Rallis India, the agro-chemicals major, has several IT initiatives on the cards.  The company plans to implement SAP system for its seeds business, a feature that already exists  in its other businesses. Rallis India chief information officer (CIO) Vikas Gadre said that the  company plans to implement the system in-house. 

Mr Gadre was speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on ’Management imperatives to make IT  business-smart’ organised at the Bombay School of Business in Mumbai, recently. Rallis, being an  agri-input company, has a close interface with the farming community. In the past, companies such  as ITC have taken initiatives like e-choupal that bring farmers in better contact with the  business world. Now Rallis plans to equip its personnel on the field with palmtops. This will  greatly help in the give and take of knowledge with the farmers. 

Mr Gadre added that apart from the above in-house initiatives, the company has gone a step  further in the direction of getting IT-savvy and plans to rope in a Hyderabad-based company to  undertake satellite mapping. Satellite mapping of agricultural areas facilitates a better  understanding of cropping patterns and other natural conditions. This will enable the company to  project the crop outputs in various parts of the country and in turn predict the demand for its  products in that particular season, according to Mr Gadre. 

Previously, Rallis had launched a website for farmers that would provide information on various  areas like pest control, prices of seeds and conditions suitable for growing different crops. It  was aimed at providing information that would enhance the productivity. 

Speaking at the workshop about ERP implementation, Tata Consultancy Services corporate marketing  manager Harish Menon said that it was very crucial to prioritise the various IT projects to be  implemented within the organisation. The company, which recently implemented the system to set  its own house in order, simultaneously went in for customer relationship management (CRM) and HR  systems. Mr Menon called for a balance between the capabilities of the business and the demands  of the IT department in implementing new systems. 

Accenture India partner KK Iyer said, “The prime reason why Indian corporates do not get desired  returns from IT investment is that they view it as an expensive piece of furniture to be put in  place as fast as possible. Moreover, everybody including the senior management should be involved  in the efforts and should not be viewed as the CIO’s baby.”