5 minute read
Betting Big on Product Innovation and Development
and created a robust strategy for the same. Accordingly, we have migrated all instances of our ERP to the cloud and are in the process for other business-critical applications. It brings scalability, agility, security, and a lower cost of ownership. This is a stepping stone towards our journey of new edge technologies; AI/ML/IoT whenever and wherever required.
We have embarked on a multi-year transformation journey where we aim to achieve industry leading growth rate in line with marquee value creators, and market leaders in wires and cables and build a robust new age consumer electricals business. Project Leap is a multi-year transformational programme aimed at having the right building blocks in place which will enable us to achieve 200 billion of the top line by FY26. It includes a range of strategic themes and initiatives focused on growth, profitability, and long-term capacity building for the organisation across B2B and B2C businesses
Polycab's key themes and priorities for the coming year are:
l Go-to-Market - Digitise the entire distribution ecosystem Scale up in emerging India and alternate channels l Customer Centricity - enhance visibility and control of secondary sales by significantly improving understanding end users
l Winning with new products - execute the NPD roadmap to drive market share gains as well as premiumisation
l Governance - monitor progress of all building blocks towards clearly defining growth and profitability drivers
Mr. Manjit Singh, Executive Director – Cables, KEC International Ltd.
BS: We constantly strive to improve our operations through the adoption of the latest advanced technologies and digitalisation. We look at technology as an enabler and continue to invest in solutions aimed to improve efficiency, optimise inventory levels, and streamline the supply chain, thereby reducing dead stock with trade/company and improving receivables. We are leveraging digital to transform our business and using analytics to promote integrated business decision-making.
Meanwhile, the sectors that we serve, such as construction, consumer goods, utilities and telecommunications are being disrupted by Industry 4.0 technologies. As a major player in the wire & cables and FMEG industry, we are assessing the situation and devising our growth strategies accordingly.
BS: We are constantly working to upgrade the technology used in the production process and bring to the table customer-centric meaningful innovations. Polycab India manufactures halogen-free cable with energyefficient E-Beam technology facilitates high energy saving and reduces carbon footprint. The wires & cables produced from E-Beam technology are having excellent electrical, mechanical and fire properties with low production of waste and causing no harm to the environment. We have relaunched Polycab Green Wire with a new product proposition that emphasises the use of 5-in-1 Green Shield technology. Our products reflect a genuine sense of ecoconsciousness and are produced using environment-friendly materials and processes that conserve energy and natural resources.
KEC International: Betting Big on Product Innovation and Development
Our technology roadmap includes the development of new products for railway applications to cater to the demand from the railway segment. We have also been working on speciality cables for the Indian Navy to strengthen our product portfolio in the defence sector besides expanding our telecom portfolio. ”
Wire & Cable India: Please highlight technology and quality development or up-gradation that recently took place.
Manjit Singh: At KEC International Ltd., we have a continued focus on innovation and new product development to cater to industry needs. Recently, we have developed a hybrid cable that integrates power cable with optical fibre cable for a few private utilities. We are also focusing on new product development in the field of railways, metro rail, defence, marine, telecom, etc., to penetrate further into the market and cater to wider business segments. Our in-house R&D centres in Vadodara & Mysore factories are now recognised by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India.
WCI: What have you been doing to foster innovation and R&D at your workplace?
MS: Innovation and R&D is deeply ingrained in KEC's ethos. We are developing a special compound to be used in fire survival cables, which will be an alternative design for conventional fire survival cables. We are also developing formulations for special insulation and sheathing compounds to maintain quality. As a testament to our focus on quality and innovation, we have won several awards recently, which include 'Manufacturing Excellence' award by Frost & Sullivan and a runner-up award in 'Process' category at the All India Kaizen Competition organised by Baroda Productivity Council.
WCI: What is your technology and business roadmap for the coming times?
MS: Our technology roadmap includes the development of new products for railway applications to cater to the demand from the railway segment. We have also been working on speciality cables for the Indian Navy to strengthen our product portfolio in the defence sector. Additionally, we are also expanding our telecom portfolio in line with the new investments announced for the sector.
MS: We have taken various initiatives under industry 4.0 such as:
Connected Machines
l Real time OEE l Track & trace through RFID l Material consumption vs BOM
Analysis
l RCCP -Digital planning l Predictive Maintenance l Optimisation (Real time DOE study for optimal CCV line speed)
Smart Process
l Proactive quality approach (In process parameter measurement) l Energy Monitoring & Control l Shop Floor Control (Digital work orders/Job card)
Apart from this, we are also working on the development of software for cable size selection, optimum drum size selection and e-CRM for sales &Business Development.
MS: We have developed hybrid cables which are OFC embedded cables that enable utilities to optimise their costs. We are also developing overhead conductors for high-speed railway applications in view of the investments planned by the Ministry of Railways under the Mission Raftaar Scheme.
