Jan 08 , 2024
At the close of 2023, it is time to take stock of its EVENTS & NON-EVENTS & at the same time Plan & Crystal Ball Gaze at the New Year.
Over 2800 years ago Greek Philosopher Heraclitus had preordained the perpetuity of “Life Is Flux” maxim, re-worded in later years as “THE ONLY CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE” .
Unforeseen Challenges and sudden Disruptions are inevitable in any line of business. It is also true that it is nigh on impossible to predict the future when the recent past & the present have been in the throes of recurring disruptions – be it Covid, Conflicts, Geopolitics, Trade Sanctions, & New Technologies. Resilient Strategy normally serves existential goals well but turns somewhat irrelevant if one aspires to a Bold Growth Trajectory.
Team BOTIL & our business associates in several countries have displayed immense Resilience mixed with a heavy dose of boldness in the preceding three years & are now poised to take a big leap forward on the platform of what is often described by Management Gurus as “ANTI-FRAGILITY”
That is my brief message at the start of New Year with Good Wishes to all for a Happy, Pathbreaking 2024 .
H.L. Khushalani
June 27 , 2023
A few months back, editors of COLLINS DICTIONARY added a new word, as the WORD OF THE YEAR 2022
PERMACRISIS
Meaning “Extended Period of Instability, Insecurity, & Uncertainty “.
How so very appropriate when after Two Years of a Pandemic shaping the Immediate Future, the respite was short-lived & overtaken by multi-faceted crises ranging from Commodity Price volatility, Oil price uncertainties , Unprecedented Climatical disruptions , Logistical nightmares , & most significantly , the Ukraine conflict & Geo-Politics in its aftermath .
For a Company such as ours, delivering high standards of Quality & Service in over 50 countries, the going has been tough. Our Team , as always have given much more than their best to swim against the tide led by a resolute leader.
In order for us to turn crises & challenges into opportunities for strategizing our Growth it is also important for us to redefine our VISION to complement our Never say die Mission of “PERMATENACITY” ( a good new word for Editors at Collins to consider as the Word of the Year 2023 ) .
Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) is a framework for assessing risks to a company’s operations related to large-scale, long-term environmental, social, and governance issues. It is becoming evident , if one were to scan best practices globally , that we need to incorporate ESG into our overarching RISK MANAGEMENT Plan . Being ahead of our times in many of the exhaustive ESG attributes , ESG integration through an early self-audit should not be as disruptive as one would normally believe. Indeed Risks & Opportunities often do intersect.
Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) is as yet in a nascent , often fearfully skeptical , phase of its deployment as a tried & tested Technology to augment Quality , Productivity , & Customer Delight . No existing ERP system has so far been able to address a seamless integration & deployment of AI into a Company’s operations. However GENERATIVE AI has been around for a while & can easily be deployed to harvest cognitive attributes inherent in many in our Team , to shoot for New Heights in Product Development & in Preparing Non-Technical users for Technological orientation. Steps taken, howsoever tentative at present , are gratifyingly a start “ devoutly to be wished”
According to PLATTS, Commodity Prices globally when indexed to a 1990 Base of 100 had peaked at 280 in 2022 & is now at 210. Astute Buying practices have made a welcome entry in our Company transcending so-called Price Negotiation to a notch higher application of mind to understand the supplier’s cost make-up, with a close watch on optimal material- utilization.
It has been wonderful to see the fresh orientation in our R & D Team to design products with one eye on Customer / User delight & one on Internal Production Process capabilities. The transition from Trouble Shooting when in use to foreseeing & addressing the same before deployment has been phenomenal.
Our Commercial , Marketing , Planning & Control , Manufacturing , Finance & Accounts , QA & QC , IT , HR & all other supportive functions have shown “ TRUE GRIT” in their “MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ” mode
Last , but definitely not the least , worthy of deep appreciation are our overseas employees , Business Associates , Sales & Service Agents & their teams whose contribution to the SWIM against the tide has been admirable.
All in all , FY 2022-23 has not been a bad year , though not a record year in Top & Bottom lines. . While 2023 will still have its challenges, I look upon it as a year of great changes & greater opportunities.
With Warm Good Wishes to All & a Five-Point attribute listing for Success ( Source : Anonymous )
- Thoughtful, fact-informed Procurement & Planning
- Collaborative ideation
- Realistically ambitious goal-setting
- Accountability
- Reflection on the reasons behind successes and failures
H.L. Khushalani
- DIGITALIZATION: Completed through our CAD-CAM upgrades & self-engineered Safe & Secure transit system for CAD Drawings to get transmitted digitally to the Machine Shop. Effort is on for Digitalizing our Eco-System of Suppliers, Vendors, Agents & Business associates in over 50 countries.
- GO GREEN: We have always been ahead of the curve in this segment & intend to intensify our efforts
- SKILLING: BOTIL has historically been the Training Centre for Technically skilled personnel, widely spread in the Industry in several countries, & the tradition shall continue with primary focus on new & innovative technologies.
Most Companies older than two decades have hitherto relied on Tried & Tested Business Models of Success to extrapolate their strong track record to Predict a STABLE Future. And yet, as many case studies across Industries have demonstrated , Future need not any longer look like the Past . Contexts change, Technologies Change at awesome speed ; Data Analytics replace back of envelope numbers crunching , Geo Politics impact Global aspirations ; & most importantly , Customers’ Purchasing Models change with greater weightage to a Systems driven Ecosystem . And with each such change, old rules no longer apply .
We , at BOTIL , are well placed under the stewardship of a dynamic Managing Director , ably supported by a team of young & old professional , to scale the inevitable incline of transforming the Company in all its operations to a systems driven drum beat of managing disruptions . The Team’s multi-pronged strategies transcend mere software / hardware investments & data churning to a more holistic Eco System transformation , including , though not restricted to , reskilling, remodeling , & reorienting all stakeholders to participate meaningfully in the endeavor . I wish her & her capable team all success & assure all our Customers , Suppliers , Service Providers , & most importantly , our Employees that they may look forward to rewarding outcomes through this endeavor.
As Oscar Wilde once said “ I am tomorrow what I establish today , just as I am today what I established yesterday”
H.L. Khushalani