Professor Yadav came one day
And this is what he had to say,
“Dear Mr. Godrej please address
Our Conference.” I must confess
That I was at a total loss.
And that made me rather cross.
It’s true I am an engineer
But nowadays I merely steer.
While others row and sail the ship
I ride along for the trip.
I can’t talk like my predecessors,
Nor probably like my successors.
So what was I supposed to do?
And at that time no one knew.
But Dr. Pandit, friend and guide,
Said, while standing by my side
“The talk about the turn around,
To my mind was very sound.
If you deliver it with verve,
Then I can vouch that it will serve.”
And therefore I’ll relate my story
A tale of trouble and some glory.
I had no idea what was in store-
One year our loss was 80 Crore.
We wondered why we had invested
In something strange and so untested
As making Olefins from oil.
It hardly seemed worth all that toil.
But Alcohol was an intermediate
Not Ethyl which gives an immediate
Kick to all those who imbibe it.
And for this audience I’d describe it
As from C12 to C 18.
And now this change in tack would mean
A change in all our strategy.
To lead this change was up to me.
I did not do it all alone
My team was good, as is well known.
The group was there with all its strengths.
To help us out they went great lengths.
A merger helped to save our skin.
You must survive before you win.
We lived to fight another day.
Step by step we found the way.
We had to work to make things right.
On every front we had to fight.
Now we had suffered for our sins
But since we stopped the olefins
We had two columns that were idle
Not using them was suicidal.
Configuring them for fractionation
We used them for the preparation
Of much desired single cuts.
And when we settle into ruts
Such innovation gets us out.
And I have not the slightest doubt,
Our engineers helped save the day,
The continuous improvement way.
With the help of all of them,
We started of with TQM.
We learnt a lot of useful stuff
But all of that was not enough.
We learnt to stretch capacity
With bellicose rapacity.
We focused on the bottlenecks
With grips that could well throttle necks.
And month by month the throughput rose
With just an occasional dose
Of investment in a plant that’s new.
We kept the number to just a few.
We built new plants for fractionation,
Restarted with our sulphonation.
By then we made no olefin.
And so we chose to bring it in.
Of course made petrochemically
By Chevron, Shell or BP.
The base we tolled for HLL.
The rest, to others, we could sell.
Now HLL served as the bread
The rest was a nutritious spread.
Our hydrogen was good and cheap
The benefit we could then reap
By using all that we could spare
To make some stearic acid there.
With Dr. Pandit’s help we tried
And made a plant, that is our pride.
At a low cost we then supplied
Good alcohol sans aldehyde.
Others’ know-how fees were high
We did not pay a single pie.
The cost of Indian plants is low
And this enables us to grow.
In order to increase our trade,
We quite specifically made
C16-18 cuts from Palm.
But this had some attendant harm.
For every time the feed was changed
The product streams were exchanged.
We had more fractionation cost
And more material was lost.
Our engineers then were the ones,
Who cut the cost with longer runs.
From time to time our plants were down
And this would cause us all to frown.
Now TPM was a solution
For us it was a revolution.
The plants were up more and more.
The costs were going to the floor.
Everywhere the throughput rose.
And we had a healthy dose
Of cutting costs everywhere.
With energy we took great care-
Whatever saving was suggested
We evaluated and invested.
From every one we always sought
Good learnings but the one who taught
Us best was Kokyo’s Mr.Kawai
Who’s always pushing us to try
To make our products some what better.
And then one day we got a letter
Complaining we were not consistent.
Although we were quite insistent
That we had exceeded norms.
He urged us to make reforms.
We had exceeded by too much.
And we learnt that there is such
A thing as being far too good.
Without him we never would
Have known that consistency
Is better than proficiency.
A constant 98.2 is fine
And better than a stray 99.
So nothing will help, better than
A good customer from ,
To keep you always on your toes
And teach you everything he knows.
And if you have enough endurance
You will have the assurance
Your quality is of the best
For having passed the greatest test.
With our experience in soaps
We had already learnt the ropes
Of processing most distillates
Available at attractive rates.
Competitors use processed oil.
Our R&D with skill and toil,
Although the task was rather tough,
Found ways to use the cheaper stuff.
All of this was very fine
And added to the bottom-line.
The catalyst was optimized.
The throughput was maximized
And per ton costs were minimized.
The profits were then super-sized.
Production wasn’t the only story,
Now marketing brought us some glory.
Flaked longer chains were our forte.
We found new markets for a sortie.
In we could sell a lot.
We liked the margins that we got
In and .
Our coffers we could slowly fill.
We partnered well with Galaxy
We gave them JIT delivery.
We listened first and then we played,
Each time we made a different grade.
Our annual customer survey
Enables us to well purvey
To customer’s recorded needs.
We know that listening succeeds.
But the needs that no one states,
Our marketing anticipates.
And so we launched eCRM
To smoothly link with all of them.
In the early days of turnaround
While some solutions had been found.
We sensed we needed to know more,
Like many who have gone before
We called in a consulting firm.
In the middle of their term,
Although we thought our costs were higher
Than any other world supplier,
Their detailed facts proved otherwise,
Because our scale was global size,
Most of the costs were just the same.
We lost a bit in the power game,
But gained some when it came to gas.
But where we could really surpass
Competitors, was engineers.
And after that, we, over the years,
At little cost, de-bottlenecked.
A business that appeared quite wrecked,
Corrected well, and then set sail.
We always kept a steady glance
On improving by finance.
Interest costs at first were high
We weren’t content to moan and sigh.
When Dollar loans were first permitted
We found this option nicely fitted
With our exporting strategy.
And very soon we came to see
That a well executed swap
Could safely help us all to lop
High interest rates that were a pain.
And we no longer had that drain.
I don’t think I need explain
How we almost always gain
From our exchange rate policy.
It is not difficult to see
Which way the Rupee wants to go.
Most of the time we seem to know.
We always balance risk and cost.
And rarely have we ever lost.
And yet this May we were quite stuck.
We suddenly ran out of luck.
The election proved to be confusing
Participants were then refusing
To put their faith in equities
Or to invest in Rupees.
Unfortunately we had banked
On Rupee strength but the Rupee tanked.
Most of the time we choose to hedge
Sometimes we live at the edge.
Our people are our real strength
We know they’ll go to any length.
And any problem can be solved
If all our people are involved.
And TQM and TPM
Are perfect for involving them.
We measure all by EVA
And then reward with bonus pay.
The one who helped us to learn
This great technique is Joel Stern.
Now every time shareholders earn
Employees also have their turn.
The system is just so designed
That interests of both are aligned.
From the people ideas flow
And profits never cease to grow.
And we continue, still, to cruise along.
Our engineers have made us strong.
We now sell to six continents.
Though as of now there aren’t indents
From the seventh. Penguins it seems
Have no need, even in their dreams,
For our alcohol. Six will suffice,
Though seven would be rather nice.
I think, by now, we can exude
Much confidence and to conclude
I think that we can safely state
That now will surely rate
As a good base to produce
All chemicals and that’s good news.
In you can surely earn.
But these lessons one should learn.
Your markets should be everywhere.
You must ensure that you take care
That all your plants are global scale.
Niche markets can help you prevail.
Good service is a perfect treat,
It always helps you to compete.
Since others have done it before
Push on for you can be quite sure
That you’ll succeed. Have no fears,
Employ the best of engineers.
For they will help you optimize.
And then you’ll surely win the prize.
