A Balm called IT

In April 2010, when Zandu will complete its merger with the FMCG giant Emami
in terms of IT implementation and usage, things would certainly change. However,
Pankaj Parikh, corporate IT manager, Zandu Pharmaceuticals Works is well
prepared ahead to deal with any such changes, and especially to inculcate and
integrate users of the non-IT organization.

Even though both the companies are using the same ERP solution (SAP), Emami
has a much wider IT infrastructure, thanks to its presence in various verticals
like bio labs, FMCG, etc. This will prove to be both a challenge and an
opportunity for Parikh, wherein he can leverage his skills and provide an
efficient IT work process to end users. The company spends a huge sum on
research and development to constantly introduce, upgrade and standardize their
products. The recent budget that proposes an increased weighted deduction of up
to 200% on in-house R&D expenses is also a positive move.

Challenges Ahead

From April 2010, Zandu will be merged with Emami with 75% stake in Zandu
Pharmaceuticals taken over by Emami. With this merger, Parikh has a huge task at
hand of how to manage the standard practices that are followed in Emami. Says
Parikh, "The quality control and standards of Emami have to be followed which is
one of the biggest challenges considering that Emami is a cosmetics company,
while Zandu is more inclined towards Ayurveda." The company for the last eight
years has been using the Linux OS due to reasons such as varied solutions
offered by the OS as well as the use of proxy servers for Internet accessibility
and controlling the websites. Another challenge according to him is that
learning newer technologies especially by users in a non-IT organization is
difficult since most of the users are comfortable with the legacy technologies.

Achievements so Far

One of the major achievements for Parikh has been the successful deployment
of enterprise solutions and proper infrastructure to support the organization.
SAP ERP was his choice as it practically covers everything except for preparing
special reports. Realizing how learning curve has become an important yet
difficult criteria to achieve while educating users at Zanduright from the
computer hardware to the application of SAP ERPParikh started providing
training to users as most employees were not tech savvy.

The Virtual Promoters

Zandu has given a lot of importance to virtualization. The company has IBM
iSeries A400, and all the SAP work processes are on A400. Many of the benefits
yielded by the company include reduction in power consumption, cost factor, use
of just one IBM iSeries box, and the ease and manageability of work processes. A
sincere believer in the philosophy that technology should only be deployed when
it is useful and not just for the sake of deploying, Parikh stresses that all
users need to imbibe certain technical skills so as to adapt to the new working
environment and conditions.

PC Suraj

surajp@cybermedia.co.in