Established as a trading company in 1958, Havells India is the flagship company of the QRG Group, and one of Indias largest manufacturers of low-voltage electrical equipment. It has posted an annual growth rate of 45% over the last five years. Its corporate headquarters is in Noida ,while there are thirteen manufacturing facilities and twenty-one branch offices across India. In addition, it has overseas offices in Bangladesh, China, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates.

Geographical spread implied a widely dispersed workforce; the traditional means of communication like telephone calls and executive travel began to hinder productivity and efficiency at Havells. In particular, the sales and marketing teams in the branch offices felt disconnected from their counterparts at headquarters. In addition, headquarters-based operations managers had problems resolving customer-related issues, as well as optimizing inventory scattered across so many factories.

Requirements
Consequently, Havells identified the need for a communication solution to bring its geographically distanced teams together, face-to-face, and therefore turned to videoconferencing .The idea was to improve team interaction, hasten decision making and increase productivity. And that too in a cost effective manner without spending too much on traveling or telephone lines.

Havells had specific requirements for multipoint conferencing. The system had to be flexible, since entire teams needed to connect using the same conferencing equipment. Though the company was prepared to bring in conferencing specialists to educate the workforce on how to use the system, the solution had to be intuitive so that non-technical employees could use the equipment independently. Finally, the network had to be scalable to keep pace with the companys fast growth and ever-changing needs.

The Solution
Polycoms reputation as the market leader in videoconferencing solutions gave Havells confidence that the system would meet all of the companys needs, both in the short-term and in the future. AgreesVivek Khanna, vice president, IT and finance, Havells India Our video conferencing solution has greatly improved the effectiveness of interactions amongst our geographically-distanced staff. It enables face-to-face communication which helps in resolving issues faster.

Havells has credited Polycoms feature-rich, standards-based video conferencing system with delivering a marked improvement in the efficiency of its local and overseas operations. The companys geographically dispersed work teams can now easily collaborate and exchange sales, marketing and operations information in a convenient face-to-face manner without the need for costly and time-consuming travel.

They can now conduct virtual meetings on-demand, across vast distances, and enjoy the same communications experience as if they were in the same room.

In 2004, Havells purchased twenty-six units of Polycoms VSX series with full voice, video and data-sharing capabilities at a cost of approximately $200,000. Havells chose Polycoms renowned VSX group video conferencing system so that individuals or groups of up to forty persons in large rooms could easily connect with team members located at corporate headquarters and the various branch offices.

Havells initial Polycom installation connected its headquarters with the major branches and distribution depots across India.

To help facilitate its geographical expansion, Havells now intends to acquire additional Polycom VSX units to link its Indian and overseas offices and plants.

Mehak Chawla
mehakc@cybermedia.co.in