One day Forum on Global Supply Chain Strategy in India raises questions for both academia and industry
The one-day forum on Global Supply Chain Strategy in India was hosted by IIMB on November 23, 2013 in collaboration with Wharton School, USA and MIT, USA.
A distinguished panel of academics and industry experts highlighted the need for manufacturing and ITES to build synergies in India in order to become part of global supply chain networks.
Delivering the first keynote address, Dr. Devanath Tirupati, Director In-charge, IIMB and EADS- Chair Professor of Sourcing & Supply Management, set the context of the forum. "Till now, the dominant strategy was outsourcing to various vendors; now anecdotal evidence suggests that manufacturing is moving closer to the markets. Academics, therefore, need to study the trade-offs involved in the change in strategy and the implications of this change on performance of manufacturing firms," he said.
Dr Pankaj Chandra, Professor, Production & Operations Management, IIMB, in his presentation on 'Crossing Paths with Global Chains: Building Capabilities', explained the need for India to become part of global production networks.
Quoting from the Economic Survey of India (Feb, 2013), Dr Chandra said: "The issue of employment has seized us in India where there is a shift from agriculture to industry ('kharkhane mein kisan'). Industry is creating jobs but they are low productivity jobs. Also, in India, the number of young people joining the workforce is going to be huge. In this background, global supply chain networks must unlock value from unbundling of production of products and services, by building capabilities and by generating employment."
Observing that supply chains globally are in transition, he asked if India firms are ready to plug into this transition, setting the tone for the afternoon's industry panel discussion.
In the strategic view of global supply chains that he presented, Dr Chandra remarked that the most exciting phase is when firms start to use local capabilities to develop products and services globally, and develop new markets. "These are times when manufacturers do not need to set up factories of their own provided they start servicing customized demand by providing hi-precision, i-quality niche products," he explained.
Listing the unique features of Indian manufacturing and ITES firms, Dr Chandra hoped a potential world beater (Indian ITES firms) and a sector with huge potential (manufacturing) draw from each other instead of crossing each other with little or no synergies.
He called for an increased spending in training. "We should invest in high order skills and high order machines. We should understand that managerial and technical skills are not tradeable. Industry must argue for infrastructure and skill building. In this context, we must learn from China," he suggested.
Professor Morris A Cohen, Panasonic Professor of Manufacturing and Logistics, Wharton School, USA, said the forum on global supply chains has been to different parts of the world (USA first; then China; now India) because it seeks different regional perspectives on what drives firms to change their supply chain strategies.
Professor Cohen called for research in understanding why firms are changing their supply chain strategies; where the changes are taking place - products, services or regions; and what is the expected or actual impact of such changes on performance.
The Forum's mid-morning and noon panels comprised industry leaders from India and abroad articulating their points of view. The Keynote Speakers were Mr. Bernard Richardot, Vice President, Procurement, Airbus; Mr. Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM; Mr. Arvind Melligeri, Chairman, Quest Global; Mr. Chris Rao, Vice President, UTC Aerospace Systems; Mr. Moti Gyamlani, Global Director - Supply Chain, Airtel; Mr. R Rajagopalan, General Manager & Head ISCM, Watches & Accessories, Titan; and Professor Devanath Tirupati, Dean (Academic) and EADS Chair Professor, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
The Forum participants included senior managers from Manufacturing, IT and Service industries.
Welcoming the speakers to the panel discussion, Professor N M Agrawal, IIMB, said: “The discussion will mainly focus on the manufacturing & services domain and the ways and means to manage knowledge workers in the supply chain management industry”.
Mr. Bernanrd Richardot, Vice President, Procurement, Airbus, and one of the panelists said, “Airbus is a performance based procurement organization where we slowly but surely moved from reactive mode to preventive mode over the years”. Observing industry trends in the Indian market, he said: “The sourcing drive of India is in an interesting zone. There is value for cost; risk management is less and engineering capabilities are far supreme. We must invest and also source more from India.” He indicated the major shift in India’s supply chain industry, which was more public centric in 2006. “From 2012, we are sourcing more from private sector than national companies.”
Continuing on the same lines, Mr. Aravind Melligeri, Co-founder & Chairman, QuEST Global, which is a major supplier of some parts to Airbus, listed and described the challenges of global supply chain management in India. He said, “Aerospace industry is neither supported by the Government nor well understood by banks and credit rating companies, which in turn impacts our ability to raise capital”. He observed that the lack of investment is a major drawback for a country, which has high potential to become a globally competitive supply chain market. “We need a national strategy for a conducive Indian aerospace industry. In other words, we need creation of real in-country aerospace demand; low cost funding; and promotion of regional eco-systems for better supply-chain.” According to him, China is the best country where aerospace industry flourishes with Government’s aid.
Mr. Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM, summed up the first panel discussion, saying: “Terms like outsourcing, off-shoring will vanish as ‘specialists’ take over. It is better to say sourcing ‘specialists’ for specific parts.” Terming ‘innovation’ as the next big driver for the supply chain industry, he said: “Supply chain of innovation will be the topic of our next conference”. In his concluding remarks, he said: “Technology will continue to expand the global supply chain and will include all.”
In the afternoon session, speakers mainly discussed the origin and development of supply chain in industries like watch & accessories and telecommunication.
Mr. Chris Rao, Vice President & Head of UTAS India, described ‘raw material availability’ as the biggest drawback for the country in the aerospace industry. He said, “India is a successful global supply chain hub thanks to its IP protection laws, comprehensive manufacturing environment and qualified work force,” he added.
Mr. Moti Gyamlani, Director, Global Supply Chain, Bharti Airtel, spoke briefly on the ways to implement strategic and centralized regime for procurement and supply chain across the organization, effectively manage the full life-cycle of supplier interaction and build deep effective relationships with the partners.
Mr. R Rajagopalan, General Manager & Head ISCM, Watches & Accessories, Titan, spoke on adapting Green Supply Chain Management across all levels in Titan. He said, “Leveraging is the significant component of success in Titan.”
One day Forum on Global Supply Chain Strategy in India raises questions for both academia and industry
The one-day forum on Global Supply Chain Strategy in India was hosted by IIMB on November 23, 2013 in collaboration with Wharton School, USA and MIT, USA.
A distinguished panel of academics and industry experts highlighted the need for manufacturing and ITES to build synergies in India in order to become part of global supply chain networks.
Delivering the first keynote address, Dr. Devanath Tirupati, Director In-charge, IIMB and EADS- Chair Professor of Sourcing & Supply Management, set the context of the forum. "Till now, the dominant strategy was outsourcing to various vendors; now anecdotal evidence suggests that manufacturing is moving closer to the markets. Academics, therefore, need to study the trade-offs involved in the change in strategy and the implications of this change on performance of manufacturing firms," he said.
Dr Pankaj Chandra, Professor, Production & Operations Management, IIMB, in his presentation on 'Crossing Paths with Global Chains: Building Capabilities', explained the need for India to become part of global production networks.
Quoting from the Economic Survey of India (Feb, 2013), Dr Chandra said: "The issue of employment has seized us in India where there is a shift from agriculture to industry ('kharkhane mein kisan'). Industry is creating jobs but they are low productivity jobs. Also, in India, the number of young people joining the workforce is going to be huge. In this background, global supply chain networks must unlock value from unbundling of production of products and services, by building capabilities and by generating employment."
Observing that supply chains globally are in transition, he asked if India firms are ready to plug into this transition, setting the tone for the afternoon's industry panel discussion.
In the strategic view of global supply chains that he presented, Dr Chandra remarked that the most exciting phase is when firms start to use local capabilities to develop products and services globally, and develop new markets. "These are times when manufacturers do not need to set up factories of their own provided they start servicing customized demand by providing hi-precision, i-quality niche products," he explained.
Listing the unique features of Indian manufacturing and ITES firms, Dr Chandra hoped a potential world beater (Indian ITES firms) and a sector with huge potential (manufacturing) draw from each other instead of crossing each other with little or no synergies.
He called for an increased spending in training. "We should invest in high order skills and high order machines. We should understand that managerial and technical skills are not tradeable. Industry must argue for infrastructure and skill building. In this context, we must learn from China," he suggested.
Professor Morris A Cohen, Panasonic Professor of Manufacturing and Logistics, Wharton School, USA, said the forum on global supply chains has been to different parts of the world (USA first; then China; now India) because it seeks different regional perspectives on what drives firms to change their supply chain strategies.
Professor Cohen called for research in understanding why firms are changing their supply chain strategies; where the changes are taking place - products, services or regions; and what is the expected or actual impact of such changes on performance.
The Forum's mid-morning and noon panels comprised industry leaders from India and abroad articulating their points of view. The Keynote Speakers were Mr. Bernard Richardot, Vice President, Procurement, Airbus; Mr. Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM; Mr. Arvind Melligeri, Chairman, Quest Global; Mr. Chris Rao, Vice President, UTC Aerospace Systems; Mr. Moti Gyamlani, Global Director - Supply Chain, Airtel; Mr. R Rajagopalan, General Manager & Head ISCM, Watches & Accessories, Titan; and Professor Devanath Tirupati, Dean (Academic) and EADS Chair Professor, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
The Forum participants included senior managers from Manufacturing, IT and Service industries.
Welcoming the speakers to the panel discussion, Professor N M Agrawal, IIMB, said: “The discussion will mainly focus on the manufacturing & services domain and the ways and means to manage knowledge workers in the supply chain management industry”.
Mr. Bernanrd Richardot, Vice President, Procurement, Airbus, and one of the panelists said, “Airbus is a performance based procurement organization where we slowly but surely moved from reactive mode to preventive mode over the years”. Observing industry trends in the Indian market, he said: “The sourcing drive of India is in an interesting zone. There is value for cost; risk management is less and engineering capabilities are far supreme. We must invest and also source more from India.” He indicated the major shift in India’s supply chain industry, which was more public centric in 2006. “From 2012, we are sourcing more from private sector than national companies.”
Continuing on the same lines, Mr. Aravind Melligeri, Co-founder & Chairman, QuEST Global, which is a major supplier of some parts to Airbus, listed and described the challenges of global supply chain management in India. He said, “Aerospace industry is neither supported by the Government nor well understood by banks and credit rating companies, which in turn impacts our ability to raise capital”. He observed that the lack of investment is a major drawback for a country, which has high potential to become a globally competitive supply chain market. “We need a national strategy for a conducive Indian aerospace industry. In other words, we need creation of real in-country aerospace demand; low cost funding; and promotion of regional eco-systems for better supply-chain.” According to him, China is the best country where aerospace industry flourishes with Government’s aid.
Mr. Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM, summed up the first panel discussion, saying: “Terms like outsourcing, off-shoring will vanish as ‘specialists’ take over. It is better to say sourcing ‘specialists’ for specific parts.” Terming ‘innovation’ as the next big driver for the supply chain industry, he said: “Supply chain of innovation will be the topic of our next conference”. In his concluding remarks, he said: “Technology will continue to expand the global supply chain and will include all.”
In the afternoon session, speakers mainly discussed the origin and development of supply chain in industries like watch & accessories and telecommunication.
Mr. Chris Rao, Vice President & Head of UTAS India, described ‘raw material availability’ as the biggest drawback for the country in the aerospace industry. He said, “India is a successful global supply chain hub thanks to its IP protection laws, comprehensive manufacturing environment and qualified work force,” he added.
Mr. Moti Gyamlani, Director, Global Supply Chain, Bharti Airtel, spoke briefly on the ways to implement strategic and centralized regime for procurement and supply chain across the organization, effectively manage the full life-cycle of supplier interaction and build deep effective relationships with the partners.
Mr. R Rajagopalan, General Manager & Head ISCM, Watches & Accessories, Titan, spoke on adapting Green Supply Chain Management across all levels in Titan. He said, “Leveraging is the significant component of success in Titan.”