As a segment of four part talk series of Azaadi ka Mahotsav; C4i4 Lab, Centre for Industry 4.0 commemorates: Journey of India, Swadeshi to Atmanirbhar; in the first part Mr. Vikram Kirloskar, Chairman and Managing Director, Kirloskar Systems; shared his views on how it is important to be competitive given the current market dynamics.He shares his valuable suggestions on Indian talent, latest trends in manufacturing and its scope, digitalization and many more he was interviewed by Mr. Shripad Ranade - ICF Credentialed Leadership Coach and Management Consultant.
Pro MFG Media, is the official media partner for the series.
Kirloskar name represents a glorious tradition of self-reliance and manufacturing. Starting from Swadeshi and now working on Atmanirbhar, what are your thoughts on these two ideas getting juxtaposed?
Vikram Kirloskar. I believe the attitude of: ‘There’s nothing we cannot make’, runs in our genes. Growing up, I was never scared to get a particular item or make it; whether it was a part of the product we make, or getting it imported. We made products without caring much about its cost, as we were sure we will be able to sell it. However the big change from then to now is that now the competition has increased and especially in the last 10-15 years in the manufacturing sector where people are focusing on competitiveness in a much stronger way. So whatever we make today, has to stay ahead of competition and for me, it means my self-confidence has to be competitive. I don't think protectionism is the key to Atmanirbhar. I would like to see the manufacturing industry follow the trend of how competitive they can be and that will take them forward.
In the engineering industry there’s a dire need of high quality talent. How are we doing on talent? And is our talent lagging behind what the industry needs? What do you think we need to do within the talent ecosystem in India?
Vikram Kirloskar- I think there is talent in abundance. There is a superb engineering college talent and we are making great engineers, who are providing excellence in the service industry. They are able to come up with innovative ideas, develop software; and we're able to sell it all over the world. I think it's quite fantastic. However on the manufacturing side, the attitude of people towards talent needs a drastic change. A person working with his hands is equally important in the social hierarchy and this is the kind of attitude we expect from people; because they do add tremendous quality into manufacturing. Also, higher importance should be given to manual skill development.
At C4i4 Lab, the Centre for Industry 4.0, we are determined to aid Indian manufacturing to adopt digitization, but the challenge is that at the company level people are unclear of its overall purpose and scope. What do you recommend, how should companies embark on their digitization journey?
Vikram Kirloskar- The basic purpose of digitalization should be to enhance your customers’ experience. The customer should get a better product followed by better service, on-time delivery and right information. The most important of all is that the customers’ ideas should be reflected back in products, as fast as possible. Digitalization should ensure to meet customers’ requirements in a much better way, in a more competitive manner, and this level of quality should be maintained.
If the supply chain is narrowed down into small factories, there's a customer for every part of that supply chain and it is a good way to ensure customer satisfaction across the chain. So if I'm supplying a machine part to the assembly, how do I enhance the experience to my assembly customer, should be the main question.
In order to be competitive at a global level, excellence across all aspects is vital; and if you look at banks today, their applications are not only easier to use but it provides for fast transfer of money across accounts. In manufacturing, if I have supplied a product to a particular field, and I have decided some people will do the needful but there’s a problem; how fast can the information from the service engineer flow back through the company through its various departments, in order to make a change so that it's permanently solved. Digitalization can come to rescue here. So the imagination should be let open wide, and with continuous focus on the customer; new innovations and digitalization will enable growth.
Another important aspect is that the manufacturers should ensure they are not producing waste; but are producing products of value.
How should the industry and academia interact effectively?
Vikram Kirloskar We need to have a better relationship with engineering colleges, not just the IITs but also the other local engineering colleges, to challenge them on what they can do in terms of R&D. According to me there are several resources in terms of skills and knowledge facilities. As an industry it becomes our responsibility to engage with more regional engineering colleges, motivating more and more R&D. Atmanirbhar is about self-confidence. I have a vision that industry and academia should work together hand-in-hand in the long run. There are small projects in individual companies which can be successfully executed and I think giving boost to those and enabling marketing for them, is a remarkable way to start.
You mentioned sustainability as a key element in being competitive. Kindly give your views on Circular Economy.
Vikram Kirloskar - We are working on our entire environment removing waste and several activities are being conducted to reduce energy consumption. We have reduced water wastage and we have stopped using government water anymore, except for the canteen due to various psychological reasons. But everything else is recycled and we are using rainwater harvesting. We have also ended up reducing the solvent use in our manufacturing processes.
We've more than 97-98% of our packaging material which is recyclable, reusable, the material which is non recyclable, we don't use it in packaging at all. It comes in pallets which are folded and go back for reuse. Same thing has been followed pertaining to service parts. So it’s a huge saving for us and has lowered our costs tremendously. and the investment was next to zero. We have opted foo renewable power and that too almost 100% renewable power. I believe that the environment works in a two-way contribution where you get your goods from the environment while when you reduce your carbon footprint; also it helps saves you money.
Vikram Kirloskar:
Vikram Kirloskar has many credentials to his name: President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering, MIT; and Chairman and Managing Director, Kirloskar Systems. He is also the Vice-Chairman: Toyota Kirloskar Motor; Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts. He also serves on the Government of India Development Council for automobiles and the National Council for electric mobility. He is also been bestowed with: IIM-JRD Tata Award for 2020 by the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM). The award was conferred to him for his service to the country for his 'Excellence in Corporate Leadership in Metallurgical Industries'.
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