Information Technology

Information Technology - Bringing Competitive Advantage to Marico's Business Evolution:
Information Technology (IT) is becoming increasingly relevant for the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry of which Marico is a constituent. A widespread supply chain network of manufacturing locations on one hand and dealers and retailers on the other makes timely availability of real time information very crucial for planning & decision making.

With a proactive realization of how IT can add value to business, Marico has been continuously upgrading its IT infrastructure. From distributed and unconnected IT systems, Marico has migrated to a centralized and integrated IT architecture, riding a successful change management process.

IT infrastructure:
Marico's IT infrastructure comprises:
SAP suite of R/3, Business Warehouse and APO - a Supply Chain solution.
Intel Itanium 2 servers hosting the SAP Suite of products.
Mi-Net, an internet enabled B2B platform for the sales force.
MIDAS, a transaction processing software for Marico's distributors.
A state of the art connectivity network comprising VSATs, VPNs, Leased Circuits and Internet VPNs connecting all the factories, regional offices, depots and some subcontractors of Marico to the centralized data center in Mumbai
Citrix solutions that help Marico in reduce traffic on the network.
Storage technologies like SAN and NAS that help Marico reduce the storage costs.
Firewall, Anti Virus Software & Intrusion Detection Systems to ensure comprehensive security of the Information Systems.
Aventail Smart SSL VPN to enable secure remote access from anywhere in the world.
Marico was the first in India to go live on SAP R/3 suite of products comprising SAP R/3, APO and BIW with a big bang approach completing the implementation within a record 9-month period. Marico won the SAP Star award for this implementation.

Marico has since extended the SAP R/3 system to its overseas operations in Bangladesh & Kaya, the skin care services venture of Marico.

In FY 2004-05, Marico upgraded its SAP suite to the latest release to improve performance & leverage the new features of the latest release. Marico also was one of the early adopters of the Intel Itanium 2 platform, harnessing the power of 64-bit computing to deliver improved performance and benefits to the business.

Sales Force productivity is the key to any FMCG company's ability to service its customers better and Marico is no exception. Marico has therefore implemented MIDAS and Mi-Net for the following business benefits:

Improvement in forecast accuracy Reduction in sales Skew Reduction in planning cycle time Reduction in late deliveries Reactivation of lapsed outlets Improvement in return on investment for the distributor Reduction in the working capital requirement Reduction in claim pilferage

Besides cost savings, these benefits have enhanced Marico's ability to service its consumers - making its brands available at the right time, at the right places in right quantities and for the right value add to its stake holders.

Accolades:
Intelligent Enterprise Award (Retail & Consumer Products) by Network Magazine and Ernst & Young in 2004.
Finalist in the Wharton - Infosys Business Transformation Award in the Asia Pacific region in 2004.
STAR installation award by SAP for successful implementation of SAP in 2001.
Lakshya award from NITIE for Mi-Net in 2002.

Going Forward:
Going forward, Marico has identified various areas to be impacted by IT. These include:

Connecting Marico's supplier base and enabling information collaboration with them. Automating the processes related to Human Capital Management. Automating the Product Lifecycle Management processes. Enhancing employee productivity through collaboration & conferencing tools.