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Congratulations!

Tooling Division, Die Casting Department has won the prestigious "Supplier Award for Tooling — Die Cast Category (2002-03) Award from M/s. Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India (HMSI) Limited. To have received this award from none other than a two-wheeler major of the class and cadre of Honda is no mean achievement and an honour in itself.

A team of Japanese experts from M/s. HMSI, who had visited Godrej Tooling Division at the time of a Project Feasibility Study, rated Godrej's capabilities as the top rank in India. This recognition and appreciation translated into business when HMSI had placed an order for the first set of dies for a complex component viz. Crank Case "Left" and Crank Case "Right".

The Japanese team also appreciated the quality of Dies by affirming that the Die Casting Dies manufactured and supplied by the Tooling Division performed better than the imported set of Dies.

Timely delivery and superior quality of the Dies opened the floodgates for a spate of orders which flowed into Tooling Division from HMSI.

The Die Casting Dies Department of Tooling Division is in the business of design, manufacture and assembly of a wide spectrum of Die Casting Dies, which include (among others) very complex Pressure Die Casting, Low Pressure Die Casting and Gravity Die Casting Dies.

The award is a recognition of team effort of dedicated, highly skilled and experienced personnel from Design, Process Planning, Production-Planning & Control (PPC), CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing), CNC (Computerised Numerical Control) and Conventional Machine Shop, Heat Treatment, Assembly, Quality Assurance, Purchase, Marketing, and other support services.

The clientele list of Tooling Division comprises almost all the two-wheeler majors from the Automobile Segment like Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, TVS … and, of course, HMSI, in addition to a host of other customers from other segments of the industry.

Godrej Tooling Division pledges its unflinching support and commitment towards ensuring total customer satisfaction, which, it believes, is the best return for the confidence and trust reposed by the customer.

G. Ramakrishnan,
Tooling Division

 

Friends of Trees have been organising fruit, flower and vegetable shows every year in Mumbai. Exhibitors from all over Mumbai and its far off suburbs participate and exhibit the best of products. Various gardens are also exhibited under various categories.


Recently, a show was held at SNDT Campus, Juhu, Mumbai. This year, the Garden Department entered the competition by exhibiting the J-16 bungalow. The reason for exhibiting this bungalow was the keen interest shown by B.K. Rajkumar, Vice President and Business Head, Locks Division and Jaishankar Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer, Tech Pacific India Ltd., in maintaining the landscapes. Ultimately, it was teamwork of the Garden Department along with the residents of this bungalow that helped bag the first prize in the category of Corporate Bungalows with a landscape area bigger than 500 sq. ft.

Congratulations to the residents and the team that worked for maintaining an excellent garden.

Vivek Kulkarni,
Garden Department


 

Jayendra M. Khune (Roll No.H-298/ Salary Code 98744) of Punching Department, Security Equipment Business, Plant 17, being awarded the State level Kamgar Bhushan Award for his social services from the Manushyabal Vikas Lokseva Academy, Aurangabad on 16 May, 2003. He is receiving the award from Shivajirao Bhosale, Kulguru, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Vidyapeth.

 

 

Nitin Shetty Atul K. Jagtap

Nitin Sudhakar Shetty (18), son of Sudhakar Shetty, CNC (Computerised Numerical Control) Department, Plant 16 and Atul Kashinath Jagtap (18), son of Kashinath R. Jagtap, Security Department, Plant 11, have successfully secured admission at the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune, after qualifying through a very demanding selection process.

It is noteworthy that while Nitin has studied in the Udayachal Schools, Atul has studied in Gnyaneshwar Vidyalaya. Both are brilliant in their studies.

During the three-year stay at the Academy, Nitin and Atul would be trained to attain the requisite educational standards and acquire mental, moral and physical qualities essential for their progress and continued development as Officers of our Indian Armed Forces. At the Academy, the cadets learn to live by the prescribed code of conduct expected of service officers and imbibe qualities of leadership, which are essential pre-requisites for a career in the Armed Forces.

After three years at the Academy, Nitin would be moving to Karwar and Atul to Dehradun for a year's specialisation in the Naval and Army wings of the Armed Forces, respectively.

Godrej has full and complete faith in the capabilities of Nitin and Atul to become competent officers of the Indian Armed Forces in whose hands the defence of our great nation rests. The Company wishes them a successful career in the Defence Forces.
Jai Hind.

 

Visit to Chandigarh

Our Chairman and Managing Director, Jamshyd N. Godrej, along with wife Pheroza Godrej, visited Chandigarh Branch on 5 May, 2003. They had gone to Shimla and, while returning, dropped in at our Branch.


Jamshyd and Pheroza Godrej having a close look at the Showroom displays of Chandigarh Branch. Bibhash Biswas, Branch Manager, is seen in the centre.

We showed them our Showroom as well as the Branch premises. Both of them showed keen interest in the products displayed, especially the new ones. They also appreciated our Showroom.

Jamshyd Godrej addressed the Branch. He informed us about the changes that had taken place within the Company, and that more are yet to come in due course of time.

He was curious to know the business scenario of Chandigarh Branch, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that CII was planning to take some initiative to review business in Kashmir. Generally, it was a great experience for us. He visited the Branch after five years and this time we had the added pleasure of having Pheroza Godrej with us.

* * *

 

New Dealer : New Showroom

Our new dealer, M/s. M.S. Traders, Bathinda, bought a showroom of around 2,000 sq. ft. at a prominent place in Bathinda. The proprietor, Prof. Mittal, displayed the showroom with our entire range of Office Consumer Products. Sanjeev Aggarwal, Assistant Manager (Sales), Security Equipment Division inaugurated the showroom on 11 April, 2003. Our sales team comprising Satish Dogra, Bhagirath Dogra, Jaspreet Singh, Vishal Gupta and Arpan Bhattacharya of Chandigarh Branch were present on the occasion.


L-R: Chandigarh Branch employees Bhagirath Dogra, Security Equipment Division, having a word with Jaspreet Singh, Furniture & Interiors Group at the new showroom displaying Godrej products.

A Customer Meet followed by cocktail and lunch, too, was organised on that day. Approximately, 60 customers comprising senior banking officials attended the programme. There was a lot of curiosity and enthusiasm, particularly for Recliners, Computer Furniture and Sofas.

The new showroom along with the Customer Meet will surely help us in creating goodwill and generate more business from this region.

Bibhash Biswas,
Chandigarh Branch

 

Training for Branch Accountants

Branch Accountants play a significant role in supporting the sales team in achieving business objectives by getting more involved in the business, giving quick responses and providing easy and quick access to information. In order to train and motivate them, a training programme was organised at the Delhi Branch, Accounts Section from 12th to 14th May, 2003 for Branch Accountants of North Zone and Ahmedabad Branch.


L-R (seated): N. F. Daruwalla (Ahmedabad), R.K. Pareek (Lucknow), A.K. Bajoria (Jaipur), Sangita (Delhi).
L-R (standing): Rajiv Sharma (Delhi), R. Ganesan (Chandigarh), R. Khokri (Ahmedabad), Naveen Malik (Delhi), Prakasha A. (Chandigarh).

Highlights of Training Programme:

  • In his address to the Accounts team, Dhruv Sharma, General Manager (North) recognised the useful contribution and support of the Accounts Section, and inspired them to be more proactive in their approach. He also stressed the need of sharing best practices and new ideas for playing a more effective role in commercial and customer management.

  • Training was imparted on new BaaN sessions for generation and printing of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) certificates and Annual TDS return.

  • Accountants were explained the process of simplifying the task of reconciling sales tax accounts with ledger.

  • Accountants were explained the Sales Tax Form Tracking system available in BaaN for ensuring timely intimation of details of pending forms to respective sales teams.

  • The process of downloading of BaaN data as MsExcel file was shown live, and guidance was provided on further analysis of data with an aim to get the desired output.

  • Practical exposure was given on advanced features on MsExcel and BaaN Treasury module to ensure that Accountants make best use of available resources.

Naveen Malik
Accounts Department, Delhi Branch

 

Building Relationships Informally

 A dinner was hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Jamshyd Godrej on Monday, 21 April, 2003 on the Roof Garden of Godrej Bhavan to welcome the Steelcase Leadership team who had come to India for the first time. Godrej has been distributing Steelcase products in India for the past seven years. Since September 2000, India, as a region, is being managed by the Asia Pacific team of Steelcase International. The Steelcase Leadership team that graced the occasion comprised Bob Black, President, Steelcase International, Leslie Brackenridge, Global Alliance Director, Asia Pacific, Frederic Mequel, Vice President, Steelcase France, Ernie Greer, General Manager, Steelcase Asia Pacific and Colin Snow, Manager, Steelcase India. On behalf of Godrej, P.D. Lam, Executive Director, Anil G. Verma, Executive Vice President and Head (Personnel & Administration), Anil Sain Mathur, Vice President, Furniture & Interiors Group (with their respective spouses), K.A. Palia, Executive Director, Naresh Tahiliani, General Manager (Marketing — Steelcase & Milliken), Freddy Khapoliwalla, General Manager (West), and the Mumbai Branch Steelcase sales team were present.

The function was well attended by over 50 guests who comprised a wide cross-section of customers ranging from software developers to design and project management consultants to bankers. We had some very important guests such as Ranjan Joshi, Head Facilities, Asia Pacific, Accenture, Manu Parpia, CEO, Geometric Software Solutions Co. Ltd., Arvind Pahwa, President, Reliance, Arun Shetty, Vice President (Facilities), Tata AIG, Dushan Soza, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure and Change Management, World Network Services, Narayan Kamath, Head — Facilities, Tata Consultancy Services and Shirish Tare, Executive Vice President, Siemens Real Estate. Also present were architects Kumar Kubsad, Karim Noorani & Associates, Hafeez Contractor, Architect Hafeez Contractor, Gerry Shirley, G.S. Project Management Limited, Ravi Sarangen, Edifice Architects Pvt. Ltd., Ashok Kumar, Insignia Brooke and Rajiv Shroff, Interics Rajiv Shroff & Associates.

The function, which was organised jointly by Steelcase Marketing and Mumbai Branch, was a resounding success. It allowed Steelcase visitors as well as the Godrej teams to interact informally and build relationships with customers.

Naresh Tahiliani / Rashi Aggarwal
Marketing / Sales (Mumbai Branch)

 

Exhibition-cum-Sale


The Alpina Sofa set exhibited at the two wholesale dealer outlets.

Mumbai Branch, under the able leadership of its new Branch Manager, Barinder Singh, organised an exhibition-cum-sale of Godrej's "Perfect Home" products comprising Sofa Sets, Dining Sets, Coffee Tables, etc. at two wholesale dealer outlets at Prabhadevi and Andheri from 22nd May to 3rd June, 2003. A special mandap was erected and a massive promotional exercise was undertaken by way of banners, handbills and press advertisements. There was a huge traffic of customers at both the sites. On the second day itself, the displayed Alpina Sofa Set and Bed were sold off. The Branch was successful in its attempt to create market awareness for the new range of products of the Furniture and Interiors Group.

Y.H. Malu
Furniture & Interiors Group, Mumbai Branch

 

Wholesale Dealers Conferences

CHANDIGARH BRANCH

Chandigarh Branch organised the Annual Wholesale Dealers (WDs) Meet 2003 from 20th to 22nd May, 2003 at Timber Trail Heights, Parwanoo, Himahcal Pradesh. We chose the venue in the hills of Himachal Pradesh for relief from the summer heat.


Dhruv Sharma, General Manager (North) presenting the awards for Best Performance to Nitin Chopra, Handa & Chopra, Chandigarh, while Bibhash Biswas, Branch Manager, Chandigarh Branch, look on.

Chief Guest Dhruv Sharma, General Manager (North) apprised the gathering of the latest developments in the Company. The Branch gave a presentation on the Business Plan of various product groups such as Furniture & Interiors Group and Security Equipment Group. We also gave presentations on various other Departments of the Branch such as Service, Warehouse and Accounts.

WDs were given away awards for their outstanding contribution.

We also used this opportunity to get feedbacks from WDs to enable us to support them in a better way.

Games such as cricket and tambola were organised during the leisure period.

Inspired by the Kaun Banega Crorepati show, a game show, entitled Kaun Banega Hazarpati was organised to test the knowledge of our dealers. It was won hands down by our Shimla WD, Sanjay Laul, Wardhan Corporation.

Dealers were very happy with the arrangements. Such Meets help us foster close business relationships between the Company and the WDs.

Bibhash Biswas

 

DELHI BRANCH

A Wholesale Dealer (WD) conference was organised by Delhi Branch on 26 April, 2003 at Hotel Grand Hyatt, New Delhi. The participants comprised all WDs under Delhi.

Majority of the WDs attended the Conference with great enthusiasm. Various issues of day-to-day operations, future sales strategies and prospects of increasing the business were discussed in detail. The WDs took a lot of interest in the presentations made by the Furniture & Interiors Group as also the Security Equipment Division. They gave valuable inputs towards maintaining customer relationships and fighting competition.


(Centre): Sandeep Wadhwa, WD, Comfortnet Traders proudly showing his award, walked away with awards in highest sale of Furniture, Storwel and Security products, the best after-sales and service and the best overall dealer award. (L-R): Sushil Thariani, Sr. Branch Manager, Delhi Branch, Dhruv Sharma, General Manager (North) and L.K. Mangal, Secretary to Sushil Thariani.

An award ceremony, too, was organised by the Branch to felicitate those WDs who contributed towards sales, after-sales service, customer satisfaction and special achievement for the last financial year. Certificates and mementos were given away by Dhruv Sharma, General Manager (North).

The Conference ended with a lot of optimism from the dealer fraternity for doing even better in the financial year 2003-2004. Cocktail and dinner were served. WDs and the Branch team members enjoyed on the dance floor till past midnight.

Sushil Thariani

 

KOLKATA BRANCH

Kolkata Branch organised a WDs Meet at Sinclairs Resort, Chalsa, Siliguri on 5 May, 2003. A detailed sales plan covering aspects such as new products, their positioning in the market, new sales avenues, schemes for WDs, etc. was presented by the Branch team to the 22 WDs who participated in the Meet.

Certificates were given to the best performing dealers in different product groups. M/s. N.P. Vyas of Asansol received the Lifetime Achievement Award, being the oldest dealer of the Branch.

The Meet was a total success and was well organised by the Branch team.

Ruru Banerjee

 

PUNE BRANCH

WDs under Pune Branch were invited to attend a conference on Tuesday, 8 April, 2003 at Hotel Le Meridian, Pune. 24 dealers from both Pune and upcountry participated. The Conference was held at a time when the new Branch Manager, Firdaus Dinshaw, was formally introduced to the dealers, though he knew most of them.

Kaizad Eduljee, the outgoing Branch Manager (now transferred to Ahmedabad Branch), gave the Welcome Address followed by a speech by Freddy Khapoliwalla, General Manager - Sales (West). Presentations on all three businesses — Furniture & Interiors, Security Equipment and Storage Solutions — were made by the respective Assistant Managers along with the respective Sales and Service Executives. Information on new arrivals by way of slide presentation and display through CD was done, which was well appreciated by all the WDs, who were given a file with new catalogues of all products. The new arrivals in the Furniture & Interiors Group are Seating: Net Chair, E Sense, Maya Chairs, Super Premium, Shell Chair, new models of Auditorium Chairs.

Desking: Viva, Versitala, New Senate Conference, Achiever, Varienta Pedastals, Table T 1070/71.

Beds: Variata (Double and Single Beds), Cetina (Double Bed), ESCA (Single Bed), Economy Range of Single Beds

Dining Tables (Six Seater): Graci, Allura

Sofas: Verona, Sofa Cum Bed. Wooden Double Beds, Dressing Table range of Wooden Double Bed with and without Storage along with Dressing Table and Bedside Table.

Coffee Tables: Milva, Catherine, Sophie, Slimline.
Storflex, K.D. Locker Units, A.P.O. Storages, Periodical Display Rack.

Laboratory Furniture: Instrumentation Table.
New arrivals in the Security Equipment Business are Defender Safes Plus Model, Rhino Safes, Saffire Safes, Note Banding Machines (Cross), New Godrej CCM.

New arrival in the Storage Solutions Group is the Godrej Plan Horse (for holding drawings)
The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Firdaus Dinshaw.

Shanta Mohan

 

Appliances Division

De-merger of the Appliances Business
A composite scheme of arrangement between Godrej Appliances Ltd. (GAL), Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. (G&B), Godrej Capital Limited and their respective shareholders, inter alia, providing for the de-merger of the Appliances Business, (including Refrigerators and Washing Machines, excluding Air-Conditioners) of GAL into G&B is approved by the Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Bombay.

As per the Scheme, with effect from 1 April, 2002, the whole of the undertaking, properties, including moveable assets, sundry debtors, outstanding loans and advances, debts, liabilities, duties and obligations of the Appliances Business of GAL has been transferred to G&B. Accordingly, with effect from 1 April, 2003, the said Appliances Business is conducted in the name of G&B.

Consequent thereto, all employees of the said Appliances Business are deemed to have become employees of G&B, with effect from 1 April, 2002.

The Management is confident that the aforesaid de-merger will enhance our capabilities to successfully meet the challenges of today's highly competitive business environment.

E.J. Kalwachia
Executive Director, Personnel & Administration

 

A Night To Remember

Appliances Division sponsored the Sukhwinder Sing Nite on 26 April, 2003 at YMCA Grounds, Ahmedabad. The event was organised along with M/s. Sales India, Ahmedabad. The aim behind Godrej sponsoring the show was to increase the on-ground visibility of the brand. It has been the endeavour of the Division to be present in a big way at the local level and concentrate on micro marketing rather than only at a macro scale.


Sukhwinder Sing Nite

The evening was a complete sell-out with the who's who of Ahmedabad flocking to hear the popular singer. The Guests of Honour were R. Ravi, Vice President (Sales) and Kamal Nandi, Regional Manager (West and East). The Godrej brand was present all over the packed Grounds with its new Pentacool campaign featuring Preity Zinta and 5-Side Funda, Fastest Thanda. All in all, it was a night to remember.

Deepa Krishnan

 

The Power of the Godrej Brand
The world's economy today is driven by the brute force of brands, which is most evident when one goes out in the markets. Godrej is one of the oldest and most respected brands in India. It has become synonymous with the values of integrity and commitment. Its employees are usually so occupied in providing quality products, that they tend to forget the power they wield. The anecdote below tells us about a pleasant surprise some of the employees of the Godrej Appliances Division had recently.

K.K. Saraf, Kiran Suryawanshi and Suresh Shinde went to Tulsibagh area for purchase of some items required for the Plant. After browsing through several shops, they finally found what they needed — some metal and plastic objects for office use. The name of the shop was "Tulsi". Since the original purpose was not to buy the items, but only to confirm their availability, they were not carrying any cash. But then it was decided that the items be bought on individual credit cards, which the shopkeeper refused. They then requested him to keep these items packed and that those would be collected and paid for the next day.

The shopkeeper inquired the details and on mentioning the name, "Godrej", he told them to take away anything they needed, that the payments could be made later! The explanation he gave for his trust and faith went like this: "Sahab, Godrej Company poora desh chalati hai, hum itna nahi kar sakte Godrej ke liye? Kaun Godrej pe vishwas nahi karega!" ("Sir, when Godrej Company is running the country, can't I do a little in turn for Godrej? Who would not trust Godrej?")

This delighted Saraf, Suryawanshi and Shinde. They were given the goods just on producing their visiting cards.

This further reiterates the fact that "Jo baat Credit card me nahi, wo Godrej ke brand power mein hai!" ("The power that a credit card doesn't wield, the Godrej brand wields!")

Kiran Suryawanshi,
Shirwal Plan

 

Locks Division

KARNATAKA HAPPENINGS
Influencer Interaction — Carpenters Meet


Venkat Narasimhan, Senior Sales Officer, Bangalore Branch, explaining product details to carpenters at the Carpenters Meet.

Bangalore Branch conducted a Carpenters Meet on 28 March, 2003 along with distributors M/s. Shantilal Bros. and Heera Agencies. Approximately, 54 carpenters participated in the Meet. Product features were explained and demonstration given about proper installation. The programme had an open session with the carpenters. A small memento was gifted at the end of the programme.

***


Channel Partners Salesmen/Technicians Training Programme
Locks Division, Bangalore Branch, conducted a Sales and Service training programme on 7 May, 2003 at Vijay Residency, Bangalore for Dealer salesmen and technicians from Mangalore, Mysore, Udupi, Belgaum, Hubli, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Bellary and Bangalore.

Dealers Ramesh Setty from Mudugal Bhimasenappa & Bros. (Belgaum), Balaji from Mudugal Sales & Service (Hubli), Ravi Ladha of M/s. Marktech, Maganlal of M/s. Shantilal & Bros., Mahendra Kumar of M/s. Heera Agencies and V.A. Ramachandran (Regional Manager — South) were amongst the 55 participants of the training programme.

The first half of the programme covered the following topics :

Dealer Salesman Training Programme

Dealer Technician Training Programme

  • Product features & Application including new products
  • Feedback on service Selling skills
  • Retail Coverage through proper planning
  • Competitor products
  • Customer handling
  • Product feedback
  • Customer satisfaction
  • New locks required by
  • customers
  • Other service issues

In the second half, an interactive session was arranged with the participants and the entire discussion was recorded live on video. It was aimed at gaining insights into customer preferences and purchase behaviour.

The group was divided into two teams: Salesmen and Technicians. Each group discussed various pertinent issues. There were two Head Office personnel to moderate the discussion.


(L-R): R.H. Ansari, Service Head and Dipankar Guha, Marketing Department, Locks Division, moderating an interactive session with Service Technicians of various Karnataka dealers.

The discussions were helpful as the participants shared a variety of opinions and were able to express characteristics of their markets.

Also, recording the session has helped us to review the contents of the programme.

K. Mohan Kumar,
Bangalore Branch
 

KOCHI HAPPENINGS
Channel Partners Meet

Kochi Branch, along with distributor M/s. Alappatt Traders Pvt. Ltd., organised a Retailers Meet at Hotel International on 8 March, 2003. Approximately, 200 retailers participated in the Meet.

The entire range of Godrej locks was displayed. The Divisional film was shown to the participants and on viewing the production, testing and quality processes followed at Godrej, retailers felt proud of being part of the business.


Jayanto Goshal, Area Sales Manager, delivering the welcome address. Seated (L-R): N. Sadananda, Commercial Officer, Joy Kuriakose, Proprietor, Alappatt Traders Pvt. Ltd., G.B. Manoj, Senior Sales Officer and S. Rathish, Senior Sales Officer.

M/s. Alappatt Traders distributed prizes to its retailers for the Quarter III scheme operated in the market. The bumper prize given was a Refrigerator. From the Company, a lucky draw was conducted for "Sell More Earn More," a scheme given to the retailers to boost our Ultra model sales.

On the whole, the Meet was a great success and all our retailers were happy selling our products and being invited for the Meet.

Jayanto Ghoshal
 

MUMBAI HAPPENINGS
Launch of Ebiz

Locks Division organised an annual get-together of major suppliers on 26 March, 2003 at the Conference Room of Plant 11, Pirojshanagar. The aim was to ratify the concept, "Partners in Progress". The programme started with the inauguration of Ebiz by P.D. Lam, President & Executive Director. Ebiz is an e-commerce tool, which is to be jointly implemented by Locks Division and its suppliers. This tool will usher in an era of transparent information flow and fast decision-making. This is the first time in Godrej that an attempt is being made to use internet connectivity for commercial transactions.

B.K. Rajkumar, Vice President and Business Head of the Division, addressed the gathering. He stressed on the need for innovation and change in this time of global competiton. He felicitated the 13 suppliers who had attained Self Certification Status with their consistent quality performance. He also felicitated six suppliers with Certificate of Excellence for their outstanding contribution to our business.

K.B. Master, General Manager, Purchase and Finance, applauded the suppliers for the good work done in the last financial year and requested their wholehearted participation in implementation of Ebiz. A roadmap of Ebiz was also presented.

The meeting, which was attended by 62 suppliers, ended with a sense of oneness towards a common goal and a toast to the future.

M.R. Shenai,
Purchase Office, Locks Division

 

 

Congratulations!

Devendra D. Pranami, Asst. Manager, Purchase Department, Locks Division and S. Ishwar, Plant Officer, Godrej Industries Ltd., Manufacturing Department, stood Runner-Up in a MATQUIZ organised by the Indian Institute of Materials Management (IIMM), on 13 April, 2003.

As part of the celebrations, aptly named Material Management Fortnight celebrations, on Materials Management Day (23 April), the Mumbai Branch of IIMM had organised a series of activities for 15 days dedicated to the Materials and Supply Chain Management profession. A MATQUIZ, the first ever quiz competition in India in the Materials field, was held for Materials professionals to challenge their domain knowledge.

The quiz comprised seven rounds with questions on Materials, Inventory, Supply Chain, Incoterms, Imports/Exports and general management. It was attended by 17 different teams from a varied spectrum of industries such as petroleum (ONGC, BPCL), construction (Hindustan Construction, Shapoorji Pallonji), automobile (Mahindra, Fiat), FMCG (Marico), paint (Asian Paint, Nerolac paint), PSU (Konkan Railways), etc.

The National Institute of Technology and Industrial Engineering (NITIE) team won the first prize. The Runner-Up trophy and certificate were awarded by Richard Moras, President, International Federation of Purchasing and Materials Management (Vienna, Austria) during the grand finale at Hotel Orchid, Mumbai on 26 April, 2003.