CIOIN

Chandan Sinha, CIO

GHCL

GHCL believes in being an IT-enabled organization and its vision is: ‘decision-making through IT'

Executive summary

CIO 100 Winner: Chandan Sinha implemented an ERP system that was suitable for the complex operations of a textile company, in the shortest possible time without compromising functionality or quality. The Rs 3-crore project took off on time and introduced substantial benefits.

Incorporated in 1983, GHCL is a global chemical and textile company. On the chemical side, it is one of the largest producers of soda ash in India. In textiles, it produces yarn, griege fabric, bed linen, curtains and duvet covers. GHCL caters to the upper end of the market both domestically and internationally and owns Rosebys, a home decor and lifestyle products company.

To make world-class textiles, the company needed world class systems, systems that could track its products, from both quality and cost perspectives. "The manufacturing of textiles involves various processes like warping, weaving, finishing, cutting, stitching, inspection and packing. There are numerous bills of material and routings at various stages of production. A major concern was tracking work-in-progress against an order, especially export orders which have strict deadlines," says Chandan Sinha, CIO, GHCL. "It was also important to ensure production was achieved within a budgeted cost."

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Another challenge was managing the entire supply chain across the group's multiple plants. There was a need to cut down inventory costs and track its movement, especially with sub-contractors.

Keen on meeting these business needs, Sinha decided to implement an ERP system that was suitable for the complex operations of a textile company.But he had to be quick. His mandate from the business was to implement the system in the shortest possible time without compromising functionality or quality. "Since our implementation partners had a pre-configured solution, we decided on a six-month target for the go-live," says Sinha.

The Rs 3-crore project took off on time and introduced substantial benefits. The new ERP standardized processes across the different units of GHCL, and made accurate information readily availability online to all of them. Where the cost analysis of an order after production was once time consuming, it became immediate. Reports were also now easily available, giving the business a better understanding of the health of the organization. "GHCL believes in being an IT-enabled organization and its IT vision is: 'decision-making through IT'," says Sinha. And they stood by their word.