Manufacturers, suppliers talk business

Anil Khurana, CEO, Pragati Corporation

One thing I learnt from a customer was to prioritise in this difficult time and we did

One Covid-19 lesson
Speed is not everything. One must learn apply the brakes in this materialistic world. We can live without luxury too.

The WOW factor
Our customers worked very hard in this difficult time to deliver food and pharma packing.

Knowledge is power. Keep learning all the time
One thing I learnt from a customer who switched to pharma packaging from luxury packaging and we did the same. This is to prioritise in this difficult time.

Process should be like Rajinikanth - Omnipresent + Omnipotent
Switch to the demand of today, to serve the country.

Clients need you, too
We always suggest new and innovative concepts so that customers can save cost and enhance the beauty of packaging. We believe in innovation coupled with economical values.

Hemant Desai, director, India operation, Baldwin Vision Solutions

Nature has alerted and reset settings and so we also should reset our life style and philosophy

One Covid-19 lesson
During the lockdown, I learned new dimension and philosophy of life, of family bonding, of doing business differently and also learn many new things to do personally. I understood how important are so many other factors and people in our life, which normally we do not realise or appreciate them. I experienced nature, clean air, power of silence and so many things first time in lifetime. This is a great opportunity for me and for everyone, once in life time, to do, learn and experience so many new things. Nature has alerted and reset settings and so we also should reset our life style and philosophy.         

The WOW factor
Label printed at TCPL with many unique security features.

Knowledge is power. Keep learning all the time
Learn social/ family values and its practices by treating employees as family member from Parikh Packaging (now Contantia).

Process should be like Rajinikanth - Omnipresent + Omnipotent
An Indian customer who impressed me is Citrus Packaging Solutions (nice workflow and movement from raw material to finish goods).

Clients need you, too
For the last 30 years we are following the sales process whereby we always first understand customer’s pain, issue and difficulties in their process, activities and then suggest solutions by explaining how our system can contribute in reducing their pain or solve their problems.

I strongly believe that if you or your product cannot address customer’s problems or difficulties then you can get one-time product sale but if you explain how new technology/ your product can address customer’s problems or difficulties than you can be long term solution provider to them.

Pankaj Poddar, CEO, Cosmo Films

Do not replicate what others have done

One Covid-19 lesson
In this VUCA world, have a strong business continuity plan. And when such situation arises, do make sure you have a daily review of the situation and learn from the experience of others.

The WOW factor
There were various — face shield made from Cosmo synthetic paper; various instructional posters printed on Cosmo synthetic paper and soap packed in our recyclable structure.

Knowledge is power. Keep learning all the time
Warehousing management system at one of our customer though could not resonate completely.

Process should be like Rajinikanth – Omnipresent + Omnipotent  
Offset printing with Cosmo’s fast drying synthetic paper enabling them to increase the number of jobs done per day by multi-fold.

Clients need you, too
Through our three plus decade’s long experience and in depth research and development process, we have been able to create innovative products for our customers. As an example, to make packaging structures recyclable, we have made a PP-based heat resistant film for easier pouching without compromising on aesthetics, printability, and machinability and user-friendliness.

This film found a lot of takers especially from the brands side. Today it is successfully being used for different F&B products, soap wrappers, washing powders, tea pouches and shampoo pouches.

Venugopal Menon, business director, BU sheetfed, Indian sub-continent, Bobst India

Improvise and be agile

One Covid-19 lesson
Even in the most extreme form of distress there is scope for growth and resilience. You can build resilience in how you cope and turn moments of despair and anxiety into moments of hope and strength.

The WOW factor
The Cadbury ‘Glow’ Pralines chocolate box launched during the Diwali season, a few years back. It was a great pack in terms print finishing and box design and gave a unique unboxing experience. 

Knowledge is power. Keep learning all the time
Improvise and be agile. It’s important to listen to your customer and keep close eyes on market trends which you can apply while developing a product befitting market needs. Since customers success is your success.

Process should be like Rajinikanth - Omnipresent + Omnipotent
I would like to mention two projects. One was a customer in South India who designed a linear production flow – from storage of raw material right up to finished goods section. This helped the company to minimise wastage, improve productivity and enhanced service quality to their client in measurable terms.

The other was a customer who implemented ERP and MIS solutions, which helped them, service their clients better. Get information at the click of a button and improve business efficiency phenomenally.

Clients need you, too
I always believe that in B2B sales it’s all about understanding your customer’s need, constraints and bottlenecks. After that, it about how you can advise and pitch your value proposition which can make your customer more efficient, help them capture new business opportunities and grow profitably.

The same stands true when our customers approach their end customers.

Post-Covid-19, is it time for a rethink by our industry?
Every industry needs to rethink and devise new opportunities, which lie ahead. Some old businesses will go down while new ones will emerge. All that is needed to think on such new opportunities and implement the plans.

V Vaidyalingam, director, Suba Solutions

Every company can focus on its core customer base and create the appropriate infrastructure

One Covid-19 lesson
The world can be in lockdown. But it does not come crashing down. Not only was an unimaginable lockdown of this kind not thought to be possible but turns out to be beneficial in some ways, too.

The WOW factor
An RSC corrugated box was redesigned in a much simpler way.

Knowledge is power. Keep learning all the time
The factory of Pattabi Enterprises in Mysore. It inspired us to complete our demo centre in Chennai in Jan 2019. It was very satisfying. Of course, we have moved on since then, with the changing business requirements.

Process should be like Rajinikanth - Omnipresent + Omnipotent
SJ Packaging, New Delhi has a very effective unit for its core customers in the footwear industry. It is about setting up your system in tune with your target market. Every company can focus on its core customer base and create the appropriate infrastructure.

Clients need you, too
At Suba, we have always worked like that, since our start.  That is why we named it, Suba Solutions. We have never been mere machine suppliers. We work as advisors/consultants/business solution providers, to the point that we have even told customers that our solution under discussion may not be the best fit for the customer’s requirements at that point in time.