On The Razor Edge

width="199" height="269">On

The Razor Edge

Thirty-year-old Rajeev Tandon's meteoric

rise reads like a child prodigy's story. Starting as a Management Trainee (Systems) with

Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd, Tandon subsequently moved up to become MIS Manager at

Pepsico, heading the Western India IT function from Mumbai. He joined Gillette in April

1996, where he is responsible for the entire IT functions of the Indian operations. A

Bachelor in Physics Honors and MBA from the University of Delhi, Tandon's motto in life

is: "Achieve gold standards through executional excellence." In an interview

with Sharmila Chand, Tandon reveals how the motto is held forth in

Gillette. Excerpts:

First, tell us about the IT

build-up of Gillette?



Being into FMCG industry it's important to have a solid S&D
infrastructure. It is in this area that IT provides S&D backbone on WAN connectivity

to our 30 odd branch offices/C&FAs and five regional

offices. IT also facilitates in the manufacturing and material management which includes

an ERP application. Also deployed are the CAD/CAM systems for mold designing, shopfloor

planning and layouts, movement of goods etc. Other systems include Payroll and Fixed

Assets software working in tandem. Backend software comprises OLAP tool,

Oracle/Express-based sales analyzer, market research software-Quanvert retail audit and

IRI non-retail audit, marketing funds controlling, HRIS Systems> etc. In a nutshell, the entire organization works in a highly automated manner

with lot of dependence on state-of-the-art IT tools and communication infrastructure.

Every single employee is 100 percent PC literate and has his own PC to work on.

Being an MNC, how is Gillette

different from other companies in its IT functioning? size="2" face="Arial">



Outsourcing is a well-established feature at Gillette. Our entire networking management,
both LAN and WAN have been outsourced to MicroLand as Facilities Management. Similar is

the case with software development, implementation etc. which have been outsourced. The

managerial time which we save due to outsourcing is then utilized for BPR, strategic IT

management, change management etc., which actually is a function of a true IT group.

How does your manpower meet this

exercise?



We do not do headcount, which is a derivative of outsourcing. Gillette does not have a
battery of in-house so-called EDP/MIS professionals. We believe in keeping our size small,

yet a team of solid and robust IT professionals.

How much does the company spend on

IT every year?



About 2.5 percent of the annual revenues.

How critical is IT to your company? color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial">



Gillette is committed to leverage IT for gaining competitive advantage. We have an IT
steering committee chaired by the CEO. This reflects the top-down positioning of IT within

the organization. The operational IT Bible: STP-Strategic Technology Plan for the next

five years, is formulated well in advance in consultation with the Strategic Business Plan

for five years. How the organization is to take shape until 2002 is already frozen, both

from the business perspective as well as the technology point of view.

Which are the major focus areas

these days?



Gillette worldwide is moving from the legacy systems to SAP R/3. We are now getting ready
to roll out SAP to Indian operations as soon as possible. We will do the major Business

Process Reengineering and weed out the inefficiencies in the system. Then, we will be

shortly on gillweb.com-Gillette's intranet site. Now that Gillette intranet and Internet

messaging will be a reality, our entire WAN strategy is being reworked across the country

comprising 30 C&FAs, eight plants, five regional offices, six other offices, and the

head office.