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Amit Mitra

Mumbai July 21 The Mahindra Group’s wholly owned subsidiary, California-based Bristlecone, which provides supply chain management (SCM) services, is in talks with a few global airline operators to offer SCM solutions.

The company is discussing possible tie-ups in the SCM space with airline operators that are looking for outsourcing components and other related services from India.

Confirming the company’s initiative to foray into the aviation sector, Mr Satish Moorjani, Vice-President (Consulting Services), was however not willing to identify the airline operators.

“It is too early for that. We are only at preliminary discussion stage,” he told Business Line. He said the aviation sector could throw up significant business potential for SCM service providers.

Bristlecone, which was acquired by the Mahindra group about four years ago, has offices in the US, UK, Germany, Singapore and India (Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore). It provides IT-driven SCM packages that encompass production planning and scheduling, procurement planning, inventory management and BPO/KPO services.

In India, it is associated with about 30 companies, including Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and Ranbaxy. Its focus at present is on the pharma, FMCG, oil & gas and automobile sectors.

“For example, we provide SCM solutions for Ranbaxy’s entire Indian operations. And now, we are rolling out our services for Ranbaxy’s US operations,” Mr Moorjani said.

He said the company was also planning to expand its area of operation by moving from pure consulting to actual execution of the SCM packages. “Mind you, we are not looking to enter into physical movement of goods or the logistics space. Our focus will remain on IT-enabled supply chain management,” he pointed out.

Also, it will be sharpening its focus on a new business model envisaging the company’s earnings based on the cost saved by its clients through implementation of the SCM packages.

“Outsourcing of SCM is still at its nascent stage in India. We feel that this model, in which our earnings will depend on how much cost savings we notch up for our clients, would attract new clients,” he pointed out.

Bristlecone’s services to the Mahindra group account for less than five per cent of the company’s total business. This is however expected to grow with the Mahindras planning to ramp up its capacities.

More Stories on : Airlines | Outsourcing | Supply Chain Management

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