HUL VP visits SIMSREE campus

A Guest Lecture was arranged by the Corporate Relations Committee for the first year students of SIMSREE on the topic- Managing Business in a VUCA World. The speaker for the lecture was Mr. Kabir Ahmed Shakir- VP, Finance, HPC Division, Hindustan Unilever Limited. Mr. Kabir is a finance and business professional with over 20 years of experience, distributed equally between developed and D&E markets. He worked in various positions at Unilever, India before becoming the Director - International Funding (Treasury) at Unilever N.V and the Finance Director - Global Supply Chain at Unilever. 

Mr. Kabir explained the meaning of VUCA, which is an acronym for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous with present-day examples. He mentioned the post-2008 situation where the economic equations have changed, the fluctuation of crude oil prices, the volatility of the rupee, the economic policies of the government, the uncertain tax structure, and the unpredictable consumer mind. He stated that the VUCA world has created many challenges for the business world. Since consumers have a wide variety to choose from, they frequently change brands. To face this challenge companies have to come out of their comfort zone and give utmost importance to quality. In a scenario of tough competition, if a company tries to maintain or reduce costs by compromising on quality then it might lose ten times of what it saved in the cost cutting process. He shared his experiences from a market survey which highlighted the importance of quality, where a girl with limited income wanted to use the same brand with increased price by reducing her quantity of consumption.He explained that costs should be reduced by minimizing inefficiencies. He also explained that the way to fight recession is through innovation.

 

Mr. Kabir shared a very interesting insight. He talked about the price as a brand. When the sachets of products are sold at low prices, it is not the brand, but price that is the USP of the product. This is the reason companies maintain the same price for years irrespective of the inflation. For this companies have to acknowledge that every unit of the business can't generate profit. Some units have to work to connect with consumer's demand and continue to generate revenue.

While talking about HUL, he said that it has deep-rooted values.He expressed that the leaders of HUL have shaped it in different ways and are responsible for where it is today. Robust Suppply Chain Management (SCM) and agility in SCM and production center make the product a success within months of its inception. This is the reason many other companies try to partner with HUL in India. He reinstated HUL's quest for sustainable developing.

It was a pleasure interacting with Mr. Kabir and we look forward to many such opportunities.

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SIMSREE'ites at the 2nd edition of Inclusive Innovation Summit

Businesses in India are being buffeted with grim head-winds on many fronts. Innovation is the need of the hour to achieve profitable growth in such a difficult environment. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) partnered with Singapore Management University (SMU) to organize the 2nd edition of Inclusive Innovation Summit based on the theme 'Innovating Practices in Turbulent Times' on 28th October 2013 at Vivanta by Taj President, Mumbai. 11 SIMSREE students accompanied by Prof. Sangeeta Pandit attended this conference.

The seminar was inaugurated by Mr. Ninad Karpe (Chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council) who welcomed the speakers and the audience. This session included a speech by Mr. R Mukundan (Chairman, CII Western Region & Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Ltd.) emphasizing on affirmative inclusivity, a presentation by Professor Rajendra Srivastava (Provost & Deputy President, SMU), an addressal by Mr. Madhukar Sabnavis (Vice Chairman & Country Head, Ogilvy & Mather Pvt. Ltd.) which included many interesting audio-visuals. The inaugural address was delivered by Mr. Jayant Kumar Banthia (Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra) who mentioned about the challenges faced and innovations undertaken by the government.

The pre-lunch session was divided into two sub-sessions. The first sub-session had a live video conference from Singapore addressed by Professor Arnoud De Meyer and Professor Peter Williamson from Singapore Management University (SMU). It was moderated by Professor Rajendra Srivastava. The theme of this session was 'Leveraging the Asian Innovation Environment'. It focused on the growing importance of innovation in Asia and the possibilities for companies to take advantage of the highly dynamic innovation environment. Using China as a case study, the session looked at ways in which Asian companies are approaching the challenge of ramping up innovation on the basis of re-innovation and by industrializing research and development.

The topic of the second sub-session was 'Business Model Innovation-Lessons from the East and West'. Mr. Srivastava opened the topic with a wonderful comparison between an expensive French restaurant and an inexpensive Chinese restaurant and explaining the DuPont model. The key take-away's from this session included creating values for customers first and then thinking about extracting values, the need to invest in the right combination of assets which includes tangible as well as intangible assets and the opportunity cost of not doing business model innovations. It is important to innovate your business model and improve its reach to all sets of customers.

The post lunch session included two panel discussions. The topic for the first panel discussion was 'Connecting the Last Mile'. The panel included Mr. G Sunderraman (Executive Vice President, Godrej & Boyce Ltd.), Mr. Manoj Dawane (Vice President, Ericson India), Mr. Vishwesh Palekar (Senior Vice President, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.), Mr. Amit Paithankar (Managing Director, Emerson Process Manaement) and Mr. Biten Kathrani (Director Enrichment & IP, Johnson & Johnson Ltd.). Professor Shantanu Dutta from Singapore Management University (SMU) moderated this panel discussion. This panel discussion brought together leaders from the various fields to discuss the challenges they faced to bridge the gap between developing ideas and increased product development. The topic for the second panel discussion was 'Milking the Cows'. The panel included Dr. Ranjan Banerjee (CEO, Renaissance Strategic Consultants & Visiting Professor, Carlson School of Management), Mr. Kannan Tinnium (Technology Leader, GE Global Researh), Mr. Tarun Agarwal (Head- Alternate Channels, Products & Innovations, Development Banking and Financial Inclusion Group, Ratnakar Bank Limited) and Ms. Nilima Achwal (Executive Producer, Villgro's SEED). Professor Srinivas Reddy from SIngapore Management University (SMU) moderated this panel discussion. This session voiced the views and perspectives of the panelists on ways to cultivate the culture of innovation by encouraging and tapping the entrepreneurial spirit of the employees.

The last session, 'Lessons from Hidden Gems' was dedicated to entrepreneurs who did not succumb to the economic meltdown. This daring group of individuals included Mr. Mahesh Murthy (Founder & CEO, Pinstorm), Mr. Paresh Rajde (Founder & Chairman, Suvidhaa Infoservice P. Ltd.) and Ms. Sweta Mangal (Co-founder & CEO, Ziqitza Health Care Limited). They shared about how they remained undettered by all the obstacles in their path to succeed in their venture and to make the world a better place to live in. Professor Rajendra Srivastava was the session chairman and delivered the concluding remarks by thanking CII, all the panelists of the day and the sponsors.

The key take-away from the summit was learnings from our Asian neighbours like China, Korea, Japan etc., about how they are moving up the rising curve and the innovation models that they use. The panelists during the Q & A round provided a glimmer of hope and a shinning example of what can be done by us and the business models that we can adopt for inclusive innovation. All in all, the 2nd edition of Inclusive Innovation Summit was a grand success and we hope to get many more similar opportunities in future as it gives us tremendous industry exposure which is quintessential in today's competitive environment.

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Raining Awards at SIMSREE – Sydenham Management Institute shines at Award functions

SIMSREE ruled the awards’ sweepstakes at the B-School Affaire event held at Taj Lands End, Bandra. SIMSREE won two awards in the ‘Dainik Bhaskar National Education leadership Awards’ ceremony and one award in the ‘Dewang Mehta Business School Awards’ ceremony held on 23rd Oct, 2013.

We were crowned ‘Outstanding B-School (WEST) & ‘Industry Related Curriculum in Marketing’ in the ‘Dainik Bhaskar National Education leadership Awards’ ceremony and ‘Business School that Encourages Leadership as a part of the curriculum’ in the ‘Dewang Mehta Business School Awards’ ceremony. Apart from these awards; the students of SIMSREE including ‘Vernon Fernandes’, ‘Gaurav Mehta’, ‘Vishal Nandkumar’ , ‘Mallikaarjun Patil’, ‘Nishant Poojary’, ‘Divya Roongta’ took the award tally to six by winning awards in various categories.

We congratulate the students and the faculty for the impressive feat.

The awards won in different categories:

• Outstanding B-School (WEST) - Dainik Bhaskar National Education Leadership Awards

• Industry Related Curriculum In Marketing- Dainik Bhaskar National Education Leadership Awards 

• Business School that encourages Leadership in the Curriculum- Dewang Mehta Business School Awards

• Best Management Student - 3rd Prize, Vernon Fernandes - Dewang Mehta Business School Awards

• PPT Presentation - 3rd Prize, Gaurav Mehta & Vishal Nandkumar - Dewang Mehta Business School Awards

• Paper Presentation - 2nd Prize, Mallikaarjun Patil, Nishant Poojary & Divya Roongta - Dewang Mehta Business School Awards

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The Corporate Connect – Mr. Heramb Ranade

‘The Corporate Connect’ continued going from strength to strength, this time having a freewheeling session with Mr Heramb Ranade, Chief Marketing Officer- Tikona Digital Networks Pvt Ltd. He has been the Senior Vice President at Reliance Communications and has also worked with Tata Lucent Technologies as Deputy General Manager.

The session was held at Mr Ranade’s office on 24th of October 2013. The session started with technicalities of internet broadband. Mr. Ranade enlightened the students with an overview of the different technology platforms used to deliver Broadband. He shared some more titbits regarding Tikona Digital networks being a pioneer in deploying eco-friendly small cells which operate at a fraction of the power required by conventional cells/ base stations besides needing zero floor space to mount the equipment.

Mr Ranade discussed about the service industry in general and quoted ‘In service industry customer experience is the final product.’ He went on to explain how Tikona is working towards improving customer experience and customer satisfaction. Sharing his perspective about the marketing strategies, Mr Ranade explained the importance of digital marketing in today's webbed world. According to him digital advertisements, on-line presence of the brand, social media engagements and on-line reputation management are key for successful digital marketing. Talking about the continuously changing landscape of technology in the broadband sector, he explained about the roll-out of 4G services in India.

Mr Ranade also briefed the students about the ‘Go-to Market Strategies’ and how ‘disruptive offers’ can create new market and go about changing the business conditions for an organization. When questioned about the best strategy for laying out the infrastructure for broadband services, he explained about the pros and cons of leasing & owning the infrastructure and its effects.

Mr Ranade said that mobile phones with a customer base of about 900 million users can be a great medium for advertisement. When questioned about competition from already established players, he mentioned that such competitions can change the dynamics of the market and prove healthy for the industry as a whole. He also discussed about the innovations in the services offered and the pricing strategies along with the factors involved in it. He concluded the session by giving insights on the government policies and its impact on the sector.

We at SIMSREE are obliged to Mr. Heramb Ranade for giving students an opportunity to interact with him and look forward for more such sessions by him.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. V. Sarangapani

SIMCON (SIMSREE Consulting Club) blazed its trail by helping students to get a better perspective of management consulting as a career option, its opportunities and expectations.
The guest for the lecture was Mr. V Sarangapani, Executive Director of Bombay Management Association (BMA) and an advisor for Micro Technologies (India). He has over 36 years of experience which includes 28 years in TCS. With an experience of over 18 years in management consulting, he is one of the best persons to inspire students. The lecture opened new dimensions for students aspiring to be consultants.
Mr. Sarangapani started the lecture by talking about his journey in consulting. He mentioned about his learnings from clients, situations and experiences and also emphasized on the need of continuous learning in the consulting field. The most important thing he learnt from his experience is:
“When any new technology comes in, you should absorb it without resistance and use it to reduce efforts”.
Talking about the history of consulting, he cited Chanakya as an ideal consultant.

According to Mr. Sarangapani, an organization needs a consultant to bring in outside expertise and have a third person’s view. He also mentioned five important skills required for success in consulting. They include analytical thinking, ability to conclude with pros and cons, timeliness, ability to learn and most importantly openness to your mistakes and learning through those. He took us through consulting process and steps. This helped us to understand do’s and don’ts of the consulting field. The most effective part of his lecture was the relevant and engaging examples for every situation and fact which he mentioned.
Mr. Sarangapani also told us about BMA and how it is working for emerging corporates. In the question-answer session, he briefed about various areas of consulting and difference between those. Lastly, he advised upcoming consultants:
“Experience life and situations. Use the opportunities and give your best of it. Change according to situation. Don’t get stuck to core competence only”.
It was indeed a great start for SIMCON team 2013-15 and we thank Mr. V Sarangapani for making it successful.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Sandeep Zutshi

We were delighted to have Mr. Sandeep Zutshi, founder of Ascentaz Consulting Ltd. and alumnus of 1994 batch at the campus for a guest lecture.

He delivered an engrossing session on sales and marketing with special focus on the FMCG sector. He had the audience in splits over his anecdotes of life as an MBA fresh out of B-school. Mr. Zutshi touched upon various topics like B2B and B2C marketing, the difference between sales and consulting, typical challenges in the retail supply chain etc. The session was highly interactive, with students posing him questions covering the whole gamut of marketing, including brands and brand loyalty, prime time advertising, marketing for SMEs, entrepreneurship and consulting. He peppered his answers with real life examples from his personal experiences as well as from the industry. 

The students took in his insights accumulated over his rich work experience and benefited a great deal from the knowledge gained.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Chandrashekhar Bhide

We were very fortunate to have on campus Mr. Chandrashekhar Bhide, DGM & Head - mBanking/mPayments at Idea Cellular Ltd for a guest lecture. The session was arranged by the Alumni Committee with support from our esteemed alumna Ms. Dimple Kaul of the batch of 2003. Mr. Bhide delivered an enriching lecture on m-commerce and digital payments. He enlightened students about the various aspects of m-commerce including but not limited to online wallets, contactless payments, direct carrier billings, payment gateways and social lending. In addition, he covered in great detail the various stakeholders and their roles in mobile commerce, like the regulator, banks, telcos and internet service providers, merchant aggregators etc. His explanation of using mobiles as Point of Sale machines with the help of devices like the ‘Square’ was especially interesting.

The students, being active participants in m-commerce themselves, related to the topic and enthusiastically posed questions to the guest, who happily obliged with answers. The wide array of queries he fielded ranged from credit card transactions, profit margins of online merchants; security of m-commerce and the battle between telcos and banks for share of customers in the m-commerce space. He concluded the lecture with a short note on the possible future of m-commerce: where mobile phones would be the channel of choice, remittances would become as easy as calls or emails and biometric identifiers would be the order of the day.

We are indeed thankful to Mr. Bhide for visiting our campus and sharing his insights with students.

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