Founded in 1965, G R Infraprojects Limited (GRIL) is registered as construction agency empanelled by the Public Work Department, the Government of Rajasthan under ‘AA’ Class; and Military Engineering Services under ‘SS’ Class. Started with village road projects the company grew to NHAI projects. Over the years of success, it has grown manifold in terms of revenue and executing landmark projects across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Delhi and Meghalaya. GRIL has also spread its operations internationally in Nigeria as well. Here, Ratan Lal Kashyap, Vice President – Procurement at GRIL talks on the company’s procurement arm.
GRIL’s procurement strategyGRIL extends EPC services ranging from highways, flyovers, bridges, buildings, air field developments, irrigation, mega highways, road upgradations, geometrical improvements, implementation of (B.O.T.) projects and assets preservation/maintenance etc. Talking about the company’s commitment towards delivering projects on time, Kashyap said, “We are a company with a USP that we have always handed over projects ahead of scheduled delivery.”
GRIL claims to have never delayed any projects thanks to its controlled and systematic supply chain working. “We work on SAP ERP with almost all the modules interfaced with each other which give a transparency in the system and help the team plan the material requirement. We believe in long-term relationship with our vendors and business associates and work in close coordination. We focus on good after-market support from the vendors which helps us keep the availability and uptime as per site requirement schedule,” explained Kashyap.
GRIL has two factories for manufacturing of emulsion and PMB at Udaipur and Guwahati, a Metal Beam Crash Barrier (MCB) factory at Udaipur, a road signage factory at Udaipur and a factory of thermoplastic paint at Udaipur. These five factories produce material for captive consumption and also spare capacity is available for commercial sales in the market. “We believe on OEM supplies and support which is a part of our negotiation for any equipment buy based on which we ensure service levels and equipment availability and uptime. These are backed with penalties and bonus for better motivation and commitment,” Kashyap added.
Future ready technology Equipment is the biggest strength of G R Infraprojects where the company owns huge fleet and the best of the equipment of the world with latest technology on their class. Speaking on the points to be considered while making a decision of buying construction equipment, Kashyap says, “GRIL management believes on future ready technology and prefers vendors who have envisaged the upcoming technology in future and capable to handle production as per latest guidelines and methodologies. Few of our major considerations are brand with proven track record, technology and features, operating cost, cost realisation in long-term, after-market support in terms of geographical presence, spares and service support availability, commercial terms, commitments from highest levels.”
Rare scope for e-procurementDrawing attention on the utilisation of e-procurement technology optimally, Kashyap says, “Due to nature and type of product being used in the infrastructure construction industry e-procurement technology is very rarely used. Few high volume products procured are guided by international rates and rate of exchange. Items like petroleum products and steel from PSUs are guided by government guidelines and policies which do not come up with great commercial flexibility. Cement industry works as per the cement association.”
—————–GRIL management believes on future ready technology and prefers vendors who have envisaged the upcoming technology in future and capable to handle production as per latest guidelines and methodologies.
Ratan Lal Kashyap, Vice President – Procurement, GR Infraprojects Ltd