Robots in Charge

Lets admit it. IT is no more just about technology, but it is the core
function supporting any business. Therefore, todays organizations are keen to
revamp and restructure their IT infrastructure with one mantra in their minds
that is new technology implementations that deliver business results.

For Century Enka, thats exactly the case as the company went ahead with
reforming its IT infrastructure in the recent times. "We chose to upgrade our
systems in accordance with our needs, and designed the same in a manner that
enabled us to use our resources fully with minimal downtime," says Tushar P
Kasbekar, VP, IT, Century Enka.

Enabling through IT

The company recently migrated to IBM servers based on open technology,
replacing its old servers with proprietary technology. This move has not only
brought in production efficiency, flexibility and full resource utilization, but
has also helped the company to reduce its running cost by 50%.

The solution offered Century Enka greater cost benefits as well as
flexibility in terms of future scalability, both for business as well as
technology.

Further, the company has shifted to an integrated single instance of
database, substituting the earlier multiple instances that were running. This
was possible by revamping the entire network infrastructure as the company
migrated to a more reliable network platform based on wireless technology. To
ensure service continuity, the company also opted for a back-up network
connectivity by adopting services of non-traditional network service providers
like RailTel and Tata Power. "The above setup provided the users a single window
view of the entire business processes like logistics, marketing and
manufacturing," informs Kasbekar.

All the manufacturing plants have also been highly automated, and some of
them are managed by robots.

All Done Internally

Century Enka has its own team of IT experts working under Kasbekar; and the
entire research, development and management is done in-house. It is this team
which has developed a unique interface connecting the manufacturing system with
the database on a real-time basis; thus, enabling Century Enka capture real-time
manufacturing data and feeding it to the database server for instant access.

The entire manufacturing process is thus seamlessly integrated with the
business processes. "This integrated approach has enabled smooth and faster
information flow across the organization as well as given better business and
performance efficiency, productivity enhancement and overall cost
effectiveness," explains Kasbekar.

The company has also recently deployed a self developed supply chain
management system and as a CRM application that has been further integrated with
the business process to produce effective results. "The entire overhauling of
the IT infrastructure has been undertaken considering the growing business
needs. This new structure has given us a platform for any kind of business
growth or expansion," concludes Kasbekar.

Piyali Guha

piyalig@cybermedia.co.in