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NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 9:

        Indian farming, dairy and agriculture processing and allied sectors have begun to use Oracle Applications to achieve operational, supply-chain and business efficiencies.

        A suite of Oracle software and related technologies were being sought after by farm products-based firms and businesses to manage collection, processing, marketing and distribution of a range of agricultural produce.

        Through innovative products, Oracle applications and technologies were at the core of IT systems of companies that were managing different kinds of farming activities. These diverse activities include poultry and dairy farming, contract farming, products processing, food process and distribution and a range of marketing functions. Oracle touches over seven lakh farmers every day in India through IT systems for companies involved in dairy, poultry and agriculture products and Cooperative sector.

        'The agriculture sector which employs over 50 per cent of India's population, but contributes only 30 per cent to India's GDP is turning to IT for better farm management,' said C Sathyan, executive director, Operations, Hatsun Agro Product Ltd. 'IT and IT-enabled services are being used to manage the supply chain in processing units to reduce waste and for better distribution of finished products.'

        Indian farming and agro-business were putting world-class software to innovative use and this had benefited both farmers as well as the overall economy, said Krishan Dhawan, managing director, Oracle India. He said Oracle was aiming to make a difference to the way Indian farmers were interacting with the farm companies that they supplied to, as well as the way that agriculture products were being processed and marketed.

        Agro-based firms were increasing using Oracle Applications to manage and streamline their operations to achieve better efficiency. Leaf Tobacco Division of ITC Ltd (ILTD) that purchased nearly 50 per cent of all cigarette type tobacco grown in India had deployed Oracle technology in quality controls that enabled the company to process and deliver 100 million kg of high quality products per annum. ILTD has been using Oracle Applications along with remote devices to capture data for effectively tracking every bale of tobacco from the point of purchase to the point of delivery at the market.

        ERP solutions major Oracle has developed industry-specific modules such as Grower Management and Blend Management, among others, to meet the needs of food and beverage producers. Another software, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne suite was being used by farm enterprises to manage their land, crop and harvest attributes, track operational costs for harvest, define and manage blend activities, and create account settlements and reconciling schedules.

        Strategic planning to optimise supply-chain networks, tools for sourcing operations were provided by a software called Strategic Network Optimisation which allowed users to do graphical analysis of global networks in supply-chain management. Recently the Coimbatore-based Suguna Poultry Farms Ltd completed the installation of ERP solutions from Oracle to manage growth, achieve efficiency in operations through per-employee productivity.

        Hatsun Agro Product Ltd, manufacturer of branded milk and ice-creams with a market share of 45 per cent for dairy products in South India, has Oracle systems in place for business control, to avoid data redundancy, enhance IT systems and integrate processes for sustained growth.

        Oracle has two India Development Centres as well as offices in the six metros and 17 high-growth cities with an extensive network of over 400 channel and alliance partners under the Oracle PartnerNetwork. Besides, the ERP major has been a major partner in the e-governance initiatives of the Central and State governments and 6,500 customers in telecom, banking, insurance, manufacturing and utilities sector, both in government and private enterprises.