Pankaj Bhargava, President, Procurement & Procurement Strategy & Operations, Pidilite (All businesses)
Pankaj is a post graduate in Management and has over 29 years of experience in the areas of Supply Chain, Retail Business and Information Technology.
Podcast
Overview
Today we bring you, Pankaj Bhargava, in another addition to our Supply Chain Series. Pankaj is a Management graduate with 29 years of experience in areas of Supply Chain, Retail Business, and Information Technology. Currently, he is the President of procurement at Pidilite.
In the interview, Pankaj talks to us about the challenges faced by the Supply Chain in the past year of lockdowns and the pandemic. While the world was locked down, businesses were failing to stay afloat. Large corporations had to put a full stop on manufacturing, material availability became a challenge, the shipping system went for a toss, laborers migrated back to their homes, and the petrol prices shot up. Two major units of business that got severely hit were the manufacturing and supply chains.
Pankaj explains that our economy is ferociously recovering from the effects of the pandemic. He shares that the role of a supply chain manager is to manage this uncertainty and volatility of supply chains and assure the revenue generation of the business. According to Pankaj, the procurement of raw materials affects the whole business.
Work from home has completely changed the face of businesses. Pankaj answers how businesses are rethinking their supply chains due to this. He explains that there is a dire need for digitization in this sector to have better partner relationships and continuous engagement with the relevant stakeholders. He also suggests businesses move towards e-commerce.
A technology enthusiast himself, Pankaj explains how technology is evolving the supply chains. Technology improves efficiency, effectiveness, and brings in automation. The accuracy levels are getting increased while technologies like Artificial Intelligence are helping plan the inventories more effectively.
Towards the end, Pankaj shares his opinion on the de-globalization of businesses that have been prompted by the pandemic. He talks to us about our dependence on China for manufacturing and shares if India should move out. Tune in and learn more!
Profile
Pankaj is a post graduate in Management and has over 29 years of experience in the areas of Supply Chain, Retail Business, and Information Technology.
He is currently the President – Procurement and is responsible for procurement strategy & operations for all businesses of Pidilite.
Pankaj joined Pidilite as Chief Information Officer in 2011 and has led various IT and Digital initiatives at Pidilite.
Pankaj started his career in DCM Shriram as a management trainee and worked in multiple roles over a period of 20 years including managing a Food & FMCG rural retail business, supply chain and leading the information technology function.
