The document discusses an IT strategy project for Kumar Builders, a large industrial group in South India with over Rs10 billion in annual turnover. The group had previously implemented SAP R/3 and a Master Governance application to help manage its chemicals and engineering businesses. While these implementations helped achieve business goals, there were still opportunities to improve effectiveness. The IT strategy project aimed to identify gaps in adhering to processes, systems, and people from the previous implementations and provide recommendations to address these gaps. This was to be done through a current state assessment, process and SAP audits, gap identification and analysis, and final recommendations on priorities, timelines and implementation approach.

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© 2006, Wipro Consulting, Approach Note for IT Strategy for Kumar Builders - Ver 1.0
Client
The client is one of the largest industrial groups in South India, with a turnover of over Rs10 billion.
The group’s businesses are professionally managed by its over 650 highly qualified managers. It has
a significant presence in the businesses that have been identified as its ‘core’ areas:
 Engineering; PVC/ Chlorochemicals; Specialty chemicals; Shipping.
A unique feature of the Group is that it has over 15 successful joint venture relationships with leading
international partners, both large corporations belonging to the Fortune 500 and small companies
operating in niche technology areas. Many of these joint ventures are long standing ones with some
close to 25 years. It has plants spread out in Tamil Nadu with an all India network of offices for
marketing and support.
Our Approach
Situation Impact
 Client had done a Business Process Re-
engineering (BPR) and has implemented SAP R/3
Version 4.6 C covering both its Chemicals and
Engineering group of companies. In addition to this
a Master Governance application (Based on Lotus
Notes) was implemented which would help in the
creation of the Master Data for SAP.
 The key need that was being felt was that, while
BPR, SAP and subsequent project on Master
Governance should have clearly helped the Group
achieve the business drivers, there still were areas
wherein the effectiveness of these could have been
further improved.
 For this the first step is to identify the gaps w.r.t
process adherence/system adherence/people
adherence of BPR and bridge them, which this
project was about.
 A fair assessment of the existing SAP setup with
identified gaps bridged.
 Increase in automation
 Clarity on the areas of improvement to meet the
growing Business requirements
 Optimized usage of the existing infrastructure
 Increase in customer responsiveness
 Improvement in adherence to orders committed
 Optimal utilization of resources
ERP Optimization Experience – IT Strategy
 Current State Assessment - Intensive interactions
with key personnel across Client’s companies to
understand the overall business, and current IT
setup & usage (with a clear focus on the SAP and
Lotus notes).
Process Audit & SAP Audit using customized
templates were also performed.
 Gap Identification and Analysis – Comparison of
the BPR with the currently followed process and
analyzing the various causes for non adherence
formed a part of this stage.
 Recommendations – After recognizing the root
causes the recommendations were given along
with the priority, timelines and specific manner in
which the implementation of the recommendations
should be carried out wherever needed.