Collaboration - A True Success Story !

Today One of the early entrepreneurs of Orissa came home.

Orissa is a state, where people do prefer a job first. Very less people get in to doing their own business for living. Very risk averse people, in general. And being poorest state in India, you can not blame the people not to take risk also.. which end the society in the vicious cycle that is far away from generating wealth.

More so earlier during 60s and 70s than now.

In any case, this person, after finishing his engineering from IIT Mumbai, in 70s, he did not settle for a comfortable job or even buy a ticket to go US like every other IITan that time.

He went back to Orissa, and wanted to do something on his own. As there was no market for hig end services, he settled for something very simple and basic product.

The iron hinges for wodden doors.

Minimal investment, in lathe machine that can process 20 tons of iron hinges a month. But, early on what he could end up selling was max 5ton a month. There used to be one auto rick that would distribute these hinges to shops in nearby cities. More could not be afforded.

But he knew, there is more market for these hinges, as Monday if the auto went to city X, it used to get chance to go back there on say next Monday and the shop keeper would say, the stock has been over from Friday. Simple supply chain stuff. And he had to get this gap filled without going through additional procurement of Auto Rick.

Then he noticed, few other auto ricks going around the same shops distributing nails and other hardware stuff (these were again some small scale industries in Orissa but mainly by marwadis and punjabis).

So, he went with proposal to all the owners to start shating the autos and the destination is still the hardware stores.

That clicked.. .and the collaboration could put his production to 20tons a month and with the optimum scale profitability came in.

The group became so well knitted that whenever they planned to lunch a new hardware product, they would see among all the companies, who should do it and who is best suited for it.

Govt. officiers in charge of industrial development, noticed this and provided central land. Then all is hostory !

He is now, one of the first families of Orissa in businees that has spread across nails to ship building.