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According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market in India is set to double from $14.7 billion in 2008-09 to $30 billion by 2012. With an eye to bagging lucrative business deals thrown up by the growth spurt in the FMCG sector, CavinKare Private Limited (CKPL) realised that it needed a robust and transparent telecommunications infrastructure that would provide it with project visibility and help it scale up rapidly in response to market opportunities.

tele.net tracks the development of CKPL's communications infrastructure...

Background

Incorporated in 1983, CavinKare started out as a small partnership firm. The company, which began its journey as Chik India Limited, was renamed CKPL in 1998.Currently, the company markets 10 major brands ranging from personal care products such as hair care, skin care and home care products to food products. It has also diversified into different industry segments such as the juice market by acquiring MAA Fruits, the dairy products segment through the acquisition of Prakash Dairies, etc.

Legacy system

In the early days, the FMCG major made use of a highly heterogeneous communications infrastructure. All departments within the head office and branch offices were connected via a local area network, and all computers were connected to one main server. Each branch office had its own IT and telecom set-up, which functioned independently with no link to the main office. This meant that sharing and transfer of data between the main and branch offices was not possible. These islands of information were a major drawback for the company, as it meant replication of work, wastage of time and resources as well as frequent delays. The transmission of data was done manually since all applications were based on FoxPro and it was a time-consuming task to consolidate data from all the offices.Also, within the organisation, CKPL utilised plain old telephone systems and email servers for external communication.

However, as its responsibilities expanded, the company realised that the IT and telecom infrastructure was very limiting. A robust and flexible telecom infrastructure was the need of the hour.

The shift

To begin with, CKPL turned its attention to enhancing its wide area network connectivity. A mix of technologies was used, which included digital loop carriers for local loop and national long distance connectivity, ISDN, very small aperture terminals (VSATs), the internet, multiprotocol label switching-virtual private networks (VPNs) and internet protocol-VPNs.

Each medium of connectivity had a specific, defined function. For instance, 128 kbps leased lines helped the company maintain seamless connectivity with its branch offices. The "always-on" connectivity provided by the medium came at a flat charge, which gave CKPL a clear picture of how much its communicationrelated costs would be. Sify Technologies was the preferred service provider for both national and local connectivity.

Similarly, the 128 kbps ISDN connectivity helped in video conferencing, thereby trimming overheads and, at the same time, offering a convenient medium of communication. Also, the entity's 64 kbps VSAT connectivity afforded the company several advantages, including quick installation, low initial investment, and usage of existing satellite technology.For last mile access, CKPL used digital subscriber line connectivity as well as wireless connectivity, that is, radio frequency.

Apart from standard enterprise applications such as email, the company also made use of web hosting, video conferencing, audio conferencing and instant messaging. Audio and video conferencing helped CKPL to communicate with its various offices in India and abroad in an economical manner.

CKPL has been using a host of enterprise mobility applications, given that a significant percentage of its workforce is mobile for a significant period of time.These solutions include mobile email, mobile data connectivity, conferencing, corporate intranet, and field and sales force automation. As security is a major concern, CKPL has opted for several security measures for its communication network. These modules include the access log, firewalls, proxy servers and operating system security patches.

Moreover, CKPL has implemented distribution and vendor management systems nationwide to streamline processes. These are web-enabled processes that provide sales data from across the country on a weekly basis. The company will also be implementing a stockist-tracking software.This will allow a stockist to be connected to CKPL's web-enabled system and provide it with sales data on a daily basis. This data is to be connected to CKPL's enterprise resource planning set-up so that the company is informed about how much inventory needs to be maintained. CKPL will also receive data for better supply chain management, which will enable it to know if production planning is on track.

Benefits

The biggest benefit for CKPL was that the day-to-day tasks could be carried out effectively and without fear of loss or of compromising data. Seamless connectivity between the offices led to easy sharing of as well as access to data and information.

Conclusion

Net, net, by stepping up its IT and telecom infrastructure, the company was able to reduce communication costs as well as improve and enhance its overall productivity and efficiency. Going forward, in order to implement an international network, CKPL is looking to grow its telecom budget by 5-10 per cent between the current and the next fiscal year.