'Establishing the cause-effect relationship between an IT investment and the desired benefit is challenging'

Background

A graduate in production engineering from VJTI, Mumbai, Pendse holds an MBA
in finance from NMIMS. He did a postgraduate course in software technology from
National Center for Software Technology. In his IS career spanning over 16
years, Pendse has worked with companies like Godrej & Boyce, Johnson &
Johnson and Jet Airways."

Current job profile

As head of the IS department at Marico, Pendse’s job involves leveraging
IT for Marico’s business. He says, "Over the last few years in Marico, it
has been quite a journey from a low-tech organization to a hi-tech one. I am
proud to have played a role in this transformation. Marico is the first company
in India to have implemented SAP’s supply chain solution–Advanced Planner
and Optimizer."

Challenges at work

One of the challenges was to justify IT investments. For some of the
initiatives, direct quantification of benefits is not possible. In some cases
though quantification is possible, but establishing the cause-effect
relationship between IT investment and the desired benefit is a challenge. The
other challenge is to develop an excellent IT team and retain the same.

Turning point

"Johnson & Johnson job was a turning point in my career since it
provided me exposure to IT infrastructure in a big way. Jet Airways proved to be
a turning point since it enriched me with the ability to think big. Marico
brought me much closer to business and imbibed in me the concept of adding value
to business through IT."

Professional experience

"Marico is a conservative company and getting people here to invest in
IT is quiet an experience. It is not only a technical and financial exercise,
but also involves a degree of relationship building within the company."

Philosophy of Life

Try to take life as it comes, enjoy every moment as one never knows what the
next moment has in store.

As told to Amit Sarkar