He was
pursuing research in IIT Bombay when a friend told him about this college
nearby which was introducing an Industrial Management course. He cycled his way
and purchased a form, and as fate would have had it, Mr. Rajesh Pednekar enrolled
as a student of the first batch of Industrial Management at NITIE. Today he is
the head of distribution, Pfizer Ltd. His talks on supply chain are much valued
across borders but the bond he shares with NITIE drives him to share one
evening with the students of IM 20 even after a long and hectic day at work.
The talk
began with a patriotic video showing how India was continually on the rise and
on the verge of becoming a superpower by 2050. The people and the industries
are fuelling the nation towards world domination. While sectors like
automobiles and agriculture are experiencing an unstable rise, the
pharmaceutical sector has seen a stable and rapid boost in sales in the past
few years. Pfizer is a pioneer in the
Indian pharmaceutical industry and its supply chain best practices are the
reason for its dominance in the sector. The Indian pharmaceutical market today
is a whopping US $ 7.3 billion approximately. Domestic consumption accounts for
roughly 57% of the revenues and the rest are dependent on exports. By 2015 the exports are expected to top US $
22.2 billion with most of the value generated by the generic and active
pharmaceutical industry (API).
Generic
medicines are catching up in the Indian markets. We did have Aamir Khan talking
about it on a television show but the Pfizer labs these days do just that. i.e.
, production of generic drugs and marketing them under the generic name.
Exports of generic medicines to Europe have increased by 27% to reach US $ 1.77
billion. The demand for bulk drugs has increased by 31% since 2001-02 to reach
US $ 2.8 billion and Indian pharmaceutical companies are contributing by being
the fifth largest bulk drugs producer in the world. One reason for it is the
significantly lower production cost in India than the US. There are savings in the procurement of raw
materials which are sourced internally or from China.
There is a
rising confidence of global pharmaceutical companies in the Indian market and
they are establishing local presence. Seeing India as an emerging hotspot in
this sector, especially in the Indian rural markets, Mr. Pednekar then focused
his talk on the need for entrepreneurship. He impressed upon the need to take
up entrepreneurship as a career and even highlighted the savings made by a
person while in job and while handling his own business. A person in job saves
Rs.20000 per year while on the other hand an entrepreneur takes home
Rs.1,20,000 every year, plus the added benefits of being your own boss and
setting your own targets. Mr. Pednekar, although being on a job himself, gives
numerous talks in colleges on the charms of entrepreneurship as it is the
driving force of today’s youth and the economy.
He then also delved into the matter of our careers here at NITIE. The
focus of students here should be on supply chain and we should pursue this
domain in our careers when we graduate. NITIE is a niche brand in this field
and we should eye global opportunities in this domain.
The talk
ended with Mr. Pednekar sharing his contact details with us and promising us
all the answers to our queries. We just had to drop a mail to his linkedIn
mailbox. This session was an outstanding initiative by B-Gyaan which
acts as a platform for industry-institute interaction and endeavors to
amalgamate the rich experiences of the corporate world with the academic acumen
of the students to create meaningful insights into the world of business. We
look forward to more of such fruitful sessions to help us Learn, Think and
Evolve from the experiences shared by our guests and implementing it
synergistically into our paths to emerge as a stronger, sharper and mature
manager.
No comments:
Post a Comment