Berger Paints’ Anish Basu, ET Retail
New Delhi: Berger Paints, one of the leading paints companies in India, has kept its focus on innovation to grow and maintain its market position despite experiencing a surge in competition and evolving consumer demands in the Indian paints industry, said Anish Basu, general manager of supply chain and logistics, Berger Paints in an interview with ETRetail.
“With the introduction of brand extensions and the movement of products both upwards and downwards in the market, accurately predicting and managing demand has become increasingly difficult,” Basu said.
Speaking on the challenges faced this year, Basu said, “There have been fluctuations in the overall demand and we have seen decline in tier 2, tier 3 and rural markets. This shift has impacted our Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) cycles and demand forecasting processes.”
In April to June period, however, the paints major saw a strong near 12 per cent growth in volumes for its operations in India, but the value growth was subdued because of price cuts taken in the previous quarters and higher sales of products in the low-value category.
The company closed the fiscal year 2023-24 with a consolidated sales turnover of Rs 11,199 crore, positioning the firm as the fifteenth largest paint and coating company globally. Although growth wasn’t as robust as in previous years, the company’s overall performance remained solid, with a noticeable improvement in demand by the end of the fiscal year.
Basu shared that inflation and geopolitical tensions have impacted raw material prices in the past, requiring Berger to refine its procurement strategies and optimize inventory management. “If supply chain issues are not addressed properly, they can affect working capital and profitability. As a result, we have had to reevaluate our approach to these processes,” he added.
Role of technology in managing supply chain and driving growth
Berger Paints currently has verticals including Decorative (retail), and Industrial, which is further divided into Protective Coating and Automotive & GI paints. The Protective Coating segment serves smaller factories through distributors, while Automotive & GI paints cater to OEM customers.
Retail (Decorative) accounts for 84 per cent of our business, focusing on make-to-stock for customers. The remaining 16 per cent is industrial, involving B2B sales and made-to-order, the company shared.
With the use of AI-powered technology platforms in the decorative segment, the company said it has seen a 7-8 per cent improvement in serviceability, a reduction in stock cover by 7-8 days, and a decrease in slow-moving inventory to less than 2 per cent.
Basu said, “The support of advanced technological solutions, including those provided by AI-powered platform o9 Solutions, has played a crucial role in Berger’s sustained growth and operational efficiency by improving dispatch planning, allowing for real-time updates and rapid response to changing market conditions.”
Sharing their role on data and tech utilisation, Siddhartha Niyogi, MD and CEO, o9 India said, “Given the massive changes we’ve seen since COVID, capturing data and identifying consistent patterns remain a crucial area of focus, especially when those patterns themselves are shifting.”
“Tapping into our platform’s inherent levers and collaborating more frequently, we’ve achieved significant improvements in meeting demand holistically,” Niyogi added.
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