ITC Lifestyle’s Proactive Planning Reaps Benefits

At ITC's LRBD, capacity planning and critical path management was mainly performed on Excel spreadsheets, based on information contained in its ERP. Different spreadsheets were used to control different facets of the plan (like pre-production cut, sewing, etcetera) and these were not linked. Changes that occured in the plan and communicating those changes to multiple stakeholders was time consuming and difficult.

Sarkar realized if the company wanted to stay ahead, the system had to change. "Plans are not concrete in a changing world.  One should have the ability to re-plan and react quickly to market changes and those changes need to be communicated to the team on time," he says.

He resorted to 'Fastreact Evolution' - a specialized planning tool for the apparel and textile business. "The tool provides companies with heightened visibility into the status of all orders being planned, and allows users quick and easy access to changes in plans," says Sarkar.  It would help management prioritize work and identify problems well in advance to take corrective action. The software is server-based and has been integrated with existing ERP. Users can access the relevant modules through the company's intranet.

One of the challenges was breaking the power heirarchy that had established in the organization because information which was earlier available to a select few, was now available to all. Sarkar had to bring the management in to change that.

Now, status of each order is visible to all stakeholders on a common scoreboard.  Proactive alerts in the system as well as e-mail alerts are sent to the concerned employees as well as their superiors on a daily basis so that they can prioritize. Planners can re-plan quickly based on the circumstances resulting in quicker turnaround times. "Thanks to this project, today ITC is better committed to delivery dates," says Sarkar.

The Person Behind It

Subhasis Sarkar, Divisional CIO

ITC Lifestyle Retailing Business Division

“This project has been a game changer because not only does it help in better planning but also incorporates changes in the plan.”