Outsourcing biscuits

Nusli Wadia is restless to get his new unit, with a capacity for producing 45,000 tonnes of about three varieties of biscuits, that8217;s c...

Nusli Wadia is restless to get his new unit, with a capacity for producing 45,000 tonnes of about three varieties of biscuits, that8217;s coming up at Uttaranchal. After spending Rs 55 crore, Wadia is upset that he is still having to find other remedies such as getting manufacturers on contract to source a large share of his products and biscuits. So out of 3 lakh tonnes, the tycoon hates having to get 2.10 lakh tonnes outsourced. Wadia, however, chose the outsourcing route because it is after all a cheaper option. His existing plants are too costly, due to the high wages he had to give workers. The tycoon8217;s outsourcing plan may help him, so long as Parle8217;s new brand expansion policy, doesn8217;t grab all the attention and the taste buds of the biscuit-loving consumers.

A pact of insurance

N. Sankar, the tycoon behind AMP Sanmar, recently got into a tie up with New India Assurance, India8217;s largest general insurance company. This, however, wasn8217;t exactly the kind of thing the All India Insurance Employees Association AIIEA wanted to hear. So they grumbled that it was 8216;8216;unethical8217;8217; on the part of New India.

Their complaint: AMP Sanmar is a possible competitor to government-owned LIC. They also could not digest the fact that New India would possibly persuade clients to take up life insurance policies from a private company. But so far neither the tycoon nor his partner have relented. A common team of 1,000 well-trained agents and advisors are currently being set up, because agents will play a greater role in every customer8217;s financial management.

This tie-up, the first of its kind, contains the promise of quite a lot. The tycoon, when last seen was pondering over where in South India he could set up some 100 more branches of his company by the end of the year.

Time to brew more coffee

After C. Sivasankaran took over 65 per cent of Barista8217;s stake, and put his Fresh and Honest vending machines to use, he has been silently proceeding. An investment of Rs 250 crore is being made to set up some 70 more stores all over the country, as well as in places such as Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan, Mauritius, along with 15 in Sri Lanka alone. Meanwhile, the Tatas who possessed the other 35 per cent stake in Barista, have for some strange reason chosen to give it up. But the tycoon doesn8217;t seem too keen on taking up the stake though. His concentration is more on expansion through franchises. With a large part of his earnings coming from space-selling and merchandising, the tycoon has decided to introduce a new range of snacks as well as tea. Get coffee-lovers addicted and then tea-lovers, seems like good strategy.

Change of plans

Diversions from one sector to another seem to be the order of the day for several tycoons. Arun Bharat Ram, whose SRF Ltd has focused on industrial synthetics, belting fabrics and refrigerant gases, has now turned his interests to the pharmaceutical sector. He has set up two units in Rajasthan. One will be for the manufacture of Trifluoroacetic Acid and the other will be a multi-purpose plant for a variety of pharma chemicals. Yet, in some senses this shift will not be something too different. SRF Chemicals after all has already been supplying flurochemicals choloromethanes etc., which are used as refrigerant gases, in air-conditioning and as solvents in the pharmaceuticals industry. The tycoon is way ahead of others, as he already possesses efficient plant operations to make it big in this sector. Bharat Ram is in discussion with pharma companies like Dr Reddy8217;s and Wockhardt to supply them with chemicals and intermediates. The tycoon is entering this sector with high hopes because this is a high value sector. Watch closely to see if it works wonders.

dilipcherianhotmail.com