Diversifying Your Supplier Base: Manjushree Technopack CPO's Proven Strategies To Mitigate Risk

There is a whirlwind of disruptions in this unprecedented age that can knock companies off balance. However, to build resilience for their supply chains in this perpetual storm, procurement leaders need to adopt a strategic approach to suppliers. They must perform an assessment through an extensive framework, delineate performance clauses in their value agreements to achieve a win-win situation, cultivate stronger relationships for risk mitigation, increased transparency and information sharing on costs. As supply chain networks are increasingly complex, strengthening the supplier-buyer relationship is paramount to ensuring sustainability and ethical sourcing.

As the Chief Procurement Officer of Manjushree Technopack, Ayanish Sen has over 25 years of experience in overseeing supplier engagement models and inventory optimization to drive supply chain security, delivering customer-centric and value-added outputs for the function. The firm is a thought leader in the rigid plastic packaging (RPP) scene, wherein they optimize technologies, costs, and raw materials for continuous innovation. In this exclusive Q&A interview, he stresses on the importance of scouting for suppliers that value-add to supply chain activities, collaborating with them on technological platforms and innovative projects, and facilitating seamless transactions for efficiency in their operational models.

How does Manjushree Technopack approach diversification within its supplier base to mitigate the risks associated with dependency on a single source? Can you share any insights into the criteria used for evaluating potential suppliers?

Supplier selection criteria vary across categories & risks associated with it. In certain cases, a single source with transparent costing, secure supply chain and consistent quality can be beneficial, although generally we try to put eggs in multiple baskets.

The reasons for a new supplier evaluation can be -

• Risk mitigation
• Cost optimization
• Supply or any other bottleneck removal
• New Product development (NPD).

After this, scouting for suppliers is primarily defined by the business needs. In today’s agile business dynamics, speed to market or cost become important factors, depending on cost sensitivity of the market/product. Quality is a hygiene factor- no compromises there.

The supplier development should be looked at from a perspective of consistency of output and performance outcome. We follow a two-step process of evaluation – Firstly, Statutory compliances, financial strength to support our growth, and then references, credibility checks, capacity & capability benchmarking, supply chain robustness and eagerness to drive a successful strategic relationship are criteria for evaluation.

Considering the potential impact of market volatility, geopolitical tensions, and natural disasters, what strategies does Manjushree Technopack employ to build flexibility and adaptability into its supplier relationships?

We strongly believe that the key to ensuring the right buying metrics is ensuring collaborative relationship with our key suppliers at all levels embarking on dynamic programs of joint value-added growth and contractual agreements with defined performance clauses which help us mitigate risks.

Key to this success is how robust you are in terms of business analytics, forecasting and awareness on Market intelligence and how you are ready in terms of levering these metrics to take the right decisions at the right point of time.

Could you elaborate on any instances where Manjushree Technopack's strong relationships with key suppliers played a crucial role in overcoming unexpected disruptions or challenges in the supply chain?

Our key relationships with our suppliers have paid dividends many a time. Delivery of Key CAPEX platforms from our technology partners ahead of standard lead time even during global disruptions like Covid and the Ukrainian war made us prove our credibility in the market.

With the increasing emphasis on sustainability and ethical sourcing, how does Manjushree Technopack ensure that its suppliers adhere to relevant standards and contribute to the resilience of the overall supply chain?

We work with the best-in-Class suppliers primarily in the field of Raw materials we use and the technology platforms on which we produce our products. All these suppliers are globally acknowledged and accredited for their QMS deployment and their sustainability visons. We also have structured Supplier audit programs where we embark on evaluating them on QCDSME parameters for continuous evaluation and improvements.

In the packaging industry, where raw material availability and pricing can be volatile, how does Manjushree Technopack work closely with suppliers to manage these fluctuations and maintain cost-effectiveness without compromising quality?

We have strategic relationship contracts with our key Raw material suppliers and have been refining our engagement models with them over time which are sustainable and can be driven for win-win situations for both. We embark on joint value addition programs which support us in delivering quality products to our esteemed customers smoothly and without disruptions.

Could you share some examples of how Manjushree Technopack collaborates with suppliers to solve problems and identify opportunities for mutual benefit?

The endeavor for all collaborations is generally holistic in nature- which are driven both technically and commercially to derive the best of operational efficiencies. Our business is highly technology driven and operationally intensive. Therefore, our collaboration with our suppliers is to drive best-in-class operational efficiencies, ensuring the right output quality for our customers is key to our growth.

How does Manjushree Technopack encourage innovation among its suppliers and foster a culture of continuous improvement within the supply chain?

We consider ourselves as not just a packaging material supplier in the RPP space but a complete Packaging solution provider to our esteemed array of Customers. Our Innovation team assesses customer needs on one side and we evaluate new offerings on the supplier side to offer innovations. We also encourage & develop our suppliers to adopt best practices, innovative products as per global standards.

We now have a dedicated R&D Centre specially designed to cater to our customer expectations and have a joint association with IISc Bangalore to utilize their research facilities to jointly support innovation projects for our customers.

What are your thoughts on the future of supplier relationships in the packaging industry? How do you see technology and other trends impacting these dynamics?

While the traditional relationship creation techniques which is primarily driven by human connects are there to stay, the world is moving fast in the cradle of digitization and the measures of relationship build up and their success stories would rest on how we drive transparency and agility in our connectivity conduits in real-time between the buyer and the supplier with their ERP platforms talking to each other and transactions made easy.

Proactive leveraging of new technologies and supporting suppliers to get onboard and accustomed to the same would be a gamechanger. Cost to technology adoption can however be a barrier in times of timely adoption for many.

You are speaking at this year’s procureCon Asia event. Can you share what the audience can expect to hear from you and what excites you about this event?

I am honored to be participating as a speaker in this event. I can see that the mix of speakers on this forum is quite diverse. However, the representation from the manufacturing field is less and my presence would bring in a fresh perspective on how we look at supplier and procurement management objectives in the manufacturing space and more precisely from the polymer and RPP space. I am looking up to actively collaborating with industry peers and exchanging views on procurement and business management dynamics to drive efficiency in my own area of work as a takeaway.

Hear from Ayanish Sen, at Equarius Hotel, Singapore, on 10th July, 11:20 AM Keynote Panel: How do you cultivate effective supplier relationships to ensure seamless business operations? Find out more here!