Coded Interview Verbatim Transcript

Response
The supply chain is a very old concept consisting of information,

Coding
Supply chain is an old concept

finances, materials, inventory management, planning and

consisting of information,

forecasting. The supply chain of the subject company depends upon

finances, materials, inventory

various departments which includes procurement, inventory

management, planning and

management, vender management, material management and apart

forecasting.

from this the subsidiary department consisting of transformer

workshop. The processes include handling of work in progress,

catering the requirements of the integrated department and the flow
of information. It all creates a chain, if any of the links of the chain
is hampered; it affects the whole chain drastically. The most

The company has all the supply

chain functions.

Every link is important.

The chain is based on IT.

Dedicated I.T Department.

All departments interlinked.

Headed by the supply chain

important link in the chain is flow of information which is now

mainly supported by I.T infrastructure. The I.T infrastructure
comprising of proper hardware, software, computing devices,
connectivity and most importantly the skilled human resource that
can manage the infrastructure.
The company has dedicated I.T Department with competent people
handling the I.T infrastructure through which all departments are
interlinked by means of fiber optic network. The company has
focused on some main supply chain departments such as:

boss.

Procurement, inventory management, transformer workshop and

fleet management where the I.T Infrastructure is having main
function. Both the I.T and supply chain is headed by a single boss.
The inventory management is central to the operation of the subject
company where I.T plays a crucial role.
With the help of I.T the processes becomes much quicker and the

decisions are more precise and takes lesser time. The company uses
popular ERP information systems namely SAP. The SAP ERP
modules used by the company are: Material management, quality
management, plant maintenance, human resource management,

IT makes processes quicker

and reliable.

Company uses SAP modules.

Company made alignment

with ERP.)

Fleet Management and financial control modules. The company has

aligned its supply chain functions with the ERP and has also trained
the employees to cope with such information system efficiently and
reliably so that maximum benefits can be reaped.
Such effective implementation of information system allows the

company to grab lots of information available on hand without

involving any traditional paperwork. If there is any situation that

Extensive information
grabbed.

Problems can be tracked easily

arise out of blockage in the flow can be easily tracked down at the
exact point.
The material management being a link of supply chain is monitored

through the ERP system and corrective measures such as:

management for the inventory, view order point and safety stocks
are taken that are triggered as and when required by the ERP. The
information system is effective if the concerned people have

ERP triggers certain

requirements.

Benefits if used purposefully.

ERP may create deterioration

if not used in true spirit.

accepted the technology and thus creating benefit out of the

technological shift. On the contrary, if not used purposefully can be
detrimental causing blockages and therefore ultimately used for
nefarious purposes.
The ERP system incorporates in it the whole procedure initiating

from the material requirement, procurement, receiving of material

and ultimately the management of the inventory. The top
management takes on board the entire department and establishes
the plan based on appropriate material requirement for weeks,

processes.

Management makes plan.

Information is contained in
ERP.

months or even for yearly demands. The BOMs are present in the
information system, also the information regarding vendor

ERP incorporates all SC

I.T based environment.

performance lot sizes and payment issues is also incorporated in the

Demand monitored and

ERP, all such work is done under paperless environment even the

fulfilled through ERP

approvals from top management is based on I.T. Through this

information system the demand from customers i.e. internal
customers of the organization (departments) is monitored and
fulfilled.
It has been observed that their lies still a gap in the process of

issuance of purchase order as the subject company has not yet taken
its vendor on board. However, the information technology has
completely revolutionized the company during the past several
years.

The ERP is playing a vital role in defining the level of inventory

through ERP.

SAP material codes which are routed through data entry points so
that the numerical as well as graphical representation of stocks can
easily be figured out of any location in the supply chain.
The system helps in forecasting of demand based on the past
consumption trend allowing to plan more effectively. Return

Vendors not connected with

ERP.

Even though IT

revolutionalized.
Stocks are maintained through

such as: safety stock, stock levels, buffer stock as well as segregated
demand for the level of plants. All the materials has been assigned

Purchase order is issued

I.T.

Materials are coded.

Materials can be tracked from

anywhere.

IT supports forecasting.

Return processes governed

management is supported by the reverse process through the

information system. However, the parameters are defined within the

through IT.

system for the storage of materials that has been returned for one or
another reason.
Having some restrictions in the ERP system, the vendors are not

return management in IT

integrated with the ERP but other channels of information

technology such as Emails or telecommunications are of great
utility. As far as the performance of vendors are concerned the
system derives the performance on the basis of capabilities and
reliabilities of the vendors by taking all the past performance

Parameters are defined for

other form of IT is used for

Vendors.

Vendors performance is
measured through IT.

System can categorize vendors

Customer services addressed

reviews and making judgments regarding its reliability. The system

has capability to categorize the vendors but the final decision is
taken by the top management.
The customer service side of the organization is also addressed by
the information technology but through other kind of information
system.
The SAP module of the company encompasses the fleet

by IT.

management with the help of web portal which are used to gather
data such as: vehicle maintenance, vehicle attendance, vehicle staff
attendance. The SAP monitors the utilization of vehicle as well as
the consumption of fuel and financial resources.
The logistic system that is based on I.T is capable of tracking down
the assets movement through the supply chain as well as the billing
processes. The information flows through all the users that are
connected to the information system. Other I.T channels such as

T can help better utilization of

Assets.

Assets are monitored through

IT

Asset movement tracked by IT.

Every authorized user can see

information.

Emails and phones are also ultimately linked with the ERP. The use

Other IT systems used.

of I.T support system has enhances the decision making process of

IT provides decision making.

Platform is provided for

the department giving the birds eye view of the entire process by
giving statistical analysis as well as historical trends and thus

monitoring productivity

playing a crucial role in making decision. For the purpose a

platform so called Dashboard creates a user front end
environment which gives a comprehensive interface to see the
productivity of each unit in the supply chain.
The information technology has provided the base for going towards
the concept of lean manufacturing and making it possible to shift on
JIT system but as far as the subject company is concerned JIT
implementation is beyond the scope.

I.T. provides base for lean

manufacturing and JIT

Focus Coding:
Linking of heritage concept of supply chain with IT
Controlled dedicated Function
ERP has made processes efficient
Smart application of information for problem solving
ERP system is a complete module
Management is dependent on ERP
Coding are done for tracking
IT is measuring the productivity of departments