Inventions and discoveries have emanated from creative minds that have been constantly working and

imagining the outcome in the mind. With imagining and constant effort, all the forces of the universe
work for that inspired mind, thereby leading to inventions and discoveries. The question is: are you
willing to become that unique personality? - Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India, January
26,2006 Republic Day Speech.
I was one among the top ten students selected to witness the Republic day parade from the Presidents
box in lieu of my exceptional performance in AISSE (All India Secondary School Examination) 2005.
The above words struck a deep chord within me and further discussions with the President after the
function gave me an insight into the field of Engineering. I then realized that Engineering, an application
of Science, is indispensable in our daily life.
My parents, who are in the managerial cadres in their respective field, have instilled in me, the
importance of education and ensured that I got the best of education. After gaining admission into the
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, one among the top ten institutes in India, I chose
Production Engineering a field that I chose over the other streams giving into my love for machines
that have been a primary factor in the industrial revolution. The field of Production Engineering opened
up a gamut of subjects from Engineering Mathematics, Manufacturing Technology, and Design for
manufacture to Operations Management and Production Planning. Having established a firm grasp in
these subjects and an inherent propensity towards Production and Operations Management, I took up
research projects at various industries.
My first industrial exposure was In-Plant training at Rane Engine Valves Limited under the guidance of
Mr.R.Sriram (General Manager, Operations). I got a chance to analyze and record the diverse
operations/manufacturing processes in the form of a case study. This was followed by projects at
(BHEL) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, one of the largest engineering and manufacturing companies
in India and (WRI) Welding Research Institute, India in the academic year 2009-10. The case study
done at BHEL and WRI was a detailed report on the manufacturing process of Tubular Pipes which are
used in boilers and the parameters used across various operations.
The third year introduced me to subjects that were an amalgam of optimization and manufacturing
concepts. Developing keen interest in the same, I took up a project on AHP-based concept selection in a
lean manufacturing organization. The case organization was Wabco TVS India Limited, which offered
an internship during the summer of 2010. As a first step, Productivity Improvement techniques using
Time Study, Motion Study and facilities planning were suggested and implemented in the Dual Brake
valve assembly line. There existed a need for the case organization to identify the best concept selection
from the perspective of lean manufacturing. The concept selection problem is a typical multi-criterion
decision-making problem. In this study, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used for selecting
the best concept out of the five major Lean manufacturing concepts, namely, Streamlining of process
with value stream mapping, Adoption of single piece flow using Kanban system, Refinement of 5S
policy, Adoption of total productive maintenance for reducing breakdowns and Introduction of visual
controls and poka-yoke. The utilization of AHP has enabled the decision makers to select the best lean
concept for implementation which enabled business prosperity. The research paper was published in the
Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Emerald Publications, United Kingdom, Vol
AAAAAAAAAAAA. Subsequently, a portion of the above research titled Multi Criterion Decision
Making using AHP in a manufacturing environment was presented at the 5
th
International Conference
on Logistics and Supply Chain Management held at P.S.G Institute of Management in collaboration with
Central Michigan University, U.S.A. It gave me an excellent opportunity to interact with pioneers in the
field of Industrial Engineering. My final year thesis was on Supplier Selection using SMART (Simple
Multi-Attribute Rating Technique) and ANN (Artificial Neural Networks) under the guidance of
Mr.P.Parthiban, Assistant Professor, NIT Trichy. The case organization was able to make a judicious
decision from the outcome of the project.

The research environment and academic life that I encountered at NIT Trichy has been fortunate.
Consistently being ranked in the top 10 of the class, I graduated in First Class with Distinction. Being
interested in ERP consulting, I took up the job at Olam Information Services, a subsidiary of Olam
International(a global leader in the supply chain management of agricultural commodities). Initially, I
worked on SAP Business Intelligence solutions for the business units of Olam. Some of the projects
included Olam Argentina Peanut processing industry analytics and Corporate centre management
Information Systems (CCMIS) reports. The salient features of these projects were representation of
operation flow in the form of analytical dashboards/reports and financial analysis for decision making.
Proficient in modules like production planning, material management, I was asked to don the role of an
ERP Functional consultant for the SAP implementation at Olam Ivoire Sarl (Cote DIvoire).

At Olam Information Services, I was exposed to a variety of projects and was given key roles right from
the start. My first project was on development of Corporate Centre Management Information System
(CCMIS) reports . It required me to understand the financial supply chain of Olam International and to
develop analytical reports that provided financial and risk analytics for decision making. SAP Business
Intelligence suite was applied to provide these reports as per the requirements. Olam, being a product
based company, offered me the next project on Cotton Analytics. The denouement of the reports and on-
time delivery received accolades from the client. Having acquired substantial proficiency in business
modules like sales and distribution, materials management I was asked to don the role of a Functional
consultant for SAP Implementation at Cote DIvoire and Ghana. The work required me to gather
requirements from client and provide solutions for their business by designing their Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) tool.

Some of the challenging aspects of the project included Shipping Route determination and tracking,
Weighbridge integration and Inventory/Batch management. Articulate logic was designed and executed,
thereby ensuring smooth flow of operations. The job required me to travel frequently to Cote DIvoire
and Ghana and interact with respective Product heads. I would get involved in various discussions with
the managers as I had the passion to observe and learn management skills from them .The project also
provided me an opportunity to lead a small group of 4 persons during the go-live phase in Olam Ivoire
and Ghana. Although it was not so easy, I did my best to shoulder the responsibilities well.
Apart from academic and professional experiences, I involved myself with Slum Soccer, an international
NGO that uses football as a medium to impart social virtues and awareness. I am the core member of the
measurement and evaluation team of Slum Soccer.

The bigger aspect of the implementation process was technical literacy brought through SAP in Ivory Coast. SAP
being a forerunner in ERP solution, would not only provide a business solution but also add to the skill set of
users. By bringing in such technology the user not only match their skill set and also understand the important
aspects of the business. Having interacted with the users during the blueprinting process as well as post
implementation end user training, I observed a significant change in their understanding of the business. They
were able to see the dependency of each function through SAP and had a lucid understanding of the material flow
from the Raw material stores to the Finished Goods stores.

Besides Olam, I am also a core member for a NGO called Slum Soccer; an organization that uses football as a
medium to improve the life of children. I was on the Measurement & Evaluation team which focused on measuring
various parameters such as gender equality, respect, physical fitness, etc. The regular tests conducted, as well as
the interest kindled through the curriculum of the program, had a positive impact on the families. Parents ensured
their kids are regular to the program as it has given them a sense of purpose enabling them to understand their
true potential
Having said this, I believe that the combination of technology and business management is vital for the
development of any business. The high qualified faculty, diverse student body and the course structure of masters
in engineering management program provide a balanced learning environment that would be the ideal launch pad
into managerial roles in various corporations.

I involved myself right from the business blueprinting phase to the go-live phase of the implementation,
thereby studied the business operations and manufacturing processes of dairy, cocoa, cashew and cotton.
Among these, cashew and cotton had a complex process which was successfully completed against all
odds.

The cashew process at Bouake (Ivory Coast) was configured with the following processes.
RCN(Raw cashew nut) is received from multiple GRN(Goods receipt note) stored in warehouse which
contains the quality characteristics like Moisture percentage, Nut count, shelling out turn (SOT), Origin
from which it bought. According to the moisture level of the procured RCN, drying process will carried
out. Business will decide the drying needs to be carried out for the lot. Further to this process, multiple
lot from same origin were clubbed together to form a BIN. BIN formation in SAP is carried out by
production process. Process order is created for Drying/BIN formation. Time ticket confirmation is
carried out multiple times according to the RCN lot issued to the process order by determining the batch
with Origin, Region and Moisture percent as selection criteria. All the output of one process order will
be received in single batch number to form one batch (BIN) number for entire lots. Logic for batch
number involves 9 characters wherein 1
st
3 characters capture Region, next 4 characters capture year of
purchase and next 2 as running serial number. Inspection Lot will be generated after process order.
Random sample is taken from BIN and sent for quality check. The total quantity, actual shelling outturn,
nut count, moisture percentage for the entire lot is recorded in results, which flow in to the batch
characteristics automatically. Six sigma principles were adopted in implemented during the quality
management phase by developing a bell curve using the business intelligence suite of SAP and the
finished product was placed under the curve to determine the quality.

After successful implementation of Cashew, I was asked to take up Cotton processing. Cotton is a
complex process and the processing takes place from November to april. The key challenge of cotton
was the requirement of a customized interface. During the cotton process, a new bale is created every 9
seconds. Thus having such a short span of time the creation of process order, goods issue, confirmation
and receipt was not possible using the standard functionality. Thus in order to match the ERP to the pace
of the floor I designed a complete new interface that shadowed the floor plan efficiently. The design of
the interface was done with work study taken into consideration. Another aspect of cotton, were the
number of grades that were produced. Receiving each grade separately required a lot of time. Thus in
order to overcome this, I introduced the grades as co-products in the BOM (Bill of material). This
activation enabled selective goods receipt at procurement stage. Furthermore, due to the traceability I
was able to quantify the output of each ginning stand, ensuring optimum production.