The company has integrated its IT, business systems and internal audit divisions under a single umbrella which will supplement the company's business plans.

Bilt will make an investment of over Rs 50 crore over the next two years on creating and updating IT infrastructure, including Y2K preparedness and installing VSATs and lease lines and implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) package.

On the anvil is connecting all the plants of the company through computers using VSATs and lease lines so that information such as current level of inventory can be shared between the various locations on the touch of a button.

Bilt's vice-president Saloni Yashpal told The Financial Express that the idea behind the integration of the three divisions was to provide a strategic advantage to the company's businesses.

"The synergy between IT, business systems andinternal auditing will be utilised to arrive at better decisions within and across various business activities as well as facilitate in cost-cutting measures," said Yashpal.Yashpal said the initiative will lead to optimum utilisation of resources, including working capital, supply chain and inventory management; faster and effective communication within the company; better decision-making and datawarehousing and datamining.

On the infrastructure front, the company is updating all its computer hardware, at an estimated cost of Rs 3 crore. In addition, another Rs 2 crore has been allocated for achieving Y2K compliance, including in plant and machinery. "We expect to be Y2K compliant by early October," said Yashpal.

The company is also in the process of selecting an ERP package with the involvement of senior management. The ERP package will first be implemented in the agri-food business followed by paper and chemicals.

Yashpal said the seeds of the initiative were sown two years back when it was realisedthat IT (read computers here) were largely being used for carrying out EDP and computing. "A need for integrating IT in all the business activities was realised by the management", said Yashpal.

The team has spent the past 20-odd months in analysing the various businesses of the company at all its locations, including supply chain systems, and looking for gaps between requirements and implementation. "The team also studied the extent of IT infrastructure in the company's various plants and how IT can support business plans," said Yashpal.

About results, Yashpal said a preliminary exercise carried out on the agro business reveals that there would be an increase of 10 per cent in returns in the first year of implementation itself.