Tata Advanced Materials Ltd (TAML)

In 2016, the biggest lesson for Tata Advanced Materials (TAML) was the need to be flexible as per the need of the customers. There were cases where the company was asked to ramp up or ramp down production by customers and it had to manage. TAML adapted to the situation by becoming more agile in terms of managing inventories, cutting down waste from the production lead time on the shop floor and managing the WIPs. Also, cost was a major driver for the year, where customers were looking for cost reduction across the programmes. It also created a cell to evaluate the wastes in the system and see that it does not increase costs inspite of inflationary pressures from suppliers and service providers.

For Indian companies, the biggest challenge for 2017 will continue to remain on the aspects of cost competitiveness. While there is a lot of pull from the global companies to outsource products from India, the major driver for this continues to be cost competitiveness. Once the company is able to deliver competitive pricing for the products without failing on the hygiene aspects of quality and on time delivery, Indian companies will continue to grow.

TAML, a subsidiary of TATA Industries Limited, is a pioneer and leader in composite manufacturing and solutions, catering to the demands of the aerospace, space, defence and industrial composites realms across the globe.