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| Revolutionising
Lankan businesses with IT The Sri Lankan business sector can be viewed in many categories. The manufacturing sector is a major part of it and there is a need to upgrade the IT technology here. With a lot of Sri Lankan youth taking to IT, this technology as a business in Sri Lanka should have a good future. It is obvious that countries like Sri Lanka can exploit the markets in US and Europe, which is already done by few companies. But, it is not enough. Considering the low labour cost, gain on time difference and the skilled youth we have, there is no reason why we shouldn't expand to the extent of Indian IT industry. This would have a lot of positive features for the country. The government and private sector universities churn out many IT graduates who need to have jobs. Sri Lankan youth are skilled and we should make maximum of this advantage. More importantly, if we aim for the US/Europe markets, we are going to earn at the highest market rates for software development at the lowest cost! Moving away from IT as a business itself, IT can also be used as a great tool for our businesses in order to face prevailing competitive global business situations. In the manufacturing arena, the garment sector is in the forefront of the Sri Lankan economy. To benefit from economies of scale, it is always good for companies to have a chain of garment factories, which we already see in Sri Lanka. Having a good IT network between them would provide various benefits like minimising wastage, planning human resources effectively and efficiently, minimising stocks and thereby minimising stock holding cost, communicating better with global customers and better planning with data available for forecasting. Pak Tak Knitting & Garment Factory Ltd in Hong Kong is an old garment business but it has installed computer systems now which has helped them to compete strongly in the market. John Cheng Kai Chun, Assistant Managing Director of Pak Tak, says, "More and more overseas clients want to use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) as a means to place their orders, which has made us realise that we need to follow market trends and go in this direction. Therefore, starting in 1999, we implemented a full computerised programme for the company's entire business operation and used IT more in various business processes. We are also building a company website with a view to leveraging the Internet for business development." Some
systems that are applicable to the garment industry are: Computer Aided Designing (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) are applicable to businesses, which make production effective and efficient and ultimately pay off with good profits. This is implemented and used by the best manufacturing companies around the world with the Japanese leading the way. In order to implement good Japanese systems such as Just-In-Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM), sound information systems are essential. Implementation of these would lead to several advantages, which itself would create competitive advantages for companies. Tea
is another important area given its role in the economy.
Computerising tea factories is not a reality as of now but it would prove beneficial as seen in garments. Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) would give Sri Lanka the competitive advantage in the global tea industry. Some systems are already being implemented to automate the plantations industry. One good example is the 'Harvest' Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system developed by Microsoft. It is a total ERP solution for plantations such as tea, coffee, rubber, oil palm, cardamom, pepper, orchids, vineyards, horticulture and floriculture. Some achievements by using the system are: * Monitoring: Accurate monitoring and controlling costs field wise, activity wise, crop wise and activity based cost management system helps to control the performance of activity and the cost impact on it. * Controlling: Elimination of errors and deceit within the organisation. The critical control points of the system enable the management to be proactive in quick decision making. * Tracking: Accurate tracking of production and deliveries to auctions/sales. * Analysis: Timely availability of reliable data helps in quick analysis of various factors and also helps in comparing targets with previous actuals. * Monitoring of stocks and goods awaiting shipment. * Detailed analysis of crop, rainfall, productivity, labour deployment, forecasting, etc. Small-scale businesses should try to grab the IT revolutionary with both hands. At the outset, it may seem as an unaffordable cost but it would pay off on the long term. The advantages that a network between branches were already discussed, which are applicable in this case as well. Accessing a global market would also be easier. The global social aspect on IT being used in business is also going to play a major role. The western world is coming to the extent of believing that, without computerisation the quality of goods and services will not be acceptable in the light of all the above reasons, the business sector of our country should gear up to face the challenges of the new world and make IT an essential part of it. The writer is a final year undergraduate of the University of Colombo and a CIMA student as well. He is the first and only Sri Lankan to win an award at the International CIMA Financial Management Awards ceremony. |
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