to create value, and people who can disrupt the existing norms, will be the winners of tomorrow. Unfortunately, most of this disruption and value creation has taken place in Silicon Valley California, which has been subsequently tweaked to meet country-specific requirements. I strongly believe that India will play a major role in innovating new business models which are disruptive and value creating, which will then be tweaked and applied to other countries.

The people who will do this will be people who have, in the B2B sector, a knowledge of business and who are either familiar with technology themselves or are able to manage technology in a way that it provides the innovative spark that transforms the business.

As far as B2C is concerned, they will be largely young people who see themselves as consumers not being able to get what they

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Volume VIi | Issue III | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

financejunction holds channel finance distributors’ meet

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inancejunction, the financing business unit of mjunction, hosted the Tata Steel Channel Finance Distributor’s meet Southern and Eastern region for Retail (Branded Product Retail & Solutions) & Tubes Division in Bangalore on August 24 and in Kolkata on September 11. The regular transaction support extended by mjunction was well appreciated by the distributors.

The following are some of the achievement highlights of the business unit during Q2: • Three new distributors have been acquired under the channel finance program for Tata Bluescope Steel.

Presently, the availed limit of the scheme is more than Rs 31 crore, and the service is offered in association with Axis Bank. The objective of this financial service is to enable client organizations to sell to their distributors on cash basis and eliminate debts.

• Online channel finance transactions have been initiated for Axis Bank for Tata Steel and Tata Bluescope Steel distributors. Finance requests can be placed, processed and confirmed virtually without any manual intervention. This has also reduced transaction turnaround time.

• Capturing feedback from distributors on month-on-month basis initiated to improve penetration and utilization.

Monthly telephonic contact programmes with distributors is being held to understand the grievances and know requirements.

• financejunction worked on multiple technology development initiatives during the period and some which have been concluded include an Online Letter of Recommendation module in the finance portal, TDS refund visibility and server time display in portal. Concurrent login has also been disabled in the portal, enabling us to track an individual’s activity on the portal.

metaljunction auctions mill scale for ISWPL

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he Indian Steel and Wire Products Limited (ISWPL) was the first Wire Drawing Plant in India, established in the year 1920 and a subsidiary of Tata Steel Ltd. ISWPL has five major business verticals namely: Stick Electrodes and MIG Wire, Mild Steel Fasteners, Wire Rods, TMT Re-bars and Wires.

The Business Challenge: • ISWPL was selling Mill Scale from their Jamshedpur plant to a single buyer based out of Jamshedpur.

• The above buyer of ISWPL was not lifting the material of late, which resulted in huge accumulated inventory of 600 MT. • ISWPL was looking for buyers to dispose this inventory with participation from new buyers.

• The accumulated inventory adversely impacted ISWPL’s production, due to space constrain.

• ISWPL sought metaljunction’s intervention in finding a buyer to lift the material by applying some innovative strategies.

autojunction partners Monsoon Drive

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utojunction, the automobile portal of mjunction, was the Online Media Partner of Monsoon Drive – 4, a national motor sporting event and a FMSCI approved TSD Rally for two and four wheelers that was flagged off from Kolkata and culminated in Haldia after traversing a rally course of around 200 kilometres. The ceremonial flagoff happened on August 29 from the South City portico in Kolkata.

It is the 7th Round of FMSCI organised Indian National TSD Rally Championship (INTSDRC) held in various stages across India. Participants from all over India attended the event.

Solution and strategy adopted by metaljunction: • MJ did a market making exercise across different geographies to identify potential buyers for this product.

• MJ explored different auction strategies which can help in quick resolution of the problem.

• MJ decided to conduct this auction for 400 MT of Mill Scale, adopting a new approach called the “Yankee Auction;” wherein buyers can bid in terms of both price and quantity.

• This methodology enabled bidding for a smaller quantity as low as 50 MT and empowered small and distant buyers to buy as per their requirement.

• The bidden quantity was allocated by the system dynamically based on three parameters of the bids – Price, Quantity and Bid. Benefits to client: • metaljunction successfully collected earnest money deposit and brought four new bidders in this auction.

• The entire quantity of 400 MT of Mill Scale was successfully booked in the auction.

• There were two new buyers who were the winners of this auction; one from Noida and the other from Jamshedpur.

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junction took part in the ‘’World of Metal’’ exhibition held at the Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai, from September 13 to 15. Steel Insights was media partner at the event, which focused on metal, used machinery and machinery tools.

Sumit Jalan from mjunctionedge represented mjunction at the exhibition, which provided a good opportunity to interact with key decision makers of the steel industry.

Volume VIi | Issue IiI | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

Interactive session @ mj

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n interactive session was held at mjunction’s Godrej Waterside office in Kolkata with Dr Ganesh Natarajan, vice-chairman and CEO, Zensar Technologies and President, Harvard Business School Club of India.

Junctionites interacted freely with Dr Natarajan on the theme of “Changing Faces of Leadership- Establishing a Community of Women Leaders”. The mjunction CEO & MD Mr Viresh Oberoi welcomed Dr Natarajan and set the tone for the session.

Dr Natarajan said confidence and a strong belief in new ideas make for a great communicator. Around 30 junctionites participated in the session.

mj in the news

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Financial Express

The Economic Times

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Volume VIi | Issue III | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

coaljunction has successfully implemented Tata Steel IBMD’s Coal BPO project for West Bokaro Coal Mines, and we would like to laud its efforts towards the same.

Sandeep Kumar, EIC, IBMD & Yogesh Bedi, COMS, IBMD

Client Speak

The Steel Report by metaljunction is praiseworthy and congratulations to all team members who have compiled, analysed and provided the fore MJK. Mohan DGM[M-LP] & BM [LP] , CMO/BSO/SAIL/HYD BR.

The customer is at the heart of all activities at mjunction and their feedback is of utmost value to us. We bring to you a few voices of the customer.

Hats off to the valuejunction team for its excellent customer service and successfully conducting the valuation and e-sale of idle assets and scrap of decommissioned plants in Maharashtra.

Amit Bhowmick Head Procurement (SE Asia), Linde India

Kudos to metaljunction for its efforts towards reduction in overall scrap inventory from 2700 to 1700 mt through timely auction, approval and lifting of material.

Rajesh Chandra Singh Senior Manager (Logistics), Tubes Division, Tata Steel

Kudos to coaljunction for its excellent customer service, resulting in our achieving a Rs 65-crore revenue in FY15through successful e-auction of Jhama and slurry.

U. K. De Executive Director (Collieries), SAIL

I want to express my appreciation for the excellent customer service provided by coaljunction as it conducted 14 spot e-auctions in the last financial year, resulting in substantial gain over reserve price for Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. J. Nagaiah GM (Marketing), SCCL

CR Gola, which is a critical material, has high and often fluctuating generation, and limited buyer base. Our primary need is fast evacuation, as it occupies a lot of space and hampers plant operations. I appreciate mjunction’s excellent efforts in being able to coordinate with customers as well as plant officials to sell, collect payments and even coordinate lifting efforts.

Raman Gadepalli Chief Operations – ESPF Essar Steel India Ltd, Pune

I want to express my appreciation for buyjunction’s excellent customer service resulting in multiple successful auctions for SAIL DSP. Ashok Prasad AGM-MM (Purchase), DSP, Durgapur

mjunction’s Guiding Force

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Volume VIi | Issue IiI | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

The mjunction CEO & MD, Mr Viresh Oberoi, recognised significant contribution made to ejunction in Q1. He gave away mementos and certificates at a Town Hall meet where all Kolkata-based junctionites gathered.

The ejunction coordinator of the batch in the last quarter, Abhishek Chowdhury of Technology

Abhishek Kar of Technology, who took the highest number of classes

Gautam Jha of metaljunction who took the second highest number of classes

Mrs Rashmi Jha Bhattacharjee, wife of Abhijit Bhattacharjee of Corporate Sales Team, who volunteered for ejunction captive centres by taking communication classes

Debal Ray of mjunctionedge, who took the third highest number of classes

Knowledge Management and Innoverse winners receiving awards from the CEO & MD, Viresh Oberoi.

Chiradeep Mukherjee of metaljunction

Adwitio Sengupta adjudged the best executive trainee

Asiya Zaki of coaljunction

Abhishek Kashyap adjudged the most promising executive trainee

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Subha Ranjan Mallik & Abhishek Kar of Technology - Joint Winners of the Safety Awareness Quiz - SHE WEEK 2015

Volume VIi | Issue III | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

KNOW YOUR JUNCTIONITE I have been in mjunction since:

My favourite sport is:

October 2007

Cricket

The three words which describe me the best are:

My favourite book is:

Non-hypocrite, just and simple

Byomkesh Series

My childhood was spent at: Kolkata

If I could have tea with a fictional character, it would be:

My major in college was:

Goopi Gayen & Bagha Bayen

Commerce

My dream travel destination is:

If I was not working at mjunction, I would be: May be a lawyer My favourite movie is:

Andaman & Nicobar The three things I would definitely do on an ideal day are:

My favourite singer is:

Play with my daughter, watch TV and give ideas to cook new recipes

Manna Dey for his versatility

My family consists of:

My favourite food is:

Parents, wife and daughter

The Silence of the Lambs

Debmalya Dey The most important event of my life so far is: The birth of my daughter

Steamed hilsa

The three words which describe me the best are: Simple, honest and reliable My childhood was spent at: Kolkata My major in college was: Economics

Chandrika Bose

If I was not working at mjunction, I would be: An interior designer My favourite movie is: The Shawshank Redemption My favourite singer is: Lata Mangeshkar

I have been in mjunction since: July 2008

My favourite food is: Pizza, Sweets and Indian Street Food

I have been in mjunction since: 2007

My favourite sport is: Football

The three words which describe me the best are: Honest, friendly and polite

My favourite book is: Mahabharat

My childhood was spent at: Belgharia My major in college was: Chemistry If I was not working at mjunction, I would be: An entrepreneur My favourite movie is: Three Idiots My favourite singer is: Lata Mangeshkar My favourite food is: Biriyani

My favourite sport is: Tennis My favourite book is: Nothing Specific If I could have tea with a fictional character, it would be: Suneo Honekawa in Doraemon My dream travel destination is: Machu Picchu in Peru The three things I would definitely do on an ideal day are: Eat, sleep and play with my kid My family consists of: My husband, son, parents and in-laws The most important event of my life so far is: The birth of my son

If I could have tea with a fictional character, it would be: Phantom My dream travel destination is: Bamiyan The three things I would definitely do on an ideal day are: Eating out, spending time with my family and friends and sleeping My family consists of: My parents, my wife and my two sons

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Subhankar Gupta The most important event of my life so far is: Difficult to pick out one

Volume VIi | Issue IiI | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

Escape to the seas Shirshendu De of coaljunction recounts a fun-filled team trip to Digha, a popular seaside getaway of West Bengal

A

short trip to Digha with the coaljunction team was rejuvenating and truly memorable. Friendships were forged outside the work environment and we all came back with our own amazing stories.

It was the month of July and monsoon was just setting in. We were a group of six, including me. The others were Kaushik Mitra, Amit Banerjee, Souvik Ghosh, Arijit Paul and Archi Choudhury. As we landed in Digha after a short train journey, the vast expanse of the sea greeted us. The hotel was spacious and overlooked the beach and we looked all set for a good time.

Needless to say, we could not wait for our encounter with the sea. The rains made it even more inviting. As the waves crashed to the shore tinged with rains, it was a feast for the eyes. The fresh air and the sea was a

O

heavenly experience and by noon we started feeling hunger pangs.

The evening discovery trail started with climbing on to the topmost deck of the newly built watch tower in the beautiful park, which was getting final touches of construction.

The top deck offered us panoramic vistas of

the azure waters and the limitless horizon stretched as far as the eyes could see.

Right after this we started a leisurely stroll along the beach and walked through the murky ankle-deep water. It was a mesmerising experience for all. On the beach we found distinctive trails of star fish in the sand. As the day drew to a close, we settled down to a cup of coffee, tired but satisfied.

Next, we took to discovery of fresh sea catches and the Digha bazaar turned out to be a haven for fish lovers. We all eagerly waited for a gourmet meal of king sized pomfrets, prawns and hilsas. The fishes were tempered and seasoned with spices and deep fried for a fascinating experience.

At night, we took a long walk along the shore and soaked in Nature at its best. A short trip, it left a deep impression in our minds and made our bonding stronger as a team.

n August 12, an exhibition was held at the Kolkata Godrej Waterside office on the occasion of the upcoming festival of Rakhi Purnima.

As part of mjunction’s social responsibility initiatives, various NGOs are periodically given a platform to sell wares made by them. This time, Literacy India and Sri Sarada Math, Rasik Bhita, organisations which work with women, children and adolescent girls, held an exhibition of various gift items made by their inmates.

On September 12, Debalina Chakraborty of Corporate Sales was awarded the "Chief of Army Staff" (COAS) - All Round Best Student, Rolling Trophy for the MBA Batch 2014, Army Institute of Management, Kolkata.

Representatives of both organisations were present along with a variety of products which apart from Rakhis, also included bags, jute products, table accessories, pickles and handmade jewellery, among others. Junctionites bought the products and helped to serve the cause.

She also received the Gold Medal for ranking First in Academics (Overall & Finance Branch). General Shankar Roychowdhury, PVSM, ADC (Retd.), former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army and former member of Indian Parliament, presented both the awards.

Congratulations Debalina.

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Volume VIi | Issue III | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

Aaron Podder, the six-and-a-half year old son of Amit Podder of buyjunction, loves to create cartoon and mythological characters with his pencil and colours. A creation from Aaron.

Joydeep Giri, the seven-year-old son of Rinku Ghosh of buyjunction, made a neighbourhood model using waste material for a school project. Joydeep is at his creative best here.

wedding bells

Feline Beauty by Suvajit Chakraborty of Business Excellence & Strategy

Biswarup Banerjee of Technology ties the knot with Puja

Holy matrimony for Binit Agarwalla of buyjunction & Jyoti

Kamalesh Routh

Shyama Prasad Lenka

Amit Podder

Papina Purkayastha

Jaidip Palit

Nishant Niket

Abhiranjan Mukherjee

Dibyendu Basu

Nasre Alam

Amit Nath

Dhirendra Tiwari

Jay Prakash Prajapati

Nikita Shroff

Rohit Singh

Rupam Chattopadhyay

Nityendra Kumar Singh

Rajhans Kumar Singh

Gopal Chandra Garain

Somnath Chatterjee

Neerath Das

Vikramjeet Singh

Satish Kumar Bain

Ashish Wadhwani

Sumanta Mondal

Bappa Mandal

Ashish Kumar

Jaydeep Basu

Kaushik Deb

Arka Dutt

Bhaskar Manna

Abu Ahmed Bakker

Surajit Sarkar

Ravi Vyas

Sridipta Bhattacharya

Rupam Chakraborty

Vinita Soni

Rehan Firdausi

Arpita Karmakar

Sutanu Sinha

Abhijit Saha

Deep Kumar Saha

Subha Sujan Mandal

Birendra Kumar

Raktima Sarkar Indranath Banerjee Abhishek Kundu

to the mj family 13

Soumya Shikhar Piyali Basak Ranadeep Ghosh

Gautam Kumar Madhu Sudan Saha Manmohan Kumar Singh Shweta Gupta G Shiva Kumar Adarsha Kumar Gr Rajib Mondal Aparna Koner Bithin Mojumdar Utsav Paul Amarjeet Kaur Subhasish Halder Souvik Kundu Bipin Singh Choudhary Mithilesh Kumar Somdeep Kali Mukesh Kumar Pandey

Volume VIi | Issue IiI | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

mjunction has new state-of-the-art offices in Bhadravati, Durgapur and Mumbai.

Kolkata city by night: Manish Mathur

Princep Ghat by Night by Ayan Pal of buyjunction

Spot Awardees for July–September 2015 procurement

technology

Adhiraj Acharyya Bhaduri Suvadeep Banerjee

administration

transaction processing

G Bharath Simha Reddy Soma Gupta Saha Subrata Mandal

Arnab Das Kartick Paul Prodip Biswas Sourav Biswas Suvendu Das valuejunction Biswajit Banerjee* Gaurav Das* Subrata Bhattacharyya Suranjan Mullick Suvasis Paul

mjEdge Debal Ray Sobhan Jas new business Adwitio Sengupta Richika Sureka Sanchita Pal

incubation cell

Anup Agarwal Moshahar Bayen Nilanjan Sarkar Sandip Kumar Singh Shrabani Mandal Subha Ranjan Mallik* Subhankar Gupta

Sowdeep Biswas* internal audit Moutushi Roy Nilanjan Nandan corporate accounts & finance Pradipta Chakraborty financejunction Joyotpol Paul Rudra Prasad Nag Shamim Ahmed Shruti Saxena Sourav Bhowmick Subhashish Mukherjee H1 & H2 business unit Abhishek Chakraborty Thiruvalluvan K RM south: account management Pradeep MJ

coaljunction Aalia Baksh Abhijit Bhattacharjee* Abhishek Sen Amit Banerjee* Archi Choudhury Arijit Paul* Asiya Zaki Imtiaz Ahmed Kaushik Kr. Mitra* Parna Saha Prateek Bose Sayantan Dutta Chowdhury Shirshendu De Souvik Ghosh* Souvik Saha Srijan Datta Tridiv Biswas

* indicates junctionites who have received the award more than once

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metaljunction

buyjunction

Abhi Banerjee* Afsar Tanweer Alpana Kumari Ayan Roy Choudhury Biswajit Agarwal C Sekar Shanmukh Dibyan Mukherjee Diganta Biswas Gautam Kumar Jha K M Singh K Suresh Kamlesh Kumar Ghode M K Badrinarayan Niraj Kumar Vaishnaw Nitish Shukul Rabin Nandy Rajat Dhall Rajib Kr. Nayak S. Raghavendra S. Shankar Sanjoy Gopal Singha Sanjukta Ganguly Shubhrajyoti De Somnath Mukherjee Sourav Sinha Sumit Kumar Gupta Susant Kumar Das Tanmoy Ray* Vishwanath Pandey

Amit Kumar Arijit Ghosh Avik Paul Chandrani Majumdar Debarati Bose Harish Kumar Ramu Islam Ali Mollah Kakali Deb Bhadra Kamalika Chanda Mahadev Das P. Dhanaraj P. Peter Raj Riti Banerjee Mukherjee Rupam Chanda Samiran Bhowmick Sandeep Banerjee Sandeepan Bose Sudeshna Majumdar

straightline Abhilash Chatterjee Kallol Ghoshal Kaustav Kobi Kishore Chandra Beura Mayurakshi Dey Pratik Kundu Rituparna Mukherjee Shahzada Sarfraz Alam* Subhau Bhattacharya Suddhasattwa Datta* Suresh N Maheshwaram*

Volume VIi | Issue III | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

The newborns

Aradhya, the princess of Keshab Chandra Mondal of buyjunction

Jitendra Singh of Jamshedpur branch blessed with baby boy Vansh Adaya, the little bundle of joy for Pratap Singh of coaljunction

Debosmita, the little angel of Jaydeb Chakrabarty of buyjunction

corner

Baby girl Erum Feroz for Md Feroz of Finance & Corporate Accounts

T

Soumyadeep Saha, son of Shiladitya Saha of straightline, and a student of Don Bosco, is a budding script writer. The Third Mask, the theatre group that Soumyadeep is a part of, staged their first production, C.H.U.P., recently.

his quarterly quiz is meant to fuel your thirst for knowledge, and the response from all of you is encouraging. The questions from another edition of the quiz follow. Please mail your answers to mjpost@mjunction.in and you may win 250 straightline points.

The decision of the quizmaster will be binding and final in all respects of the quiz.

1. During the 1960s, Sonia Gandhi, Maneka Gandhi and Morarji Desai had a common profession (not politics). What was it?

2. The founder of which company said: “All of you know that I have always, and will always bleed purple?”

3. This American brand is often called “The Voice of Authority” and all its products are designed by Italian designers. Name it.

4. What is common to Aishwarya, Raageshwari, Saraswati and Mangala?

5. Which brand had to recall 800,000 pairs of its shoes when it was found that a logo on the sole resembled the Arabic lettering for Allah?

6. Which car’s name comes from Crete - Greece’s largest island?

7. This word comes into English language from an Arabic word that denotes a store house. It was borrowed by the French and then subsequently by the English. It ended up as a storehouse for the minds. The same word is also used to denote some part of the artillery. Name it.

8. This NASDAQ listed company drew inspiration for its name from a term that was named by a mathematician’s 9-year-old nephew way back in the 1920s. This happened while they were on a walk in New Jersey’s Palisades Woods. Recently this company has decided to rename itself. The CEO said “We liked the name _____ because it means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity’s most important innovations”. Name the company.

9. Which company was the first one to introduce recurring deposits?

Commercial banks started offering these in 1964 after it was introduced by this company.

10. What is the term generally used to describe meetings where participants are not allowed to use laptops? The purpose is to create an environment free from distraction to foster enhanced focus and to generate more discussions.

The answers to last issue’s quiz are: 1. Steve Ballmer of Microsoft 2. China 3. Alfred E Neuman, the mascot for the MAD humour magazine 4. Gauhar Jan’s songs were the first ones to have been recorded on a disc in India by the Gramophone Company of India in 1902 5. Mahindra Scorpio 6. Sin Tax 7. Jaguar 8. Maruti Suzuki India limited 9. Nikkei. It has acquired Financial The winner of last Times from Pearson group quarter’s quiz is 10. It occurs when employees pop up Amit Poddar their heads from their cubicles to see what’s happening or when the boss is walking past their work cubicles.

Quizmaster & Compiled by: Debashish Mukherjee of Corporate Accounts. Contributions also from: Abhishek Kar of Technology.

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Congratulations

Volume VIi | Issue IiI | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2015

“Technology empowers and we now dream of changing our lives.

Had it not been for ejunction through Literacy India, we would never aspire for any other work, being from the community of scavengers. This course has opened up several choices for us”: Youth beneficiaries belonging to the scavengers community of Belgachia in Howrah.

V

ast land expanses of waste dumping stations and one of the biggest slum areas of West Bengal are what define Belgachia, a place in Howrah district near Howrah Station and Salkia. With waste material dumping stations dotting the place, the local communities there are largely engaged in rag picking and scavenging as primary means of livelihood. The garbage mounds stand nearly six storeys high and are getting bigger every day. Under its shadow, hundreds of families scavenge and live, unaware of the dangers looming overhead. If the worst does happen and the hills of filth cave in, lives of multitudes will be exposed to danger.

The populace is largely migrant communities from Bihar, and Dom (helping hand in crematorium) by caste. Children roam since morning with a big bag for rag picking, earning between Rs 100 to Rs 150 per day. Very few go to school and even those who do, engage in rag picking after school. Scavenging, rickshaw pulling, vending vegetables are the dominant professions and some travel outside to work as domestic helps.

Substance abuse, domestic violence, early marriages and physical abuse is rampant and there is complete lack of exposure and motivation, making it a critical social issue of the area.

ejunction started its centre in Belgachia in February 2014 among this youth in order to introduce them to the world of computers, impart soft skills trainings and make them employable. ejunction provides the following services in this centre: • Active involvement in government primary School through ICT programme for poor children; • Youth vocational training programme on Computer Basic course and making them job ready.

Mr Mahul Brahma, HeadCorporate Communications and Branding, speaking on the “Role of Social Media in Strengthening Business” at an ASSOCHAM seminar on “Financing and Business Solutions for Young Entrepreneurs” at a city hotel in Kolkata on July 17, 2015.

Impact

• So far 120 students have registered for the programme, out of whom 96 attend classes regularly; • 50 students have visited a corporate office and hotel as part of their exposure visit; • 15 have been selected for Hoonar Se Rojgaar, a placement programme organized by Taj Bengal , Kolkata; • 5 have already been selected by BMA Wealth Creators, 2 of the students are working with Axis Bank, 10 candidates are working in Avani Mall; • The remaining are still studying, getting ready for government jobs or doing some odd jobs.

16

J

eet Nandi, the son of Piya Nandi of CSR, won three prizes in the Under 8 Swimmer category at the Indian Life Saving Society (ILSS)’s annual swimming championship.

Jeet received early training in swimming at the ILSS, which was established in 1922 to promote systematic and scientific education in physical culture.

Jeet won the first prize in Breast Stroke, 2nd in Free Style and 3rd in Back Stroke.

For Private Circulation Only Regd. Office: mjunction services limited, Tata Centre, 43 Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Kolkata 700 071, Website: www.mjunction.in Corporate Head Quarters: Godrej Waterside, 3rd Floor, Tower 1, Plot V, Block DP, Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700091, Tel: +91 33 6610 6100, Fax: +91 33 6610 6187 CIN: U00000WB2001PLC115841

POWER TO EMPOWER