Godrej has been eponymous with pioneering cutting-edge products and integrated security solutions for over a century. From the timeless Navtal lock, Godrej’s offerings have evolved to high-end holistic security solutions. The company has pioneered the technology of a springless lock that ensures every key is unique to new digital-driven integrated solutions incorporating biometric technology.
Manufacturing Today spoke with Pushkar Gokhale, Business Head, Godrej Security Solutions, to know more about Locks, security & solutions. Pushkar has been with Godrej Security Solutions for more than two decades. In his words, “When you talk about the commitment to sustainability, the commitment to climate change, the commitment to protecting the environment, the commitment to a lot of social work, commitment to the values, I think this has been a phenomenal company to work for. And it has given me a lot in terms of challenging opportunities.”
Let’s begin with the journey of Godrej and how Godrej Security Solutions have come to be.
This is our 125th year anniversary. The time the founders actually started this institution. And over the years, we’ve actually built product by product. Basically, the entire thought process was how to make India Atmanirbhar. So that was the thought process and that’s why you will see that the group is so widely diversified. We started with locks and then we started manufacturing safes. We started manufacturing soaps, and we went on and on until we could actually end up with such a widely diversified product range. The end aim was to see how everything could be made in India because there was a lot of dependence in terms of a lot of imports coming in. And then, of course, besides this thought process, they were also certain values which were incorporated, which were built into the entire system.
And that’s where I think we have been going through this entire journey of 125 years. Pioneering progress for generations. It’s a purpose-led and value-based organisation. Talking about security solutions, we started our journey 122 years back when the first safe was manufactured. And since then, we have not looked back. After 120+ years of journey, we still have a market share of 60% in the banking space. It’s quite a commendable journey to be there in the market share despite a lot of competition.
So even today we have that kind of market share. In the institutional space, we command a market share of 60%. And when I look at the home lockers business, we are now looking at har ghar me safe. Earlier, people used to depend on bank lockers than home safes. But, because of our efforts, we have been able to dominate the market with 80% of the share. So I would say that we are pioneers in terms of creating the home safe category. So that has been our journey—from jeweller to banks to households.
Retail strategy for the products
It’s basically a three-pronged strategy which we work on. One part is our offering itself. The very important aspect of that is how we understand our customers. What do our customers want? We call it a process of user insight-based innovation, wherein we work very closely with customers to understand what is happening in their space and what is their implied needs. Then we keep coming up with new products. The second part is the go-to-market phase. Once you have a product, how do you reach out to the market? Today, it’s an omnichannel strategy. We go through the conventional route that’s the distributor or retailer. Then there are malls. The third strategy is the e-commerce part.
The other equally important aspect is how we create awareness around our products. We have tried to quantify the product so that the customers can understand it properly. The communications part actually plays a vital role in penetrating difficult markets. A proper manufacturing facility, designers, and a proper R&D set-up to convert the customers’ demands into products play the next important aspect. We have a fantastic state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and we invest 10% to 15% of our profit into R&D. This forms our backend. To summarize, the 1st strategy is the offering, 2nd is the go-to-market and 3rd is the backend.
Implementing Industry 4.0 in the manufacturing process
It is a journey, but we are doing our bit. It is a continuous journey of improvement. Digital technology is not just a part of the front-ending or e-commerce, but it is also about how we design our product. There is a lot of tech built into our products, there is a lot of technology in the way we manufacture them. And when we go and sell it, right from various apps, which have been given to our salespeople to monitor the progress, getting those dashboards, getting on to the e-commerce platforms etc. This is the entire shift, which is not just restricted to one silo. Digital or technology has to be a part of all the three strategies I mentioned earlier—offering, go-to-market and backend.
About the competitive markets
The landscape is changing. There was a time when we were the only ones who were actually talking about this particular market. Now there are new players. Yet there is a lot of headroom to grow. The moment there will be competition coming in, it will only help the category because they will also do their bit to create awareness. Our only challenge is how we differentiate our products from the competition. Healthy competition is always good and it is helping.
What’s the future that you’re looking at in a sense about the company? How do you see the company and industry in the future ahead?
Pushkar Gokhale: From a very broad point of view, security will definitely be in demand. It was in need 1000 years back and it will be in need in the future too. What is going to happen is how you address security is going to change. Our understanding is that over the years, what is going to happen is security will be more about monitoring and tracking. Security will be more about digital. We are very strong on physical security products. What we are now trying to do is how we can build digital into it. Security would be a more digital plus physical combination. And Covid has accelerated digital adoption.
What are the new product areas that you are looking at?
One of the things we are working on is electronic security solutions, where we are looking at creating a platform that will allow you to connect your products through apps. The other area is integrated offering, where we are now trying to create products that can protect themselves—like a vault protecting itself from possible theft. Thanks to the kind of R&D spend and our understanding of the customer, we are able to be the first movers in this sector.