| A revolution is taking place in Indian manufacturing which is best captured by the IT awareness spreading among medium and small manufacturing companies. |
| Not only is this creating new business opportunities for small US IT companies, survivors among them typically have India and China development centers. |
| George Ellis, chairman of SoftBrands, says, "One of our competitive advantages is our existing software development labs in India and China." |
| SoftBrands started development centers in China and India in 2002. It has a staff of 80 in India, of whom 30 work on software development and the rest in areas like consulting and implementation. |
| The company installs and supports its own products and products account for 60 per cent of its revenue in India. |
| Five years ago, a relatively small and unlisted US software firm like SoftBrands Inc (global turnover $ 80m) would not have thought of setting up shop in India. |
| Today they are not only there but are rapidly ramping up. They expect to double Indian turnover every year for 3 years, starting this year, and in 2 years' time expect to reach Rs 50 crore. Small beer but that is the point, a linkup is taking place between the grassroots players on both sides. |
| Today, even small Indian manufacturing are asking for affordable enterprise solutions, that is putting IT at the core of their operations and not piecemeal like using IT only to process payrolls. |
| SoftBrands in India provides enterprise (ERP) software to mid-sized manufacturing companies which, given Indian price points, means companies in the Rs 50-250 crore turnover range. |
| The change in the attitude of such companies in recent years prompted SoftBrands to open their own operations in India in 2002, though they have been selling their solutions through channel partners since 1988 when they made their first installation with Kodak India. |
| What is happening in Indian manufacturing arrived in China over a decade ago. Consequently SoftBrands went to China over ten years ago and now has 400 customers there. |
| In India its products are installed at 30 sites, with prominent customers like TTK Prestige, Gillette and ITC (filters division). |
| Though SoftBrands have so far targeted medium-sized companies, it is finding that there is also a market among small companies "" those with a below Rs 50 crore turnover. |
| That is why it is coming up with a new offering, tentatively termed FSSmall, to cater to the needs of companies with a turnover of less than Rs 5 crore, according to Binu Mathews, director for SAARC countries. |
| He expects to end next year (2004-05), the first full year after FSSmall has stabilised, with 100-120 FSSmall installations. These will account for a fifth of the company's total ERP business and be "a high focus area". |
| This will be a very basic, sturdy offering suited for a manufacturing company and will not seek to reinvent anything or add to SoftBrands overheads. Consequently, it will be offered at a total cost of ownership of Rs 3-3.5 lakh and installed in three weeks. |
| SoftBrands' emphasis on smallness and efficiency finds reflection in an existing product DemandStream which offers a lean manufacturing solution to the supply chain management requirement of companies. |
| Developed in collaboration with the Keisen Institute of Japan, it gives a company specific tasks to do for its wheels to keep turning by automating the kanban (card) system followed so effectively by Japanese companies. |
| Because of its emphasis on what is needed to get things done, DemandStream is called a supply chain "execution" product. |
| Another existing product which will be launched in India during the current year is Evolution which caters to the needs of manufacturing processes that require a good deal of conversion and involves multiple dimensions (sizes), like steel plates or textiles. |
| A good demand is foreseen as Indian textiles firms are rapidly modernizing and steel firms are increasingly turning. |
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