Priya Foods : Its a Pickly Affair

Envisioned by Ramoji Rao (chairman of Ramoji group), Priya Foods initially
started out in the 1980s as a packaged pickle food manufacturing company with
just six flavors. Over the year, the company managed to grow manifold and now
boasts of thirty-three varieties of pickles, ten varieties of pastes, varieties
of spice powders, instant mixes, and a more recent addition of ready-to-eat food
dishes.

The company has now become one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of
packaged foods in India. Its manufacturing facility at Vijayawada is HACCP
(Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point) certified by FOOD CERTNL, Dutch
Council for Accreditation.

Challenges

The Hyderabad-based company was facing problems related to data consistency
and accuracy and therefore a lot of time was wasted in information consolidation
and collating data together from various sources. It was on the lookout for a
technology landscape that integrated and streamlined its business processes as
well as provided Priya with a quantum increase in productivity, and superior
access to information to support strategic decision-making. It was then that
Priya decided to replace its IT systems with an integrated ERP solution increase
efficiency, reduce costs, and cope with rapid company growth.

The company chose SAP because of its best practices for the FMCG vertical.
It also offers a complete, end-to-end solution, says J Prasad, assistant
manager, IT, Ushodaya Enterprises (Foods Division). Prasad adds that the company
has implemented finance and controlling, plant maintenance, production planning,
materials management, sales and distribution, quality management and business
information modules. Very little business process re-engineering was required
as all the modules were configured according to our requirements, he adds.

Benefits

Post the implementation of the solution, Priya has managed to integrate all
information into a single system. The implementation of SAP ERP has enabled the
company to transform its business operation management from time consuming and
inflexible to real-time and adaptable. The standardization of business processes
has reduced complexity and eliminated redundancies, leading to more transparent
business results across the entire organization. Quick access to information has
resulted in faster decision-making and improved operational insight.

Moreover, the solution also provides real-time visibility into all
inventories enabling Priya to manage inventory levels efficiently, while
avoiding stock-out situations. Production planning and materials management has
become tighter, while credit control has improved. The streamlining of processes
has helped the company in managing its supply chain better.

SAP ERP provides visibility into records, activities, and transactions.
Thanks to highly automated information flows, Priya can ensure an efficient,
nearly paperless execution of processes.

Activities can be tracked and when the company needs to adapt to changing
circumstances, uniform reporting provides the basis for well-founded decision,
says Prasad.

He goes on to add that after SAP was implemented redundancy of work has been
reduced, and there is less paper work. Also data fed by one user can be used as
information by other users and the time spent on data validation is reduced.

For the employees, the benefits are increased collaboration and productivity
owing to easier information gathering and report facilitation as and when
required. Online consolidation of reports aids better strategic planning and
execution of plans. With timely, accurate insight into the activities across the
organization, the management can identify concerns early and pursue
opportunities pro-actively.

Stuti Das

stutid@cybermedia.co.in