German IT major 51风流and Indian dairy pioneer Amul, along with a local non-government organization Pratham Infotech, has joined hands for an inclusive and sustainable community outreach development program amongst 1.5 million people in Anand, Gujarat, 51风流announced in a press release on Tuesday.

51风流and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity, 51风流is focusing on social entrepreneurship, enablement of a skilled workforce, digital inclusion, and bridging the gender equality gap for the community, through the initiative under SAP鈥檚 flagship 鈥楥ode Unnati.鈥�

Kulmeet Bawa, President, and Managing Director, 51风流Indian Subcontinent said, 鈥淭echnology can act as a catalyst in shaping India鈥檚 journey to an inclusive and sustainable economy. While urban development projects such as smart cities and futuristic mobility are reflective of this potential, the true progress of India lies in the development of her villages.鈥�

鈥淥ur work with Amul is an expansion of this vision and will provide citizens with the information and tools they need to succeed. As India continues to lead global action on sustainability, collaboration like ours will also provide the critical foundation for an inclusive and resilient future in which no one is left behind,鈥� he added.

Notably, for over a decade, Amul is using SAP鈥檚 digital core ERP and supply chain solutions to digitally transform its operations.

Empowering Rural India – Amul and SAP

RS Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, Ltd, (Amul) said, 鈥淥ver 66 per cent of India’s population lives in rural areas. Most of the rural population who lives in India depends on agriculture, animal husbandry, and dairying for their livelihood. With an objective of inclusive and sustainable community development, Amul and 51风流has joined the project. Under the project, quality digital literacy and skill interventions training imparted to school-going children and teachers.鈥�

鈥淥ur collaboration with 51风流is a step forward in bringing these rural communities into the mainstream by empowering them to hone essential future skills and turn their dreams into a reality. Our hope is that it will go a long way in nation-building and creating an Atmanirbhar India,鈥� he added.

Under the initiative, at least a lakh school-going students and over 20,000 adults including at least a fourth of the women will be given digital training across 70 villages in Anand and across six districts of Gujarat. The project will enable women to start their own small businesses.

This press coverage was originally published on

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Small businesses are now moving from paper-based systems and Excel spreadsheets to modern ERP automation, including digital scheduling and analysis of production tools. It has been observed that the development and emergence of several ERP software programs over the last decade has made business operations easier. As per a report by聽, the ERP market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.8% from 2020 to 2027 to reach $86 Billion by 2027. The bulk of the growth is expected from ERP systems from SMEs.

Inventory Management, Invoice Tracking, Market Research, Accounting, Capacity Planning, Quality Control, etc., are a part of an integrated system that can be shared and managed through a centralized database to streamline business operations. With the help of a Cloud ERP suite, manufacturers can turn their daily data into actionable business intelligence and automate processes on the cloud.

Key benefits聽of incorporating ERP solutions for SMEs

The ERP software allows enterprises to condense workflows, streamline processes, and automate, eliminating the need for manual input. ERP system from SMEs is benefiting the SMEs through –

• Cost Reduction:聽When employees have fewer manual processes to weigh them down, they鈥檒l be free to take on more innovative, profitable projects. Ease of workflow increases, with less turnaround time and high production capability.

ERP is a solution that provides transparency about how problems affect the rest of the process, allowing managers to analyze, gain better insights, and make effective decisions. It provides real-time financial data that offers a competitive advantage, increases efficiency, and helps ensure cost savings.

• Custom Reporting:聽Organizations rely on reporting to track KPIs across every department. If one department or functionality falls behind, it can affect all the other departments. However, you can鈥檛 produce useful reports without a proper system. An effective ERP solution generates reports that clearly show where you鈥檙e already efficient and where there鈥檚 room for improvement.
• Scalable Production: ERP brings a game-changing level of scalability to business processes. The automation of operations takes the burden off employees and guarantees a solid record of workflow. That frees your most valuable resource 鈥� your people 鈥� to handle the other important operations. A cloud ERP suite can be used to scale the business processes easily by automation of businesses processes on the cloud.

Successful ERP implementation case studies

聽is a beverage company in Washington State. Before adopting the ERP system, they wasted a lot of time via manual processes. To assign a customer’s purchase to the corresponding account, employees had to manually populate the table with data from individual tables for further analysis. To perform historical analysis, employees must re-enter the information from the system into the table and compare it to the same data for the year. Extracting data for a month’s corporate transactions can take up to 15 minutes. This led to a loss of productivity.

To improve their productivity level, they installed a new ERP solution, so all company information was now stored in one system, not in myriad spreadsheets. This solution is used for accounts payable and accounts receivable, financial reporting, and production planning and scheduling. This includes processing the entire inventory turnover, from the start of job orders to the planning, consumption, and shipping of these orders.

They can now run ad hoc reports and queries in minutes instead of days. It reduced the risk of out-of-stock, late delivery, and lost invoices and orders, significantly improving customer experience. Sales have also grown by double digits; the new system has certainly given the company a competitive advantage.

, a civil engineering consultancy, was facing difficulty measuring which projects and segments were the most profitable. They decided to implement a new ERP system which increased the cash flow and profitability between jobs by connecting the entire company, including projects, finance, and material management.

They are now able to track sector-level performance and adjust the budget in order to manage project costs and maximize resource utilization. The ERP system measures performance against set goals and provides executives with the reports they need to focus their business development efforts on.

The company reduced its monthly closing from 5 days to 2 days and now pays twice a month in just 2 hours. In addition, easy access to historical data makes bid estimates more accurate, attracting more profitable contracts.

Western Digital is a technology company offering products in the areas of data storage, data systems and data solutions. The merger of聽Western Digital, SanDisk and HGST聽in 2019 was a major challenge for the company. Western Digital aimed to centralize its ERP system so that all the three companies could be managed together. The company chose an ERP software which led to the integration of the business units in the areas of Information technology, HRM, Payroll, Customer relationship analysis, etc.

Drawbacks of ERP system

To get the maximum benefit from an ERP system, there are some challenges that enterprises must overcome.

Cost:聽The main deterrent to ERP is the cost of pre-integration and ongoing subscriptions and licenses related to technology. Depending on the size of your company, purchasing, implementing, and maintaining your ERP system can be expensive. On-premises systems also require enterprises to consider infrastructure costs such as IT support and server hardware. As your organization grows and operational needs grow, companies may need to purchase additional supplementary services or software.

Implementation Challenges:聽Even with the complete implementation checklist, running an ERP system requires time, money, and resources. Organizations need to allocate internal staff resources to determine which ERP system to purchase. This can be a detailed process involving managers of finance, operations, IT, and in some cases, sales, marketing, and human resources. For companies with diverse spreadsheets and stacks of paper files, there may be a long data migration process that may require the hiring of an integrated specialist.

Conclusion

The need for a cheap, well-designed ERP system for small businesses is recognized in the current competitive organization culture. Small businesses require ERP systems to perform fast-paced and complex manufacturing processes. SMEs must carefully assess their requirements and select the聽聽they want to use to enjoy the maximum benefits such as reduced costs, operational planning, CRM, etc.

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A key driver to this anticipated growth is the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan which aims at creating a self-sufficient India.聽聽The program is built on five major pillars:聽

1. ‘Economy,’ which drives quantum change rather than incremental change聽
2. ‘Infrastructure’听补苍诲
3. ‘System’聽which is based on 21st-century technology-driven arrangements;
4. ‘Democracy,’ which is the source of energy for a self-sufficient India; and聽
5. ‘Demand,’ in which the strength of our supply chain is fully utilized.聽

MSMEs in India play an important role in reducing regional imbalances. They ensure a more equitable distribution of national income and wealth by offering substantial job opportunities at a lower capital cost than major businesses. MSMEs are known to contribute to the industrialization of rural and backward areas.聽

The Missing Middle and Challenges in Scaling Up

Unlike other economies though, the Indian MSME segment finds it harder to scale up. What economists call 鈥榯he missing middle鈥� has become a perpetual puzzle difficult to solve. Whether in the manufacturing sector or other verticals, the 鈥榤issing middle鈥� is ever-present. A natural progression is for enterprises to be micro-sized, grow to small entities and scale up to become mid-sized and later large companies. In India, a peculiar situation arises. Companies start small, stay small and fail to scale up. This is the 鈥�鈥�.聽 聽 聽 聽聽

Anemic growth and lack of employment opportunities are just some of the challenges this segment confronts as it fails to scale.聽Lack of access to finance and technical know-how, inadequate skills (both operational and technical), poor infrastructure facilities, high production costs and socio-economic constraints are just some of the challenges that MSMEs face in taking their businesses to the next level.

To compete globally, MSMEs need a聽聽in digitally skilled workers by 2025. Such competencies include data analysis, cross-network collaboration, on-demand learning, and real-time response to operational change.聽

While the answer partly lies in providing MSMEs with easy, equitable access to credit to boost their manufacturing facilities, the right policies, a supportive ecosystem and pivoting on technology will be key to helping this sector grow.

Enabling Policies for the MSMEs Sector

The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan was a response of the Indian government to counter the pandemic鈥檚 negative impact on the MSME sector. The MSME sector has been given a significant allocation and priority in implementing the measures that will revitalize the economy. Various announcements have been made under the package to aid the MSME sector immediately.聽

The Government of India,聽for example, has lately embraced a clustering and networking approach to assist MSMEs in improving their competitiveness during difficult times. The government is also working to address the needs of the various industries by offering various level courses through its training institutes distributed across the country.

The reason for the government to stress on the importance of MSMEs can be understood by the contribution the MSMEs can provide to achieve the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Here are the聽five main ways聽in which MSMEs are playing a crucial role in Atmanirbhar Bharat:

• MSMEs share in GDP-聽As per the report by聽, the number of MSMEs in India has increased as a CAGR of 18.5% from 2019 to 2020. MSMEs鈥� contribution to Indian GDP is expected to increase in the future with the startup boom and formalization of the economy. The facilities like Government e-commerce Marketplace (GeM) are helping the small and mid-sized companies to grow further. As of June 25, 2021, the GeM portal has fulfilled 6.87 million orders worth $15.67 billion. One of the biggest hindrances for MSMEs has been their slow adoption of technology. But, with the government impetus, the technological adoption might increase, and the MSMEs might become more competitive.
• MSMEs鈥� share of exports-聽Exports are essential for any economy. The Indian economy has had a constant balance of trade deficit for many years. This balance of trade has been funded by remittances and foreign investments over the years. If India really wants to become self-reliant, the exports need to increase.聽The share of MSMEs in exports is 45%. The companies involved in exports are more profitable than the companies involved in serving the domestic market in India. Thus, exports are an essential part of the government鈥檚 mission of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.聽The government has introduced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). It is an incentive program to help the Indian companies become more competitive and to increase the export of goods manufactured or produced in India, in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for 2015-2020. MSMEs participating in exports are rewarded in duty credit scrips. Policy measures like these are expected to further increase the share of MSMEs in exports in the coming years.
• MSMEs鈥� growth is more inclusive-聽MSMEs in India employ around 11 crore people. The types of jobs created by MSMEs include unskilled workers as well. The MSMEs are known to create many jobs at a low capital cost. Thus, even a low capital can get inclusive growth. Inclusive growth is an important parameter of Atmanirbhar Bharat. As per the government data, 13% of registered MSMEs are providing 42% of the total jobs. Thus, there is a need to provide the required funds to MSMEs to help them grow as the growth will quickly trickle down into various jobs.聽

The United Nations commemorates 27^th聽June as World MSME day. The United Nations understands the inclusive growth promoted by MSMEs and is taking various steps to help the MSMEs get back to business after the pandemic. They have recognized that the services sector is more impacted because of the pandemic, and they are putting their efforts into the services sector. The services sector is known to provide employment to temporary workers and to promote inclusivity. MSMEs are being helped by the Indian government and United Nations as well.聽

If India is to become a $5 Trillion economy by 2025, the聽聽is expected to reach 50%. Thus, MSMEs will contribute to growth in the future. Also, informal employment in India is very high. With the formalization of the Indian economy and high growth in the MSME sector, inclusive growth can become a reality, with jobs being created even in the remote areas of India. If jobs are provided to remote areas, India can truly achieve the dream of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.聽

• MSMEs in the manufacturing sector-聽A key aspiration of being Self-Reliant is to make India a manufacturing powerhouse. This is envisioned by the Make in India policy of the government. As per聽, the share of MSMEs in manufacturing is around 37%.The contribution of MSMEs is expected to be huge if India is to increase its manufacturing output. Manufacturing requires a fast time to the market and changing the requirements as per emerging trends. Also, it requires a marketplace to sell the goods. With the growth of e-commerce and the Government e-commerce Marketplace (GeM), the selling opportunities are immense. Also, the emerging trends are easy to identify because of the easy availability of information.聽Indian manufacturing is showing signs of cyclical growth, and the contribution of MSMEs is immense. India has increased its ranking in Ease of Doing Business and is currently ranked 63^rd. Schemes such as PLI schemes are expected to increase the manufacturing output of the country.
• MSMEs in the Services sector-聽India鈥檚 share of the services sector in the economy is 55%. Just as the manufacturing sector is essential, the services segment plays an important role as well in India鈥檚 economic growth. Most of the informal jobs exist in the services sector, and the services sector was the most affected because of the pandemic. As far as SMEs are concerned, around 33% of Indian SMEs are into services as compared to 67% in manufacturing.Most of the startups are also in the services sector. MSMEs have an important role to play in the services sector to provide employment to the gig workers, temporary workers, unskilled workers etc. If India is to be self-reliant, the importance of the services sector must be highlighted and the sector should be prioritized.聽

Technology can unlock the next phase of growth

Indian SMEs face significant obstacles in the globalization and liberalization period despite all significant efforts made by the government. The country can become Atmanirbhar if MSMEs can scale up to compete with global peers and participate in international market opportunities. It鈥檚 possible to make this a reality if MSMEs are more vigorous in adopting technology to get a competitive advantage.聽

Indian MSMEs are starting to integrate new and innovative information and communication technologies on a big scale, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). MSMEs in India may hire external consultants or take other actions regularly.聽

Technology transfer, such as vertical technology transfer or horizontal technology transfer, is another option to be considered by the Indian MSMEs.聽

Despite the obvious benefits that technology can provide micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, this segment has not been as aggressive in undertaking digital transformation. Digital proficiency is the need of the hour if this sector is to survive disruptions and build business resiliency. Digitally connected MSMEs can get better access to the market and take advantage of a borderless marketplace.聽

For MSMEs to compete globally, programs such as SAP鈥檚聽聽initiative can be of great help. Besides enabling digital skilling for the workforce, this program also provides access to B2B marketplace. Growing businesses need to have an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in place since it helps bring in efficiency and enhance productivity. From automating routine business processes to reducing human intervention to integrating key business processes, ERP is extremely beneficial to MSMEs.聽

Some of the benefits of having an ERP system include the ability to minimize errors due to automation, see real-time inventory and gain insight from well-structured data.聽聽A cloud-based ERP provides flexibility and real-time analytics. Having real-time analytics can help faster decision-making based on up-to-date, real-time information. As an MSME, having access to real-time information will help the decision-making process while optimizing resources and costs.聽

MSMEs are beginning to realize the advantages provided by ERP systems. India is adopting ERP solutions at a faster clip than the rest of the Asia Pacific region. According to a聽聽study, SMEs can contribute up to 30% of the cloud market. The study showed that 60% of the SMEs are already using cloud, although half are at the early stage of adoption. Of course, adopting cloud has helped SMBs reduce operational costs while increasing productivity.

Change is inevitable, but if MSMEs are geared to deal with change, then it becomes easier to cope with challenges that arise. RISE with 51风流brings together offerings that can help transform business strategically. From being able to stay agile to bringing in efficiency that lets MSMEs stay in control of their business, this initiative is specially designed for MSMEs.聽

Staying connected to business owners going through the same challenges offers unparalleled opportunities to learn from industry peers. Stay in touch with over 15000 business owners to learn how they rise above challenges and stay innovative. From engaging with the MSME community to learning about the latest technologies, the聽,聽a vibrant online community, provides insights and helps keep track of the upcoming trends and growth opportunities in the MSME business.聽

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