lve j)11) scom — STHEVNASTROT IRM. Pererntcy een Economy and Pots atin Firms look at IT thee infrastructure, _ outsourcing to stay a competitive Meet Face to Face Anywhere PR, Sanjai with High Definition Video Communication oMumbai: 8k Madhav and Sons is one of the many customs clearing agents in the Ballard Estate area of south Mumbai. Like many of his peers, Prathmesh Madhav, the firm's promoter, was never interested in investing in information technology (17) infrastructure. The economic slowdown has now compelled Machay, who manages customs Gearing forthe Indian unit ofa global automobile fm, to integrate his processes and trim costs using technology. Tis has also cuts customs fling time to ws five minutes from three days, earlier, «tex for economic grouth lice BK Madhav, many other small, « G35 Americe to buy US IT infrastructure firm famiy-conroled Indian locstcs set spent the most on Tin 2007-08 = fims areconsidenng investing in in needs hel Vir pot 128 infrastructure to cut costs and wine " coutsourcing non-core functions, cee eas max mcm) Recession is forcing loaistios companies ct costs : ‘compares to take a hard look at nti to contribute 40% to our revenue inS years their operations and look at ways « infosys Qt proft up 7%, bets Forecast Dees at ar “As viablity issues surface, Indian phone firms to on customer satisfaction and << cinsobiation retention,” said Sumeet Nader, head of the logistics strateoic business unt at Kale Consultants Ltd, a software fm in Mumbai that sells applications to logistics companies and aifines, “This industry has very low technology adoption, There are challenges in proliferation of technology and a lot of players are taking time With their technology buying decisionnd ue retention,” said Sumeet Nackr, head of the logistics strategic business unit at Kale Consultants Ltd, a software frm in Mumbai that sells applications to logistics companies and airlines. "This industry has very low technolagy adoption. There are challenges in proliferation of technology and 3 lot of players are talang time with their technology buying decisions.” For a mid-sized freight forwarding company, administration costs can be ‘reduced by at least 10%. Features such as automated email or SMS (short ‘messaging service) alerts to customers and partners also minimize telephone costs, while auto emailing invoices eliminate paper and courier bills, Nackar said, “This will further reduce 20-30% of communication costs. Similarly, the _spplication sends proachve alerts to prevent service failures. That means ‘there is savings in terms of steps taken to correct the service failures and ‘additional resources required for the same,” he added. ‘Cyrus Guzder, chairman and managing director of logistics firm AFL Ltd, says there are three objectives behind outsourcing certain functions. "One. ‘is cost savings. But the most important reason could be increasing the productivity and having superior quality of service,” he said. AFL outsources ‘ts enbre software development, hardware support and network ‘management to Accenture Ltd. ‘amit Maheshwari, chief executive officer and managing director of mumbai- bbased Soitlnk Logistic Systems Pvt. Ltd, said technology can help prevent revenue leakages from operational issues as it streamlines and integrates the various processes involved. For instance, key firms in the logistics chain, such as customs agents, freight forwarders, exporters and importers, can exchange data without needing to re-enter t manually at each stage, he said, “Technology can decrease operational cost by almost 20% if used appropriately. Our dents have themselves given examples of reducing the man hours from 120 hours to 5 minutes for certain operational processes,” ea) 0} Stalholders {Bil Gates | The Mint should | Prego “ooogie's ERs « Stakeholders chould benafit rom land ‘accusstons: Kemal Nath | «Deficit rainfall its area under rice cutvation 1 NAAt offer contracts to private developers 1 Dune infrastructure output up 6.5% ‘DoT may dial toner firms for feence foe Most Read Most Emailed Editor's Picks + Bill Gates | ‘Google's honeymoon is coming o an end” ‘+ Cognizant, HCL give increments ina tough year + Low exports, margins hurt RIL eernings + TPO Note: Adoni Power ‘+ Reliance Ind overhang could neigh on ‘Sensex + Bllsconomy is Jes mantra as proft lags 4+ Bll Gates urges India to mave from low= cost to RAD