The customers are looking at value added solutions which will enable them to carry out trouble-free and speedy executions. The Maini Group is one of India’s premier design and manufacturing entities. Ashok Mandal explains Maini activities and current trends in procurement.
Current trends in procurement Some recent trends being observed in scaffolding and formwork industry in procurement have been interesting. Today, the prospective customers are looking at end-to-end solutions which can include design, manufacture, supply and supervision or servicing.  According to Mr Mandal, “The customers are looking at value-added solutions which will enable them to carry out trouble-free and speedy executions.
Challenges in procurement of raw materialsTalking about the procurement-related challenges, Mr Mandal says, “As far as raw materials such as steel, aluminium, forgings, and castings etc. of scaffolding and formwork are concerned, the same are readily and abundantly available in India. With indigenous manufacturers such as Maini scaffolds with systems strongly established, manufacturing basis, the availability of end-systems such as aluminium formwork system, has made the probable customers at ease.”
Maini activitiesAccess scaffolding and support staging requirements all over the world are generally fulfilled with universally accepted steel tubular scaffold systems – from basic tubes and couplers to modular systems such as Cuplok etc.  However, today it is the applications of scaffolding which are getting more and more diverse and demanding. Besides buildings, Maini has carefully designed application-based scaffolding solutions for thermal power boilers, shipbuilding yards, cement silos, refineries and monuments to name a few.
In addition to design, manufacture and supply, it provides training and technical supervision services during erection and dismantling. In formwork, it has been providing solutions for concreting of all types of constructions such as buildings, bridges, TG decks, aqueducts etc. in combination with steel and ply and through systems such as metriform, tableform, wallforms etc. It also has a site execution team for aluminium formwork system for seamless co-ordination between its customers’ site teams and its services team towards smooth execution of projects.
Nearly five years ago, the company diversified into aluminium formwork system particularly for high rise buildings and mass housings. Today Maini aluminium formwork system is a well-established solution widely accepted by numerous leading builders and construction companies of India that drastically reduces slab construction cycle while eliminating the need of plastering.
To remain competitiveAs of now, Maini is not using any e-Procurement procedures for its operations regarding raw materials. However, for manufacturing, the company has an established and active ERP system.
“We are a cost conscious but quality-driven company. We have a very effective but frugal procurement process, with direct involvement of the promoters,” says Mr Mandal. “The current procurement procedures thus allow us to remain competitive in the market.”
-Ashok Mandal, Director, Maini Group of Companies.