50 Manufacturing Companies – Godrej Aerospace

Godrej Aerospace was predominantly working for domestic programmes, which have their own  advantages and disadvantages. Advantages are better cash flow at the beginning of the project, since risk related to material procurement is absent. Disadvantages are continuity of the projects, slow decision-making process, availability of material on time, etc. Since the disadvantages weighed more than advantages, the company took a decision to move towards exports. “In exports, till last year, we were operating on a small scale with low volumes. We moved to projects that are of mass production in nature. The business volume is more than those of combined domestic projects. The risk of qualifications of multiple parts, mindset change from few numbers to mass production, weekly delivery, and control on cost parameters was very high. The results are positive,” says Bhesania.
Due to the better implementation of project management and TOC concepts, it is able to balance business in both domestic and exports. Exports gave them continuity, and faster rotation of funds.
Godrej Aerospace has built exceptional capabilities in metal-working over the decades. As the industry moves towards non-metals, the company took the decision to venture into them. It made an initial investment of Rs 30 crore, and appointed a consultant to develop the processes and in getting certifications like NADCAP and approvals from OEMs. “We received small orders from domestic and for export. However, we need to do a lot more to fully exploit this area,” he adds.
In 2019 and 2020, more emphasis will be given to acquiring soft and hard skills. Bhesania says that going forward, things will get difficult and unpredictable. “Some of the issues would be related to developing managerial effectiveness in the team, guiding change, cross cultural issues etc. Also, the 4th industrial revolution has technologies that diminish the lines between the physical and digital world. Industry 4.0 can improve productivity, efficiency and self-managing the machines. It can bring down the cost for our mass production cells,” says Bhesania. He is hoping that it will help them with data analysis for quick decision making.