The Hindu Business Line : ‘Firms must think global to sustain'

For companies to survive and sustain through generations, they need to think global, look at scalability, be process driven, adopt pull technology and have a control on costs, said Mr Raghavendra Rao, Managing Director, Orchid Pharmaceuticals.

He was addressing the International Business Ethics Conference on ‘Soaring through sustainability' organised by Loyola Institute of Business Administration in association with FICCI.

Basic requisite

He said that ‘sustainability - the ability to endure' is the basic requisite for any organisation like ‘safety' or ‘quality control' to survive over a long period of time.

In today's world, companies have to think big and gear up for the larger international market and not only be satisfied with the home market.

To do this, they would have to envisage huge manufacturing capacities and build them.

He cited the example of Dhirubhai Ambani for having a vision and building the Jamnagar plant in Gujarat.

Mr Rao said that companies must also focus on process-driven methods by investing in high technology so that whether the companies are run by promoters or by professionals they survive for a long time.

Crucial factor

Another crucial factor for sustainability would be to anticipate customer demand and, therefore, invest in developing products to suit the needs of the customers.

He also mentioned that companies need to be conscious they must not do anything that would damage nature in the future since the environmental rules and regulations are not stringent in India.