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RFID IMPLEMENTATION
RFID in industry is still at a nascent stage.There is a lack of best practices and proper knowhow as to how to successfully implement a RFID base in a company. Also the ROI in investment made in RFID is still not very clear. Some of the key points to be kept in mind while implementing a RFID solution are:
Approach Methodology the RFID implementation in a firm is a six-step process:
Key Considerations and Critical Success Factors
In some cases, companies can look at a hybrid model i.e. using both RFIDs and barcodes together. This poses minimum risk requiring fewer process changes. However the role of each technology needs to be clearly defined. Generally, RFIDs in India are used to fulfil the demands of international customers.
WIDESPREAD RFID ADOPTION STILL FAR FROM REALITY
In this paper we have tried to portray how RFID works, the many benefits that it brings to the businesses across industries and how a firm should go about implementing an RFID infrastructure so as to maximize its ROI and achieve the desired benefits.
In India, with the boom in organized retail, retail represents the most promising market vertical for RFID adoption. The pharmaceutical, Defense and logistics are the other areas where the prospects of RFID adoption are very bright.
RFID in India is still at a very early stage of adoption. In-spite of the many business benefits that RFID present due to the improved supply chain visibility, they are yet to find acceptance in the Indian industry. The single most important reason for this is the high RFID deployment costs. Other roadblocks are the price of the tags & readers, the low awareness of the critical benefits of RFID in the industry and key issues in implementation. This makes it virtually impossible for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises to adopt this technology.
However, th
Last Updated On:7/11/2011 3:06:18 PM
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Logistics Evaluation for moving Input and Output Materials for a 3 MMTPA Green Field Steel Plant
Title: Evaluation of multi-modal Logistics options from various sources and through different ports for Input material for an upcoming large steel plant .
Background:
Client is a large Steel manufacturing company, with several Steel manufacturing units both upstream and downstream
Business Scenario:
The company has decided to set up a new steel manufacturing plant of 3 MMTPA capacity, which requires input raw materials of ~ 10MMTPA. These raw materials include Iron ore, coal, scrap, etc. These inputs will be sourced from multiple domestic & foreign locations.
The client wanted to determine the feasibility of each mode of transport through which this material can be brought to the plant, evaluate the various ports through which material can be imported, and understand the cost estimates for these movements. The client also wanted to understand the most optimal options based on capital and operational investments, feasibility, infrastructure and environmental cost.
Our Solution:
Identify all possible movement options across modes and multimodal. Support this identification stage with site visits of identified ports, railway sidings and routes to evaluate feasibility, infrastructure availability and other details.
Compare various logistics options – Coastal, Road & Rail– in terms of physical feasibility, capital investments, operational expenditure.
Rigorous evaluation that includes non-cost parameters & a comprehensive Discounted Cash Flow based spend valuation of projected spend.
Benefits:
Most optimal multimodal logistics mode selection from exhaustive list of options based on rigorous analysis that is comprehensive in terms of both cost & non-
Last Updated On:9/13/2011 2:39:10 PM
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Transportation Management Systems : An Indian Perspective
Thumbs-Down to the Global Meltdown
The global melt-down is here and the nay-sayers are all on a roll about the impending doom. Companies are looking at multiple options to manage the challenging situation that the occurrences in the global economy have put them into. Supply Chain costs therefore are of special significance in such market conditions as they hold the key to managing profitability and ensuring better health of the organization.
India is no exception!
Logistics costs in India are estimated to be nearly 13-14% of the GDP of around $1 trillion. This cost is significantly higher as compared to the developed economies where the logistics costs are around 7-8% of the GDP. What this means to companies is that there is a huge potential to optimize the costs of logistics.
Supply Chain costs are spread over multiple domains starting from Import-Export Logistics to Transportation to Warehousing and finally Distribution. In a country like India which has a large geographic dispersion and manufacturing clusters based at key locations, transportation becomes a key link to managing the costs. In fact, Transportation accounts for the largest single cost component of logistics, estimated to be nearly 35%-40% of the total logistics costs.
There are multiple reasons for this. India has traditionally been a country that thrives on the entrepreneurial spirit of the hinterland. Hence all transportation needs, especially ground transport, were being met by small transport operators (more than 80-85% of the market) who own less than 5 trucks of smaller tonnage. This leads to an extreme fragmentation of the industry and thereby the cost of managing the overall delivery is high.
In addition, the Indian transportation industry has multiple layers of demand and capacity agents who are essentially people who play the intermediary role of matching demand and capacity albeit a
Last Updated On:7/30/2010 1:39:54 PM
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Towards GST
It has been sometime since the Indian Industry has been waiting for the implementation of GST. With Finance Minister’s announcements recently, it seems that this waiting period is nearing its end. An implementation at the beginning of April 2011 now seems a plausible reality, as the Central Government has reached an acceptable middle path with the states.
The new proposed Structure & why it is not optimum
What is being adopted in India is the dual GST structure – where a combination of Central GST & State GST will be levied separately. The manufacturer will have to submit both taxes separately, and he will not get cross-credits for the other. This is less than the optimum scenario of having a unified GST, which reduces complexities in filing tax and keeping track of separate credits. And it does not seem to necessarily reduce the burden of paperwork involved in interstate transfers.
The rates for goods and services too are not unified. It is 20% for all goods, 12% for essential goods and 16% for services. There are some goods like alcohol, tobacco products which are still not part of the GST regime. Again, this leaves some gaps in separately tracking each type of input and value add, and the ‘simple’ tax continues to carry complexities.
However, despite these shortcomings, the new regime offers many benefits which are worth exploring. At the same time, changing into a new regime is not without its challenges - something companies should keep in mind in view of the expected change.
Saving the compound effects of multiple taxes
There are many ways in which the GST or Goods & Services Tax will benefit the Indian Industry. Financially, some of the compounded effects of multiple taxation will be take
Last Updated On:7/4/2011 5:45:59 PM
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Input Feed Logistics Design for India’s Largest Oil & Gas PSU for their new Polymer Plant
Title: Optimization of input feed Naphtha multimodal movement from various locations (domestic & Arab Gulf)
Background :
Client is India’s largest commercial enterprise with sales turnover of over USD 61.70 bn. It owns and operates 10 of India's 19 refineries. It is also the 18th largest petroleum company in the world and a Fortune 500 firm.
Business Scenario:
The company has decided to set up a new polymer plant of 1000 TMTPA capacity, which requires input feed of 2725 TMTPA of Naphtha. This will be sourced from multiple domestic & foreign refineries/locations.
The client wanted to determine the most optimal feed movement from the various sources to the proposed project site. This optimality is based on – capital and operational investments, feasibility, infrastructure and environmental cost.
Our Solution:
Identify all possible movement options across modes and multimodal. Support this identification stage with site visits of identified Naphtha sources to evaluate feasibility, infrastructure availability and other details.
Compare various logistics options – Coastal, Road, Rail & Pipeline – in terms of physical feasibility, capital investments, operational expenditure.
Rigorous evaluation that includes non-cost parameters & a comprehensive Discounted Cash Flow based spend valuation of projected spend.
Suggest infrastructural requirements and investments (storage tankage, Rail Gantry, cross-country Pipeline) at source & destination points.
Benefits:
Most optimal multimodal logistics design selection from all possible options based on rigorous analysis that is comprehensive in terms of both cost & non-c
Last Updated On:7/6/2011 11:39:27 AM
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