In a bid to drive volumes, FMCG majors Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCL), ITC Foods, Emami and Dabur are extending their manufacturing capacity and beefing up their distribution network. To start with, Emami is extending its distribution network by 15% in Q4 of FY 2011, while Wipro Consumer Care is expanding its toilet soap manufacturing facility in India.
?We have installed state-of-art-facilities for modular workstations in our Waluj (Aurangabad) plant. Currently, we have four plants to manufacture toilet soaps,? said Vineet Agrawal, president of WCCL. According to Aditya Agarwal, director, Emami Group of Companies, the company is adding on new third party manufacturers to meet the growing consumer demands. At present, Emami has 10 third party manufacturers on its roll.
?We are also expanding the manufacturing capacity in our existing eight plants in India,? he added.
Meanwhile, ITC Foods is investing in manufacturing and distribution infrastructure to support larger scale. In addition, ITC is also making a slew of interventions in the area of supply chain management in the fourth quarter of FY 11. Encouraged by its performance in Q3 FY 2011, Dabur is expanding the manufacturing capacity at its existing plants by 25% to drive volumes, said Sunil Duggal, CEO of Dabur. ?Currently, we have 13 plants across the country. We are also extending our distribution network by 10% to reach out to a wider audience,? he added. Dabur has posted a 12% increase in its net profit at Rs 154.05 crore in Q3 FY 11 as compared to Rs 137 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal.
Chitaranjan Dhar, CEO of ITC Foods, said the company is planning to expand its manufacturing capacity to drive volumes in competitive markets.
?ITC’s FMCG business has posted a 30% growth in the December quarter of this fiscal. Expansion of manufacturing capacity is under way. We are planning to set up new plants as well as add capacity to our existing facilities,? he added. In the area of supply chain management, ITC is planning to make intervention to enhance produt freshness, market servicing and margins in Q4 FY 11.
Meanwhile, Emami is increasing its distribution in rural as well as urban India. ?We will be increasing our rural reach by 15 % in the next two months,?according to Agarwal.
On Wipro?s growth strategy, Vineet Agrwal said, ?Each of our businesses would be driving growths – through value added products and service. We have to be ahead of the demand curve to ensure that we are able to service the requirements. We are assessing our capacities and invest accordingly.?