WINNERS
Keeping It Simple
SNAPSHOT
Due to Mafatlal’s management structure, the company had its exports and domestic database at its head office where invoices from factories were uploaded. This resulted in inter-database transactions and inefficiencies. The challenge was to merge these databases without losing history and in minimum downtime. What they needed was a de-centralized ERP system. “The CEO threw us a challenge. He said ‘I want simplicity’.” remembers Nikhil Gujar, senior GM-IT, Mafatlal Industries. Today, all factories have their own server enabling invoicing and
PRESIDENT-TExTILES: Rajiv Ranjan REvENuE: Rs 350 crore IT buDgET: Rs 1 crore EmPLOyEES: < 2500 IT STAff: 10 PROjECT: ERP
other business activities. At the end of every day, all invoices are copied to the head office server automatically wherein payments are monitored. Mafatlal Industries gained a 15 percent reduction in inter-database transactions leading to an increased level of productivity. Better still, the project was completed with no downtime. The departments benefiting from the project include accounting and finance, HR and sales and marketing. Because the project entailed the risk of losing data on all the older transactions — as the IT team could not afford to copy databases — it is a truly bold effort. CIO
Nikhil Gujar Mafatlal Industries
Senior General Manager-IT
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S E P T E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 0 8 | REAL CIO WORLD
Vol/3 | ISSUE/21