We had the morning off yesterday so all of us took the time to catch up on sleep. Sleep has been one of those precious luxuries that doesn’t come easily here in Mysore. It seems like every time I am about to drift off into blissful rest, something or somebody wakes me up. On the plane trip over here, it was the airline attendants. It felt like they fed us every hour on the hour. And here at the fabulous Ginger hotel where the walls are only slightly thicker than double ply toilet paper, you are lucky if 15 minutes go by without housekeeping knocking on your door, children screaming down the hallway, or generally obnoxious residents having a loud conversation between rooms with their doors propped open.
Speaking of which, has anybody else noticed that when 2 locals engage in conversation here in India, it sounds like they are about to get into a boxing match?
Yesterday afternoon, we were able to take a visit of the AT&S plant in Mysore. AT&S manufactures PCB boards for devices such as cell phones and computer hardware. Upon arrival at the facility (where the majority of the 16 students were tired, sleepy, and crabby) we were filtered into a break room so that they could locate the staff that would be giving us the tour. I will be forever grateful to Rajiv and Al for deciding NOT to have us attend the classroom portion of the tour, which I’m sure is about as interesting as watching water boil.
After a 10 minute power nap (and wiping the drool off of my shoes), we were off on our tour to visit the magical world of copper plates and epoxy resin. For the most part, the facility contained most everything that I would have expected from a PCB board manufacturer. Mechanical presses, drills, CAD equipment, chemical etching stations, etc. After 30 minutes or so, our group reached the tail end of the board manufacturing process: quality control.
Two words immediately crossed my mind as I stared at the dozens of workers manually counting and inspecting the finished products with nothing more than a magnifying glass: cheap labor. Here is the difference from businesses in India and those of the United States. Here is the reason why so many jobs are being outsourced to India. Here is the reason why many of our products cannot compete competitively from a cost perspective with similar products in India.
I was appalled when I heard about the $4 shop rates in Automotive Axles and TVS and how labor contributed for only 4% of the overall cost of the finished product. But here it was, staring me in the face as board after board went through a painstaking process of manual inspection that would have made most of us cross-eyed after the first few hours. Can you imagine staring at circuits no larger than a few grains of sand through a magnifying glass for 6 days, 8 hours a day, for no more than $200 a month? It is a reality here in Mysore and the rest of India.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
TVS Company Visit
Class again. And another day of lecture without questions, discussion, or collaboration. School in India is much different than in the United States. Rather than challenge professors, students here seem to accept their teachings as doctrine. I’m not sure if that is more of a cultural or educational thing, but it is something that I will not take for granted when I get back home!
Insourcing- “A whole new form of collaboration and creating value horizontally, made possible by the flat world and flattening it even more…very few companies can afford to develop and support a complex global supply chain of the scale and scope that Wal-Mart has developed. That is what gave birth to insourcing.” – Thomas Friedman, “The World is Flat”
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit another company in Mysore, TVS. TVS currently manufactures 2 wheel vehicles in India such as mopeds and scooters. They offer a variety of vehicles from a base economy model moped to a larger 160cc model scooter that looks like a scaled down sport bike. TVS was even more impressive than Automotive Axles with operations all over India and a solid foundation of integrated supply chain systems such as JIT, Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, and Kanban for inventory.
Like most companies in the United States, TVS has taken advantage of the capabilities available to them through their vendors in order to achieve higher operating efficiency and productivity. This insourcing of knowledge from their numerous vendors has allowed TVS to dramatically improve their numbers in the areas of production, operations, and safety while steadily increasing their sales volume and bottom line. TVS currently holds less than 30 percent market share in India, but is already in the planning phase of increasing their exports to countries outside of India. From my conversations with their numerous floor managers, Praxair has been a part of their consultative planning for improved welding processes and metal fabrication projects.
Insourcing- “A whole new form of collaboration and creating value horizontally, made possible by the flat world and flattening it even more…very few companies can afford to develop and support a complex global supply chain of the scale and scope that Wal-Mart has developed. That is what gave birth to insourcing.” – Thomas Friedman, “The World is Flat”
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit another company in Mysore, TVS. TVS currently manufactures 2 wheel vehicles in India such as mopeds and scooters. They offer a variety of vehicles from a base economy model moped to a larger 160cc model scooter that looks like a scaled down sport bike. TVS was even more impressive than Automotive Axles with operations all over India and a solid foundation of integrated supply chain systems such as JIT, Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, and Kanban for inventory.
Like most companies in the United States, TVS has taken advantage of the capabilities available to them through their vendors in order to achieve higher operating efficiency and productivity. This insourcing of knowledge from their numerous vendors has allowed TVS to dramatically improve their numbers in the areas of production, operations, and safety while steadily increasing their sales volume and bottom line. TVS currently holds less than 30 percent market share in India, but is already in the planning phase of increasing their exports to countries outside of India. From my conversations with their numerous floor managers, Praxair has been a part of their consultative planning for improved welding processes and metal fabrication projects.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Praxair in India?
Yesterday, we took a tour of Automotive Axles, a local company specializing in the production of heavy duty axles mainly used for trucks. Driving through the city of Mysore, the sights and sounds of the city, its rickshaws, scores of people crossing every which way in the street, cows and goats roaming aimlessly throughout downtown, Automotive Axles was definitely “out of place”. Needless to say, I was skeptical to see the manufacturing processes taking place within Automotive Axles.
Part of my job is to assess a customer’s manufacturing facility and form a business partnership that can be mutually beneficial for both parties. For the customer, those benefits can be described with terms such as increased productivity, lower costs, competitiveness in the marketplace, and shareholder value. As a result, I’ve had the opportunity to visit dozens of companies and speak to hundreds of employees ranging from floor supervisor to CEO. After working with world-class manufacturing facilities in the United States, I expected Automotive Axles to be an archaic version of a true manufacturing plant riddled with problems, bottlenecks, and OSHA violations.
Much to my surprise, Automotive Axles was an ISO 9001 company that closely resembled heavy manufacturing firms in the United States. Here, in the middle of Mysore, stood a company that could rival the likes of axle manufacturers throughout the world. And here’s the kicker. After talking to the plant manager about manufacturing processes and product supply, I found out that they were using Praxair microbulk tanks for supply of their welding gases.
In an attempt to not bore you to death, a microbulk tank is essentially a smaller version of a full sized bulk tank, filled with liquid product that is vaporized to deliver a continuous supply of gaseous product to the end user. I was thrown for a loop. I knew that my company had a few plants in India, but I never would have thought our supply chain would reach to remote areas such as Mysore. Friedman describes supply-chaining as “a method of collaborating horizontally- among suppliers, retailers, and customers- to create value.” Obviously, this is working for our friends at Automotive Axles in India. This was not ordinary plant tour for an MBA course. In the blink of an eye, I had switched roles from an MBA student studying abroad in Mysore, India to a company representative for a product crucial to Automotive Axle’s manufacturing process. This place never ceases to amaze me…
Part of my job is to assess a customer’s manufacturing facility and form a business partnership that can be mutually beneficial for both parties. For the customer, those benefits can be described with terms such as increased productivity, lower costs, competitiveness in the marketplace, and shareholder value. As a result, I’ve had the opportunity to visit dozens of companies and speak to hundreds of employees ranging from floor supervisor to CEO. After working with world-class manufacturing facilities in the United States, I expected Automotive Axles to be an archaic version of a true manufacturing plant riddled with problems, bottlenecks, and OSHA violations.
Much to my surprise, Automotive Axles was an ISO 9001 company that closely resembled heavy manufacturing firms in the United States. Here, in the middle of Mysore, stood a company that could rival the likes of axle manufacturers throughout the world. And here’s the kicker. After talking to the plant manager about manufacturing processes and product supply, I found out that they were using Praxair microbulk tanks for supply of their welding gases.
In an attempt to not bore you to death, a microbulk tank is essentially a smaller version of a full sized bulk tank, filled with liquid product that is vaporized to deliver a continuous supply of gaseous product to the end user. I was thrown for a loop. I knew that my company had a few plants in India, but I never would have thought our supply chain would reach to remote areas such as Mysore. Friedman describes supply-chaining as “a method of collaborating horizontally- among suppliers, retailers, and customers- to create value.” Obviously, this is working for our friends at Automotive Axles in India. This was not ordinary plant tour for an MBA course. In the blink of an eye, I had switched roles from an MBA student studying abroad in Mysore, India to a company representative for a product crucial to Automotive Axle’s manufacturing process. This place never ceases to amaze me…
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Picture time...
More pictures! (click to enlarge)
At the local open market. The colored powder is mixed with water and can be used as paint or dye. A few of us had this stuff painted on our hand (involuntarily). It did actually come out.
At the local open market. The colored powder is mixed with water and can be used as paint or dye. A few of us had this stuff painted on our hand (involuntarily). It did actually come out.
Inside of an incense/oil store next to the craft market. I can't remember for sure, but I think the guy is rubbing a mix of almond and sandlewood oil on my arm (which is supposed to be good after you workout). At the time, I was a little more worried about what this stuff might do to my skin, if you couldn't already tell from the look of horror on my face.
The main entrance to our hotel. If you're curious what the rooms look like, you can look at their website http://www.gingerhotels.com/. This is definitely one of the nicer buildings in Mysore.
Tod aka "Mr. Toad" and I on the bus at the Bangalore airport. You can't see around us, but we're packed in here like sardines.
Yes, crack is a problem here in India. And of course, Gene found somewhere to get it.Wednesday, January 2, 2008
What I would do for a cheeseburger right now...
It’s about 11:15pm here. Freshly showered, ready for bed, and back from a long yet overall entertaining day. I had planned on going to sleep, but my mind is just racing. It might be from the Red Bull Gene and I had after our group’s 2 day long search for the Holy Grail. No, I’m not talking about any religious artifacts or precious jewelry. My hunger was for something of the utmost importance….
AMERICAN FOOD.
As the familiar yellow and green sign of a newly built Subway approached, I joined the ranks of treasure hunters who had discovered such treasures as the sunken Titanic or Chinese terra cotta soldiers. Further discoveries of a Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza around the corner forced a tiny tear out of my eye…As Gene and I basked in the gentle glow of these wonderfully out-of place fluorescent signs, we nearly forgot about our earlier tuberculosis control center-cricket experience. I’ll save that story for another day.
On a more serious note, my experience in Mysore has been overwhelming. Just 5 days ago, I had called Cathy to let her know how much I wanted to come home, how I missed my normal amenities, how the pollution and smell of the city made my stomach turn. The poverty that is apparent all over the city is striking. The pictures of the city tell the story.
However, 5 days later, all I can see is the beauty that Mysore has to offer our small, foreign group of 18 strangers from Minnesota. The hospitality and friendliness of the people quickly melt any reservations I initially have from their outward appearance. Eager to bring you a hot cup of Chai tea or invite you to their homes for a meal, everyone seems to have a genuine interest in the 18 people invading their city. The delicious aroma of fresh fruit and spices temporarily fill your nostrils in the open-air markets. The dazzling colors of dyes and silks draw your gaze away from the dirt and filth of the street. And the enchanting sounds of instruments that we are not yet accustomed to drown out the sounds of honking motorists buzzing through the city. As I sit and type this blog now, I can’t help but appreciate how lucky I am to have this opportunity to open my eyes to a new culture and world that I may never get to see again.
In 5 short days, I’ve come to fully love a city that I absolutely despised when I first arrived. Amazing. I can’t wait to see what India has in store for me next. Now, if I could only get this internet thing to work…
We are sorry ladies and gentlemen, but the internet has reached maximum capacity.
The internet here is horrible. And that’s only if you can even get access! I say this as I type this blog on Word to transfer back to my blog if and when my WiFi decides to come back on tonight. There are quite a number of factors involved in acquiring this special privilege.
1. The hotel needs to have WiFi cards available to sell. It seems that the maximum capacity for internet usage in the luxurious Ginger hotel is 3.
2. You need to use all of your available talent, charm, wisdom, and patience to get the front desk staff to talk to the internet guy to talk to the Wifi card guy to get the card and give it back to the internet guy to give back to the front desk staff to write out a ledger on a carbon copy then scratch it out due to mistakes and write another carbon copy then ask you what room number to charge the card to then tell you 15 minutes later that they cannot charge to your room then ask for your credit card that you have to run up 3 flights of stairs to get then have them run in the credit card machine so they can void out 3 incorrect transactions then record the Wifi card in their stupid ledger then painfully count out 6 precious-as-gold WiFi cards and FINALLY hand them to you while you try not to freak out and throw an inappropriate tantrum in the front lobby of the hotel while toxic cleaning chemicals from the housekeepers are making you light headed.
3. Then you go back to your room, log-in and find out that the network is down. It’s a good thing that the pharmacies here sell you anything you want without ID (and cheap). I may pick up some pills for my heart tomorrow afternoon….
1. The hotel needs to have WiFi cards available to sell. It seems that the maximum capacity for internet usage in the luxurious Ginger hotel is 3.
2. You need to use all of your available talent, charm, wisdom, and patience to get the front desk staff to talk to the internet guy to talk to the Wifi card guy to get the card and give it back to the internet guy to give back to the front desk staff to write out a ledger on a carbon copy then scratch it out due to mistakes and write another carbon copy then ask you what room number to charge the card to then tell you 15 minutes later that they cannot charge to your room then ask for your credit card that you have to run up 3 flights of stairs to get then have them run in the credit card machine so they can void out 3 incorrect transactions then record the Wifi card in their stupid ledger then painfully count out 6 precious-as-gold WiFi cards and FINALLY hand them to you while you try not to freak out and throw an inappropriate tantrum in the front lobby of the hotel while toxic cleaning chemicals from the housekeepers are making you light headed.
3. Then you go back to your room, log-in and find out that the network is down. It’s a good thing that the pharmacies here sell you anything you want without ID (and cheap). I may pick up some pills for my heart tomorrow afternoon….
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
As promised...
Pictures from Mysore!!
(click on them to make them larger)
This is how we roll in India...you know you want one.
Karl, me, and Teresa at Planet X for New Year's Eve. Bottles of champagne for $20 US + over 1000 attendees + partying and dancing with locals + beautiful 70 degree weather under a starry Indian night sky = one unforgettable end to 2007.
Karl captured this amazing shot from our stroll through the city. Check out the sweet scaffolding on the building "under construction" in the top left. Yes, those are trees supporting the building.I'll post a few more later...it takes forever to upload pictures with the connection speeds here.
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