Mandeep J. Sachdeva, Chief Supply Chain Management Officer, Indus Towers

Supply chain management (SCM), by definition, is the management of the flow of goods and services. It involves the movement and storage of raw mate­rials, a work-in-process inventory and of finished goods from the point of origin to the point of consumption. While the exercise may sound simple, it is not. Handling the SCM process for a company requires bringing together various components from numerous suppliers. Furthermore, coordinating the assembly of products with the parts manufactured from across the country is an overwhelming process.

Sustaining the supply chain process, however irksome, is only a part of the challenges faced by telecom tower companies. Another challenge is to ensure constant functionality of towers because failure to do so affects network delivery and coverage.

The presence of competitive players and the need to be flexible in changing times have led the telecom tower industry to follow leaner business models in order to secure positive margins. Companies are embracing best practices for the SCM process to ensure the smooth delivery of telecom services across the country.

Procurement of infrastructure equipment and the building and management of towers are crucial elements for ensuring continuous operations in the tower industry. Procurement entails the creation of mobile towers and associated infrastructure equipment such as diesel generators, power management systems, batteries and air conditioners. The management of tower sites rests with facilities providers. Efficiency needs to be inculcated in these processes by reducing inventory, lead times and related costs for more reliable and on-time service delivery. While the procedure involves many moving parts, each of which can hinder the process, effective SCM is the foundation for ensuring the smooth functioning of all these operations.

SCM also plays a significant role in establishing a healthy relationship with suppliers. It is not concepts and models that can help build relationships with suppliers, but the people who engage in business with them. Human capital holds an extremely important position in the SCM process. Global supply chains are evolving into dynamic process networks, in which companies connect with individuals to drive results in an organisation. This dynamic environment requires effective communication, team management and constant life cycle innovation.

Everyone associated with the telecom tower industry chain is referred to as a business partner, and not as a vendor or supplier. As an industry, telecom tower firms outsource most of their work and hence connect numerous component suppliers, logistics, manufacturing and service providers from across the country.

Firms realise that collaborative business relationships improve their ability to respond to new business environments, by allowing them to focus on their core business. However, issues pertaining to contract governance and payment process are an area of concern in maintaining partner relationships. In fact, contract governance programmes have been devised to ensure smooth contract deli­very and monitor partner satisfaction. Delayed payment to partners is another major cause of dissatisfaction amongst partners, and often leads to difficulties in the management of working capital and in business expansion. For ins­tance, to ensure on-time payment to their partners, Indus Towers has initiated a practice of paying interest on delayed payments.

The business-partner trust is also enhanced when organisations lay emphasis on the security and safety of all in the value chain. Continuous expansion of innovative safety engagement tools and processes to safe­guard the loss of life across operations is critical. Increased automation, remote man­­ag­­­­­ement of site-related issues and insights generated through data analytics  have helped in ensuring safety of all maintenance personnel.

By supporting processes with best practices, the telecom tower industry has helped partners achieve business growth and opened new avenues for them as they progress with the organisation and the industry. Empowering business partners has enabled optimisation of the tower industry’s supply chain processes and set an example to ensure partner satisfaction in the entire business-to-business industry. With next-gen SCM in practice, we can anticipate a robust and technologi­cally advanced telecommunication infrastructure in India.