According to Srinivasan, Sundaram Clayton Limited had to restructure and reengineer its work practices to improve export growth. ``Few years ago, we exported only 5 per cent of our products. But now, after our restructuring exercises, the rate has gone up to 15 per cent now,'' adds Srinivasan.

``Our concern was to assess why we were so behind international standards in terms of processes and quality,'' he said. From this realisation emerged the three-pronged strategy to build a global company: first get the processes sorted out; then tinker with the product; and then go for exports. Even now, Srinivasan's cautious: ``Today in our foundry, orders are pouring in but we're still going slow and not grabbing.''

Echoing Srinivasan's views, Ravi Sinha, managing director, SRF Limited said ``Primarily, our mission is to focus on the development of our people. To build a global organisation, go beyond the customer satisfaction stage." Sinha recommends the steps to build a global corporation: Match quality and beat cost; focus on cost competitiveness; nurture relationships with international players; opt for mergers and acquisitions; and mobilise your team towards the goal.

Adds Sunil Kant Munjal, managing director, Hero Cycles Limited, research plays a vital role in attaining leadership in global markets. ``What the milkman needs from a bicycle is totally different from the requirement of a postman,'' says Munjal.

From selling only three models-all in black-till 15 years ago, to offering a portfolio of over 150 models now, it has been a dramatic transformation at Hero Cycles. Hero narrowed down the number of models while adhering to serving the specific needs of customers. ``Sometimes for the sake of easy manufacturing we had common mudguards for different models. This did give us more business -- but the company didn't make any money,'' warns Munjal.

After throes of introspection, Hero came up with simple formula: ``If someone wants a bike of Rs 1,000, there's no need to put in a component of Rs 2,000.'' Later, Hero focussed on the segmentation strategy, which helped it secure over 50 per cent of the cycles market in the last two years. Today, the company exports 15 per cent of its production to international markets.

According to B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman, Satyam Computer Services Limited, the recent technological developments will rewrite the rules in the global markets. ``In the next century, most people will operate from the comfort of their homes. It will be a super-intelligence era. So we will have to change the our mindsets and strive hard to improve the quality of our products,'' says Raju.