nick18_in
Nikhil Gadodia
HI all..
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How the wheels turn at the original Brandwagon
Godrej - a name that is inseparable from the daily life of any Indian. With a wide range of products from soaps, cosmetics, toiletries, edible oils and packaged foods to locks, safe deposit lockers and home appliances… the brand spells reliability and value for money. How is the group doing now, what are the challenges they face, what are their plans for the future, how do they inspire innovation, how do they approach competition…in an exclusive interview with Peopleone Consulting, Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group describes it all.
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What are the challenges being faced by old-line business families like Godrej, as India increasingly opens its economy to the outside world?
The challenges of change. Change in strategy, change in operational efficiency and change in approach to human resource development.
With the demerger of Godrej Soaps Ltd. on April 1st 2001, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) was born. Why and how did it happen? What is the promise that it holds?
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. was demerged from Godrej Soaps to create shareholder value. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. is a highly efficient, focused FMCG company, which owns its own brands and has no investment in other companies. The promise Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. holds is one of increasing shareholder value over the near future.
GCPL announced its large-scale entry into Web marketing with the launch of a special Zone on www.indiatimes.com sponsored by Cinthol. What are the benefits that you expect out of it?
Whilst Godrej Consumer Products have several Web based activities, we do not expect any major early results from our "B" to "C" initiatives. However, we expect our "B" to "B" initiatives with both vendors and dealers to provide strong value.
GCPL has a lot of brands under its umbrella. What sort of market survey and analysis takes place before you come up with a new product/brand? Could you explain the steps one by one, from the time the idea is conceived till the product reaches the market?
We use the innovation funnel for our new product development. Literally, hundreds of ideas are fed into the mouth of the funnel which then get sieved for R&D, technology, consumer research and economic feasibility before we put the few products that come out of the funnel into test marketing and national marketing.
Could you elaborate on your EVA (Economic Value Added) based Performance Management System?
All our businesses are measured on the EVA metric. EVA is profit after weighted cost of capital is deducted. All our teams are on a performance linked variable remuneration system, which has no ceiling and which we expect will be a substantial portion of their total remuneration.
How has the Godrej Group positioned itself in the IT market?
We have two IT companies - Geometric Software Solutions Ltd. (publicly quoted) and Godrej Infotech Ltd. (private). We also have several venture capital investments in IT and IT enabled services.
Godrej Group has several joint ventures. While many have been successful, there are some others, which have failed? What are the lessons that you have learned from the failures?
I would not say that any of our joint ventures have been failures. The group has derived advantage from all our joint ventures. The extent of advantage has varied. The lessons we have learnt are that joint ventures last for a finite period of time and that as the senior management of MNCs change, the outlook towards the joint venture may also change.
What should be a company's approach to competition?
A company's approach to competition is to whole-heartedly welcome it. We, at Godrej, embrace the concept that competition keeps us on our toes and makes us more efficient.
How do you evaluate Indian managers? Do you think they are capable enough to face the competition from foreign markets?
Indian managers when provided with the right developmental environment and opportunities are capable of out performing managers in all parts of the globe.
What according to you is the most key factor that holds an employee to a company?
The key factor that creates employee commitment is the availability of opportunities to perform and grow.
Why should a promising candidate choose your company over the others?
The reason I think promising candidates choose our group over the others are exposure to a learning organization, strong empowerment and strong bottom up involvement in strategy and operation.
What do you do to keep yourself updated?
I keep myself updated by attending interactive sessions with leading thinkers in management and human resource development and especially through my annual participation in the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos.
-->>
How the wheels turn at the original Brandwagon
Godrej - a name that is inseparable from the daily life of any Indian. With a wide range of products from soaps, cosmetics, toiletries, edible oils and packaged foods to locks, safe deposit lockers and home appliances… the brand spells reliability and value for money. How is the group doing now, what are the challenges they face, what are their plans for the future, how do they inspire innovation, how do they approach competition…in an exclusive interview with Peopleone Consulting, Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group describes it all.
-->>>
What are the challenges being faced by old-line business families like Godrej, as India increasingly opens its economy to the outside world?
The challenges of change. Change in strategy, change in operational efficiency and change in approach to human resource development.
With the demerger of Godrej Soaps Ltd. on April 1st 2001, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) was born. Why and how did it happen? What is the promise that it holds?
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. was demerged from Godrej Soaps to create shareholder value. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. is a highly efficient, focused FMCG company, which owns its own brands and has no investment in other companies. The promise Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. holds is one of increasing shareholder value over the near future.
GCPL announced its large-scale entry into Web marketing with the launch of a special Zone on www.indiatimes.com sponsored by Cinthol. What are the benefits that you expect out of it?
Whilst Godrej Consumer Products have several Web based activities, we do not expect any major early results from our "B" to "C" initiatives. However, we expect our "B" to "B" initiatives with both vendors and dealers to provide strong value.
GCPL has a lot of brands under its umbrella. What sort of market survey and analysis takes place before you come up with a new product/brand? Could you explain the steps one by one, from the time the idea is conceived till the product reaches the market?
We use the innovation funnel for our new product development. Literally, hundreds of ideas are fed into the mouth of the funnel which then get sieved for R&D, technology, consumer research and economic feasibility before we put the few products that come out of the funnel into test marketing and national marketing.
Could you elaborate on your EVA (Economic Value Added) based Performance Management System?
All our businesses are measured on the EVA metric. EVA is profit after weighted cost of capital is deducted. All our teams are on a performance linked variable remuneration system, which has no ceiling and which we expect will be a substantial portion of their total remuneration.
How has the Godrej Group positioned itself in the IT market?
We have two IT companies - Geometric Software Solutions Ltd. (publicly quoted) and Godrej Infotech Ltd. (private). We also have several venture capital investments in IT and IT enabled services.
Godrej Group has several joint ventures. While many have been successful, there are some others, which have failed? What are the lessons that you have learned from the failures?
I would not say that any of our joint ventures have been failures. The group has derived advantage from all our joint ventures. The extent of advantage has varied. The lessons we have learnt are that joint ventures last for a finite period of time and that as the senior management of MNCs change, the outlook towards the joint venture may also change.
What should be a company's approach to competition?
A company's approach to competition is to whole-heartedly welcome it. We, at Godrej, embrace the concept that competition keeps us on our toes and makes us more efficient.
How do you evaluate Indian managers? Do you think they are capable enough to face the competition from foreign markets?
Indian managers when provided with the right developmental environment and opportunities are capable of out performing managers in all parts of the globe.
What according to you is the most key factor that holds an employee to a company?
The key factor that creates employee commitment is the availability of opportunities to perform and grow.
Why should a promising candidate choose your company over the others?
The reason I think promising candidates choose our group over the others are exposure to a learning organization, strong empowerment and strong bottom up involvement in strategy and operation.
What do you do to keep yourself updated?
I keep myself updated by attending interactive sessions with leading thinkers in management and human resource development and especially through my annual participation in the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos.
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