And the Mumbai experience was…

…amazing. The event went (more or less) without a hitch. We had senior level participation from some of the largest companies around Mumbai. Reliance Communications, Tata Power, Tata Motors (yes, the guys who worked on the supply chain for the Tata Nano were here!), Marico, Kansai Nerolac Paints, Godrej Sara Lee, BP – the list goes on.

Anurag Dixit, VP – Global Market at Zycus, opened the event detailing the new found relevance of Procurement in the context of today’s Indian economy and how some of the leading companies in the world were leveraging the power of Spend Management technology to become best in class. The opening speech was full of insight derived from years of observing large organizations at work, and helping them harness the power of technology.

This was a perfect segue for Professor Umesh Bahadur – who heads Operations Management at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (Ranked #32 in the world for Supply Management and Research). Prof Bahadur gave a stirring keynote on how Procurement in India has come of age, and how companies today can use the power of technology to transform their processes and their effectiveness. The audience were left cackling by his humorous anecdotes and the speech was well received.

Then a panel of experts from BP, Godrej Sara Lee and Godrej & Boyce took the stage for a Panel session on “Has procurement reached centrestage in India?” and they were joined by Anurag Dixit from Zycus. It was a heady discussion and emotions raged high… as each expert related their real life experiences of how they have indeed brought about a sea change, through technology and otherwise, in their procurement organizations – while admitting at the same time that there was some way to go before Procurement really reached center-stage in India. The discussion showed no sign of waning, even after the allotted time was over – as the audience joined in. But when the panel did come to an end – the audience carried the discussion forward over coffee – and the Zycus team was beaming with pride when they saw some relationships being built and cards being exchanged. This is what the event was supposed to be about!

After the coffee break, it was time for the event highlight. The eSourcing live simulation. The participants were split into 5 teams of suppliers(of laptops), and each team pitted their negotiation skills against the others – trying to win a prestigious contract. Imagine seasoned purchasing professionals out-negotiating each other! The atmosphere was electric – and when they finally used the Zycus eAuction tool – many were left amazed as to how low the price could go in a reverse auction. (It was around this time that Sachin Tendulkar scored his record-breaking double century for the Indian Cricket team. Sure, he stole a bit of our thunder – but we still love him!) After the workshop, various participants commented on how effective the tool was to negotiate prices and how it made sourcing easy. Some of the participants who had used the tool before (esp. Tata Motors) explained to the others on how this tool can be used effectively in real-life situations. This is what the Zycus Experience tour is all about! Sharing experiences and learning – and having fun while doing it.

An insightful speech by Aatish Dedhia – CEO and Founder of Zycus – brought the “serious” part of the event to an end – and now it was time to let the hair down, grab a drink and network. With nice music playing in the background, the participants and senior members from the Zycus team chatted and discussed on a variety of topics – from the future of Procurement, to how more of such events could not hurt the Purchasing community in India.

Once the participants started leaving after a hearty dinner (which included Goan Fish Curry – hurray!) – the Zycus team settled down for the first time in many hours. Tired, yet exuberant – but mostly satisfied with a day well spent. What we wanted to achieve – interesting conversations, informative experiences and happy customers – had been achieved.

Meanwhile, we are back at work. Next stop? Amsterdam – 9th of March. This is turning out to be quite a breathless experience!

P.S.: We clicked a lot of photographs and the whole thing was shot on video as well… Want to see them? Well…watch this space.