Picking up the thread

L.N. Revathy

IT'S still a puzzle. Although most business houses are well aware that IT can give them that vital edge over their rivals, the textile units, particularly in this part of the country, have been quite unwilling to admit it.

The forward- looking units have moved ahead, while the rest continue to contend that IT is only a tool and that investment in IT alone does not ensure success.

And the fact remains that IT penetration in the textile industry has been rather low. It's amazing but true - less than 2 per cent of the 300-odd units in and around this region have really invested in hardcore IT solutions, besides implementing them.

The poor IT penetration levels have been attributed to the industrial slowdown and the sickness that has befallen the textiles sector. Leave alone the smaller units, even medium-sized units with a spindelage capacity of 12000 upwards are not looking at IT investments from a long-term perspective. They merely state that the climate is not favourable for such an investment.

A number of units have invested in specific packages such as accounting and inventory, which have been sourced from local vendors. Of course, on the manufacturing side, investment in state-of-the art machineries, to monitor the production systems and the ring-data, has been made, albeit a long time ago.

Considering the tight situation that this sector is passing through, the atmosphere, in a majority of the units, is hostile as the management is now in a fire-fighting mood. They have set priorities such as selling yarn and importing cotton, besides looking at opportunities for improvement, such as downsizing of workforce, power cost etc.

The South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) is understood to have made a study on prospective investment in IT by the textile units to ensure total automation, both in manufacturing and the business process. But the study, according to SITRA sources, has no relevance in the present-day context, as the enterprises have remained internally focussed for most of the last century.

However, a couple of units have achieved a significant scale of transformation as their dependence on technology for automation has increased considerably. These are the market leaders today. Here's following one such example.

The GTN story

GTN Textiles Ltd, the flagship company of the GTN Group engaged in the manufacture and export of high quality fine and super fine cotton yarn, has continued its growth in exports despite a recessionary environment.

This multi-locational unit (with five factories and four offices across different States) has gone in for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation to strengthen its investment and growth agenda.

The Managing Director, Umang Patodia, claims that GTN is the second company after Arvind Mills to implement SAP. Not many players in the textile industry are into it, he says, adding, ''We did not look at what the others in the industry were doing, but on what the industry did and where it was heading.''

Conceding that the first 18 months were tough, he says, ''we were sure that the investment would transform the company in a phased manner for greater ease of integration.''

Despite the recessionary conditions, the company is continuing the upgradation programme. He says it has helped in eliminating repetitive activity, ensured quality and above all, helped in stepping up the decision-making process. ''Earlier, there was a time-gap in communication because our factories are located in Maharashtra and Kerala. Now we have the advantage of a centralised control system.''

He is unwilling to quantify the cost benefit. ''We tried to work out cost angles, but it is quite impossible to work out the cost benefit. We have grown in the last four years and that definitely is a pay-back for us. The investment is not much, as long as you have a decent size,'' he says.

Will the GTN experience inspire more success stories?

lnr@thehindu.co.in

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