Banking on innovation
For more than a decade, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd has stayed true to the tenet of technological perfection Hi-tech products cannot be just sold; they have to be delivered by someone as skilled as those who produce it. Armed with this awareness, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd has successfully embarked on the path it set for itself, becoming one of the most reputed automation companies in India.
T some, the debate of old versus new, experience versus innovation is passé. To sell sophisticated technology, the mantra is young products, packed with expertise and experience, and delivered through skilled hands, explains PV Sivaram, Managing Director, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd, with characteristic simplicity. PV Sivaram, Managing Director, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd Satish Ansingkar, Vice President – Sales, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd The company started its Indian operations with the first office in Pune in 1998, and since then there has been no looking back. With the latest and best technology in human machine interfaces (HMIs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), industrial PCs, remote I/O and user-friendly software tools, it has earned the reputation of a premium automation company. The initial years Back in 1996-97, when restrictive trade policies made it difficult for multinationals to penetrate the Indian market, B&R had identified India an avenue for future growth. The vision behind setting up a subsidiary was to “create a local team to deliver the technology which would surely be needed,” reminisces Sivaram – and the company wanted to be ready with the technology when it would be needed. Today, the headquarters spread over 7000 sq ft premises in Pune, regional offices in Ahmedabad and Bangalore besides support centres in Delhi, Chennai and Baroda. “As for our products, they are in commission from the Himalayas all the way to Kanya Kumari,” beams Sivaram. Customer-friendly According to Satish Ansingkar, Vice President – Sales, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd, B&R is a sales and engineering company, and not a production company, so the customer is at the centre of their every discussion and every activity is focussed on him. He explains that the Indian customer not only has to be given a technologically superior product, but also has to be offered a good price point. “Indian customers are very demanding, and demands are not always logical,” smiles Ansingkar, alluding to the painstaking albeit rewarding process of educating the customer in the process of generating business. He adds, “we have not only survived that, but managed to grow.” Tackling competition Sivaram acknowledges every one of the small and large players in the field today as potential competitors who have to be taken seriously - “ideas are not the monopoly of any one entity,” he points. “We do not do things because nobody else is doing it, we do what is needed by our customers,” says Ansingkar. Good times in offing The market for automation is also getting bigger. As Ansingkar points out, while earlier it was focussed on a few cities and locations, today manufacturers in the most remote locations are aware of the possibilities, advantages, as well as working of automation systems. “The awareness is growing and so is the demand. OEMs and even the machine builders have to match the demands and have to also face international competition. So they have to upgrade their machines,” he says, citing a growing market, “you do not have to cut the cake into too many pieces; you also have a larger cake now.”
o
Elaborating on the growth strategy, Sivaram shares that the Indian subsidiary will continue expanding the sales and engineering services network, while production will still be done in Austria. “The manufacturing facility in Austria has recently been expanded to more than three times what it was last year,” he says. He opines about the future of the economy, citing that the supposed economic downturn has run it course, and the next phase of growth is round the corner. Even Ansingkar views that India is very much on the growth track. Gauging success “We survive on growth, it is our only mantra,” puts Sivaram. Expressing satisfaction at the progress thus far, he attributes the success to three factors – the customers who were open and aware for innovative technology; the team who not only delivered what was needed, but went ahead to anticipate needs; and lastly the parent company – “we have such a seamless interface with them, that every customer can feel that he is dealing with a multinational, although he is talking to local people. All the information and the wisdom, the knowledge, the experience which is available from projects in 116 offices in 60 countries, works to get the same consistent quality and a quick response to the problem at hand. I think this will definitely see us through the next growth phase.”
Innovations in Banking in India
Over the years, the banking sector in India has seen a number of changes. Most of the banks have begun to take an innovative approach towards banking with the objective of creating more value for customers, and consequently, the banks. Some of the significant changes in the Indian banking sector are discussed below:
Technology for Value Creation
The use of information technology in the Indian banking sector was a corollary of the liberalization process initiated in the country in the early 1990s...
Rural India Catching Up
With a majority of the Indian population living in rural areas, rural banking forms a vital component of the Indian banking system. Besides, rural banking operations in India are rather different from urban operations, due to the strong disparity that exists between urban and rural life, and the needs of these two sections of people...
Banking Beyond Banking
While traditionally, banking meant 'borrowing and lending', in the latter part of the 20th century, the word took on a different meaning altogether. Banks no longer restricted themselves to traditional banking activities, but explored newer avenues to increase business and capture new markets...
The Changing Face of Banking
Many analysts predict still more revolutionary changes in the banking sector in India. The chief of these are likely to be the concept of Universal Banks and the introduction of
Smart Card technology...
The Other Side
Although the Indian banking sector has made rapid progress particularly in the number of innovations introduced, some analysts are skeptical about the efficacy and practical use of many of these services...
Where is Indian banking heading?
Banking in India has already undergone a huge transformation in the years since Independence. The rate of transformation was particularly high in the 1990s and 2000s, when a number of innovations changed the way banking was perceived...
0
Share
Innovation derives organization to grow, prosper & transform in sync with the changes in the environment, both internal & external. Banking is no exception to this. In fact, this sector has witnessed radical transformation of late, based on many innovations in products, processes, services, systems, business models, technology, governance & regulation. A liberalized & globalized financial infrastructure has provided had provided an additional impetus to this gigantic effort. The pervasive influence of information technology has revolutionaries banking. Transaction costs have crumbled & handling of astronomical brick & mortar structure has been rapidly yielding ground to click & order electronic banking with a plethora of new products. Banking has become boundary less & virtual with a 24*7 model. Banks who strongly rely on the merits of ‘relationship was banking’ as a time tested way of targeting & servicing clients have readily embraced Customer Relationship Management (CRM), with sharp focus on customer centricity, facilitated by the availability of superior technology. CRM has, therefore, has become a new mantra in service management, which in both relationship based & information intensive. Thanks to the regulatory changes & financial innovation, large banks have now become complex organizations engaged in wide range of activities in the US & some parts of Europe. Banking is now a one-stop provider with a high degree of competition & competence. Banking has become a part of financial services. Risk Management is no
longer a mere regulatory issue. Basel-2 has accorded a primacy of place to this fascinating exercise by repositioning it as the core banking. We now see the evolution of many novel deferral products like credit risk management tool that enhances liquidity & market efficiency. Securitization is yet another example in this regard, whose strategic use has been rapidly rising globally. So is outsourcing. The retail revolution with accent on retail loans in the form of housing loans & Consumer loans literally dominating the banking globally is yet another example of product & service innovation. Various types of credit & debit cards & indeed e-cash itself, which has the potential to redefine the role of monetary authorities, are some more illustrious examples.
doc_317848110.doc
For more than a decade, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd has stayed true to the tenet of technological perfection Hi-tech products cannot be just sold; they have to be delivered by someone as skilled as those who produce it. Armed with this awareness, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd has successfully embarked on the path it set for itself, becoming one of the most reputed automation companies in India.
T some, the debate of old versus new, experience versus innovation is passé. To sell sophisticated technology, the mantra is young products, packed with expertise and experience, and delivered through skilled hands, explains PV Sivaram, Managing Director, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd, with characteristic simplicity. PV Sivaram, Managing Director, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd Satish Ansingkar, Vice President – Sales, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd The company started its Indian operations with the first office in Pune in 1998, and since then there has been no looking back. With the latest and best technology in human machine interfaces (HMIs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), industrial PCs, remote I/O and user-friendly software tools, it has earned the reputation of a premium automation company. The initial years Back in 1996-97, when restrictive trade policies made it difficult for multinationals to penetrate the Indian market, B&R had identified India an avenue for future growth. The vision behind setting up a subsidiary was to “create a local team to deliver the technology which would surely be needed,” reminisces Sivaram – and the company wanted to be ready with the technology when it would be needed. Today, the headquarters spread over 7000 sq ft premises in Pune, regional offices in Ahmedabad and Bangalore besides support centres in Delhi, Chennai and Baroda. “As for our products, they are in commission from the Himalayas all the way to Kanya Kumari,” beams Sivaram. Customer-friendly According to Satish Ansingkar, Vice President – Sales, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd, B&R is a sales and engineering company, and not a production company, so the customer is at the centre of their every discussion and every activity is focussed on him. He explains that the Indian customer not only has to be given a technologically superior product, but also has to be offered a good price point. “Indian customers are very demanding, and demands are not always logical,” smiles Ansingkar, alluding to the painstaking albeit rewarding process of educating the customer in the process of generating business. He adds, “we have not only survived that, but managed to grow.” Tackling competition Sivaram acknowledges every one of the small and large players in the field today as potential competitors who have to be taken seriously - “ideas are not the monopoly of any one entity,” he points. “We do not do things because nobody else is doing it, we do what is needed by our customers,” says Ansingkar. Good times in offing The market for automation is also getting bigger. As Ansingkar points out, while earlier it was focussed on a few cities and locations, today manufacturers in the most remote locations are aware of the possibilities, advantages, as well as working of automation systems. “The awareness is growing and so is the demand. OEMs and even the machine builders have to match the demands and have to also face international competition. So they have to upgrade their machines,” he says, citing a growing market, “you do not have to cut the cake into too many pieces; you also have a larger cake now.”
o
Elaborating on the growth strategy, Sivaram shares that the Indian subsidiary will continue expanding the sales and engineering services network, while production will still be done in Austria. “The manufacturing facility in Austria has recently been expanded to more than three times what it was last year,” he says. He opines about the future of the economy, citing that the supposed economic downturn has run it course, and the next phase of growth is round the corner. Even Ansingkar views that India is very much on the growth track. Gauging success “We survive on growth, it is our only mantra,” puts Sivaram. Expressing satisfaction at the progress thus far, he attributes the success to three factors – the customers who were open and aware for innovative technology; the team who not only delivered what was needed, but went ahead to anticipate needs; and lastly the parent company – “we have such a seamless interface with them, that every customer can feel that he is dealing with a multinational, although he is talking to local people. All the information and the wisdom, the knowledge, the experience which is available from projects in 116 offices in 60 countries, works to get the same consistent quality and a quick response to the problem at hand. I think this will definitely see us through the next growth phase.”
Innovations in Banking in India
Over the years, the banking sector in India has seen a number of changes. Most of the banks have begun to take an innovative approach towards banking with the objective of creating more value for customers, and consequently, the banks. Some of the significant changes in the Indian banking sector are discussed below:
Technology for Value Creation
The use of information technology in the Indian banking sector was a corollary of the liberalization process initiated in the country in the early 1990s...
Rural India Catching Up
With a majority of the Indian population living in rural areas, rural banking forms a vital component of the Indian banking system. Besides, rural banking operations in India are rather different from urban operations, due to the strong disparity that exists between urban and rural life, and the needs of these two sections of people...
Banking Beyond Banking
While traditionally, banking meant 'borrowing and lending', in the latter part of the 20th century, the word took on a different meaning altogether. Banks no longer restricted themselves to traditional banking activities, but explored newer avenues to increase business and capture new markets...
The Changing Face of Banking
Many analysts predict still more revolutionary changes in the banking sector in India. The chief of these are likely to be the concept of Universal Banks and the introduction of
Smart Card technology...
The Other Side
Although the Indian banking sector has made rapid progress particularly in the number of innovations introduced, some analysts are skeptical about the efficacy and practical use of many of these services...
Where is Indian banking heading?
Banking in India has already undergone a huge transformation in the years since Independence. The rate of transformation was particularly high in the 1990s and 2000s, when a number of innovations changed the way banking was perceived...
0
Share
Innovation derives organization to grow, prosper & transform in sync with the changes in the environment, both internal & external. Banking is no exception to this. In fact, this sector has witnessed radical transformation of late, based on many innovations in products, processes, services, systems, business models, technology, governance & regulation. A liberalized & globalized financial infrastructure has provided had provided an additional impetus to this gigantic effort. The pervasive influence of information technology has revolutionaries banking. Transaction costs have crumbled & handling of astronomical brick & mortar structure has been rapidly yielding ground to click & order electronic banking with a plethora of new products. Banking has become boundary less & virtual with a 24*7 model. Banks who strongly rely on the merits of ‘relationship was banking’ as a time tested way of targeting & servicing clients have readily embraced Customer Relationship Management (CRM), with sharp focus on customer centricity, facilitated by the availability of superior technology. CRM has, therefore, has become a new mantra in service management, which in both relationship based & information intensive. Thanks to the regulatory changes & financial innovation, large banks have now become complex organizations engaged in wide range of activities in the US & some parts of Europe. Banking is now a one-stop provider with a high degree of competition & competence. Banking has become a part of financial services. Risk Management is no
longer a mere regulatory issue. Basel-2 has accorded a primacy of place to this fascinating exercise by repositioning it as the core banking. We now see the evolution of many novel deferral products like credit risk management tool that enhances liquidity & market efficiency. Securitization is yet another example in this regard, whose strategic use has been rapidly rising globally. So is outsourcing. The retail revolution with accent on retail loans in the form of housing loans & Consumer loans literally dominating the banking globally is yet another example of product & service innovation. Various types of credit & debit cards & indeed e-cash itself, which has the potential to redefine the role of monetary authorities, are some more illustrious examples.
doc_317848110.doc