April, 17, 2020
Britannia Industries spokesperson said it is now utilizing 65 per cent of its installed capacity and is “better poised” to tackle challenges in the extended lockdown period.
The leading food company in a bid to scale up production quickly, said that they are focusing more on stock availability rather than consumer demand with stock keeping units (SKUs) being preferred rather than those which are labour-oriented in order to optimize limited manpower available at the moment.
“While the business dynamics has changed in the last few weeks, we are now better poised to tackle the situation. With close to 65 per cent manufacturing capacity utilization till now, we have stepped up efforts to address the challenge of inadequate labour in our factories,” Britannia Industries Managing Director Varun Berry addressed the media.
Berry was replying to series of questions on the company’s preparedness for the extended lockdown and after effects of the same. Particularizing on the company’s strategy, Berry said, “to optimize on the limited labour permissions obtained, and we are focusing on staple SKUs rather than SKUs which demand labour intensity.”
Stating that the real challenge is to quickly scale up production to meet the demands, Berry said, “The current model is largely based on stock availability rather than on consumer demand.”
He asserted that Britannia is also working closely with several state governments such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal “to smoothen our operations there”.
While carrying out the operations and other functions of productions, Berry emphasized that the company is ensuring that its employees are well protected and are following all safety measures and protocols, including social distancing on the whole.
“The wellbeing of our employees is at the centre of all our actions, and every step is being taken to ensure 100 per cent compliance to safety, hygiene and social distancing protocols,” he said.
Britannia, with a revenue of Rs. 10,482.45 crore in FY 2018-19, functions 15 manufacturing units in India, which are widely spread in states of Assam, Uttranchal, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha.
The government on 15th April issued new guidelines for the second phase of lockdown and allowed functioning of industrial units located in rural areas from April 20, although all kinds of public transport continue to be suspended and opening of public places are prohibited till May 3.