As part of a restructuring exercise, Tata Global Beverages (TGBL) has brought its businesses in Canada, America and Australia (CAA); and the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) regions under a single International Business Division.

“This is a part of our aim to simplify our operations outside of India. Instead of having two separate super structures requiring regional headquarters, staffing and manning, and associated cost,we have merged them into one,” Ajoy K Misra, CEO and Managing Director of TGBL, told BusinessLine in a telephonic interview.

According to the company’s recent annual report, the CAA region reported revenue of ₹1,733 crore in FY18, a 9 per cent growth over FY17; while the EMEA region registered a 13 per cent dip at ₹1,346 crore during the same period.

For the year ended March 31, 2018, TGBL’s consolidated revenue from operations stood at ₹6,815 crore.

The company is now left with a separate South-Asian division dealing with India and Bangladesh. TGBL has already exited the tea business in Russia, plantations in Sri Lanka and the B2B tea business in China. The company is also reworking its product portfolio in the US and the UK markets which are moving away from consumption of black tea. TGBL, which had a higher weightage of black tea, enhanced its focus on other categories, including green tea under the Tetley brand.

Back-end processes

TGBL has also outsourced some of its back-end processes, including finance, HR and other administrative areas spread across various regions, including India, the US and the UK, to Tata Consultancy Services in Kolkata.

According to Misra, the move will bring efficiency and cost optimisation. “It will enhance our focus on core business, release a lot of time people were spending on transactional work, and enable our business managers to focus only on core business activity, growth and expansion,” he said.

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