Podcast Transcript In English

Niranjan Kulkarni : Namaskar, friends. Welcome to Parivartan. In today’s online world, everything is available in a single click.

Do you know how two companies interact? Normally, one company sends a purchase order to the other company. And the subsequent procedure is usually done manually. But if, the other company had its own app; think about how fast this process could be!

The entire interaction would be more accurate and also boost productivity.

Today we are presenting the 8th part of this series called “The Unusual people I met”.

The creator of TejoBiz mobile application and TejoERP; the CEO of ExpandX Solutions, Aditya Achlerkar, is our special guest today.

So, what is ERP? What is TejoERP? And which kind of systems did Aditya design for his clients? And how did they benefit from it? We are going to talk about the journey from an IIT engineer to an entrepreneur. So, do watch this video till the end. Because your life and your business can both change because of it. Aditya Achlerkar, welcome to this channel.

Aditya Achlerkar : Thank you.

Niranjan Kulkarni : We talked about TejoERP earlier. So, I would like to know from you what is the concept of Tejo?

Aditya Achlerkar : So, the concept of Tejo is that Tejo means Tejaswi. Tejomai. It brings us towards light from darkness.

We wanted a Sanskrit name for our company, an Indian Sanskrit name. Because we have made this system from scratch in India. So, having an Indian name is very important for us. And the objective of the name represents that – We are taking you towards growth. We are taking you towards light. We are taking you towards being Tejaswi. So that your business originates in India, and spreads its light all over the world.

With this concept in mind, we named our ERP system as Tejo ERP.

If we want to expand it as an acronym,

T is for timely or thorough.

E is for efficient or effective.

J means just in time.

O means optimised.

So, thorough or timely indicates that you get all the tools that you need to run your business bundled in one place. That helps you to compete globally.

Efficient indicates that it should work efficiently regardless of who is operating the system. And it should give you efficient results.

Just in time means, whenever you need something, you can configure it as and when needed. We make TejoERP a configurable system so that your business processes can keep on growing and keep on changing without changing your system.

Optimised indicates perfectly optimising your resources.

We can think of Tejo as an acronym also in this way.

Niranjan Kulkarni : So, you are giving an end-to-end solution to your client.

So, have you recently invented Tejo?

Aditya Achlerkar : Yes, very recently. Because again, finding a name and making it appropriate for our business is a big journey. So, we took time for it. And now, we have recently formed a company and created a brand.

Niranjan Kulkarni : So, you have positioned it in that way now.

You have also created the TejoBiz mobile application to bring about some changes. So, who is this app for? And how will it benefit its users?

Aditya Achlerkar : We are working with many product-based companies and distributors. Hence, we noticed a gap in the market. These companies invest a lot in resources, like manpower, the infrastructure and trainings required for that manpower, to cater to their distribution channels or their actual customers. But all of this is done in a typical or traditional way. I mean, you want your product to reach lakhs of people. So, you have a hierarchy of distributors, dealers, retailers and your end customers.

Now, in this concept, to cater to all these people, the infrastructure needs to be very strong and you need to hire a lot of people. These employees need to call them and ask for their requirements. They will give their requirements and place their orders. They will call for follow-ups. Like, How far did my order go? When will it reach? When will I get it? 

So, considering all these things, we can transform it technologically. Atleast 25-30% of their business can be automated. Resources can be reduced. Or, they can focus on more efficient work. Answering calls like “When will my order reach?” is a non-value-added activity.

How can you make it value-added? For example, if you subscribe to Tejobiz, you get a B2B e-commerce mobile application which is linked to your ERP. So, your distributors, dealers and customers can see the stock from your ERP system in real-time. Now, they don’t have to ask, Do you have this material? Do you have this stock? How many days will it take to get it? This eliminates the non-value added activities like phone calls, emails and messages asking for these updates.

These sales people are freed up to focus on bringing new people on board rather than, catering to the existing customers.

In the traditional scenario, you have a face that your distributors and dealers talk to. They might say that they want to talk to you only and not to anyone else due to resistance or comfort level. But, if you make the whole system faceless, it doesn’t matter who they are talking to. They are talking to the system and the system is actually giving them all the details. So, all of your tracking, Order placement and the entire process becomes so smooth. Your business runs 24 by 7.

We have statistics from our existing customers that when they implemented TejoBiz, their business became 25 to 30% automated. That means, they don’t need people on these sales channels. Business is automatically coming through their regular dealership networks.

Dealers and Distributors are also happy because they don’t need to talk to anyone. They get all the information in real time. That enables their business and conversions to be faster.

This is the cascading effect.

You are happy, Your business is growing. -> Your distributors are happy, Their business is growing

They can double or triple the amount of business they were doing.

So, That is the benefit of TejoERP, Plus, TejoBiz.

Niranjan Kulkarni : You said that you, your dealer, the company’s CEO and employees, all of them, can see the stock in real time. But, many times in the industry, you must have seen that if a raw material comes to the factory, its GRN entry is done manually. In that case, if there is a human error, how does the system handle it?

Aditya Achlerkar : We can use technology for this case also. We have automated that process by offering some unique applications. Everyone’s talking about AI and ML these days. We also use it effectively to benefit businesses.

So, when your GRN is done, your supplier either gives you an invoice or challan. All the information is written there. Human error is possible in manual entry so we have automated the process. You take a photo of the invoice and upload it. The system will automatically process that invoice and make the entries.

Many technological advancements are possible and we have done them in TejoERP applications.

Niranjan Kulkarni : So, You mean to say that, suppose, I upload the invoice photo and the system can see that, for example, there are 20 units of a product. But in reality, I can see only 17 units are there. We can easily identify, 3 units are missing and trace them.

 Aditya Achlerkar : You can also trace the physical inventory. We can also use a lot of IoT.

It is also integrated in our TejoERP. There are cameras, sensors or these days there are weighing scales which can connect with your systems. All of these can be used to control the possibility of errors. Instead of correcting humans, implement systems so that errors do not occur. Or if an error occurs, it is easily rectifiable or identifiable. Try to make sure that it is foolproof.

Niranjan Kulkarni : Right. You also mentioned about TejoERP being user-friendly. So, What should be the eligibility of the person who is using it in the store? He needs to understand this system and use it on a day to day basis because many a times managers, senior managers and people above them, may not be in the store or near the assembly line. The store manager or store supervisor will have to manage everything. Is it user friendly to the extent that anybody can use the system?

 Aditya Achlerkar : Yes. For our TejoERP system, we need about two people who have passed 12th grade or a little higher. In sales, you have to talk to the customer so generally you have to keep a person who is good at talking or good at writing because he has to communicate with the customer. The other person will be the one who will do the production planning. These two people should be educated because they are running the organization. In our TejoERP system, the inputs are given only by the sales person and the production planner. The rest of the inputs are only button clicks. So they don’t need to have much knowledge. Suppose you want to come to my company’s store and issue the material to anybody, you can do it on the first day. It is that simple because we have given places for everything. You can also decide the location. We also give guidelines on how to decide the location. We not only provide the system, we also provide consulting and hand holding. That is a major USP in our system.

If you see in the market today, there are a lot of people who sell software. But it is very rare to find people who understand manufacturing and also make the software.

That is our USP. We understand manufacturing. My background is in manufacturing and software is an additional advantage.

Niranjan Kulkarni : I have also seen in the manufacturing sector that people don’t accept changes easily. Especially those who work in assembly lines or store don’t accept changes. So how do you tell them to change their mentality when you go to any company?

Aditya Achlerkar : There are two main reasons for this mentality. One is fear. The fear is that if the system comes, I will lose my job. This is a major fear of most people.  They might think I will lose my job or I will have to do extra work or I will have to do the work which I don’t like. So we tell them that they just have to do their daily tasks. They don’t have to change anything. The only thing that the TejoERP system will do is that it will take lesser time to do the work you were doing. Or your boss might ask you to create a report which would be very difficult for you as you may have written information in your notes, in excel sheets, some document or on your mobile. You have to find all this and make the report which has to be accurate. Because the company will take decisions on your report and your company will grow based on that. The system will help solve these problems for you. The data that you are writing manually, it will go in the system. So if you need to take a report, you can do it anytime and you will get an accurate report.  This is the benefit of TejoERP. The system is never meant to replace a person. The system is always meant to support a person. This explanation reduced their fear. 

The second reason is resistance. There are two reasons for resistance. First because they don’t want to learn anything new. They want to stay in the status quo. In order to bring a change, a change in mentality is needed. We explain why do you need this change?

We will take a simple example. Earlier we used to walk. Then we started using bicycle. The bicycle never replaced anything. What did it add to you? You could travel faster. After bicycle,  came 2 wheelers and then, 4 wheelers. So these are aiding you. They will never replace your legs. So in the same way, we encourage them to think that TejoERP system is helping me to work faster to give accurate results so that my company grows. If my company grows, I will also grow. It will not work without humans. Even in AI/ML, input has to be given by somebody. Only if a person gives inputs, the system will behave according to that and give you some results. So your job and your skills do not go anywhere. Your skills will be enhanced. You will get time to think which you didn’t get earlier. If you explain these benefits to the team, it helps them a lot. I also think that some of the people with this kind of resistance mindset might not be fit for your organization. There is too much resistance to something, because of their capacity, capability or something else. The system implementation will help you to identify such people who are hampering your organization growth. You can either train them or change them so it helps the organization. People should stop thinking that it is my loss but instead that it is for my benefit.

 Niranjan Kulkarni : I have a doubt whether ERP and SAP are the same word or are they different?

Aditya Achlerkar : I will explain what is ERP. It is Enterprise Resource Planning. What are the resources of an enterprise? Man, Machine, Material and Money. How do you plan so that you are effectively utilizing these resources? These 4 things make an organization: Man, Machine, Material and Money. We have to manage them effectively so that we can get maximum output out of them and grow the organization. I cannot pump money every time to get more resources like hiring more manpower. So I need to utilize my resources to their best capacity. I should use my material optimally and there should be no wastage, I should use my machine 100% and there should be no blockages. I should use and maintain my manpower efficiently because training manpower is a wastage of money. I will invest as much money as I need to in my company for further growth and expansion. But I should get ROI (return on investment) on that money. I should get multiples of what I have invested so that I can achieve further growth. You need ERP to do all these things.

The question you asked about SAP and ERP, what is the difference? SAP is a company. This company is around 50-55 years old who are pioneers in ERP. There was a company called PeopleSoft who started ERP. They were the inventors of ERP. SAP came later on but SAP became so strong, methodical and process-oriented.

Niranjan Kulkarni : In the last few years we have heard so much about SAP and ERP. It has become like Xerox. Now I understood that they are the pioneers.

Aditya Achlerkar : You gave the right example that it is like Xerox. Xerox is a company. Xerox is not a process. Similarly, SAP is an ERP company. They provide ERP solutions. ERP is just a small portion of the whole ecosystem. Supply chain is a vast subject in which ERP plays a vital role in terms of managing your manufacturing operations. There are many other things in the supply chain.

 Niranjan Kulkarni : Tell me sir, how was the company ExpandX born? What was the point at which you felt you should form your own company?

Aditya Achlerkar : This is an interesting story. I will take you back in time about 20 years ago. When I graduated from IIT, my fresh out of campus job was TVS motors. Everyone knows TVS motors is a 2 wheeler manufacturing organization. When I joined, they were only manufacturing 2 wheelers. I joined their advanced engineering group that was working on their future products, that is, the products which the company was supposed to bring in the next 5 years. Fortunately I got an opportunity to work on the steering system of TVS King, the 3 wheeler. I worked on steering system design and development, vendor development and 6 sigma concepts. I got an opportunity to work in all these areas. When I used to go to vendors, I realized that these people can’t afford SAP. Because of 2 things: they might have the capability to pay, but they don’t have the resources to run SAP. This links back to the question you asked earlier about resources are required to run ERP systems. To run SAP, you need trained resources who are trained in SAP modules. It was not possible for these people because it is difficult for them to get this type of resources and it is difficult for them to do that type of investment. This thought was always on my mind: what can we do differently for these people. After that I went to different companies like GE, GM. Again I was thinking these companies can afford SAP, but others can’t afford this type of solution. So that is how this idea came to my mind. In 2014, I decided to move from employee mindset to business mindset. This business mindset was there from the beginning. In 2014 it came to fruition because there is comfort in your job. And business is a totally different ballgame altogether. I took the plunge in 2014 then we started building the systems. Initially we built as per the customer’s request. Then we understood that building as per the customer’s request is ok but we needed a standardized way. So that the customer who may be doing 10 crores, 15 crores, 25 crores, 30 crores business today, how can he be globally competent? If I build a system in their way, they will be only within their own circles because they know only that much based on their experience. I thought how can I bring such systems to them that are standardized or globally competent? Or what can I do better than global systems? Like we launched TejoBiz. No other company in the world gives such a product. We are proud that we have built TejoBiz ahead of the curve. We built it almost 2 years ago and today we see that a company like Coca-Cola has taken this concept forward.

This shows that whatever we pursued 2-2.5 year ago is very much relevant and in demand.  The people who started using this said their business has increased by 35%  in 2 years. With the experience of working with all these companies and with the experience in product building, we used that for building this platform for small scale and medium scale companies (MSMEs). In the last 6 years, we have standardized and launched this platform. We still do customizations but only if they are standardized customizations.

Niranjan Kulkarni : Can you give us a live example of how your system works?

Aditya Achlerkar : Our customer, Jayashree Group, has 5 companies. We will visit their company and you can see it in real time.

Niranjan Kulkarni : That is a very good idea. We can see it live there. Let’s go.

Hello friends. We are here at Jayashree Electro Devices Pvt. Ltd. This is a company in Pimpri MIDC. Aditya sir’s systems have been installed in this company.  Aditya sir, what are you going to show us today?

Aditya Achlerkar : Let’s see the process from the inward, then the stores, then the production and talk to some people from sales and supply chain and operations research.

Niranjan Kulkarni : So we will get to see it live now. We will go inside the company and see the process from the raw material stage.

The director of the company talks about how they found ExpandX team and how ExpandX helped to implement and support ERP for their manufacturing units. They had a couple of failed attempts at other ERPs but they finally found success with TejoERP.

Ajay Palve from the assembly department talked about how they use TejoERP in their day-to-day activities. It has reduced human error and increased speed and accuracy. He also showed how they use it for production planning.

Shinde Sir explained that ExpandX gave them a customized ERP system. It has benefitted them by connecting sales, purchase, store, planning, engineering and other departments together making it easier to get accurate information easily. Customer communication has become quicker. He also informed that the TejoERP system is very user friendly for the staff and the reports are very useful for our operations. The support extended by ExpandX is quick and they solve any problem that they face immediately.

Niranjan Kulkarni : As you said that your systems are customizable, can you also inform us about the pricing of your systems? Who are these systems for and who can afford them?

Aditya Achlerkar : It is a very good question. I would like to tell you two things. Our system is for entrepreneurs who want to grow their business. There is a misconception that any system that I am buying is an expense. It’s never an expense but it is an investment. When we buy machinery for the growth of our company, we call it an investment and not an expense. In case of software, people tend to equate it to expense. They say your system is expensive but they do not say that your system is costly. This is a misconception.

This system is for businesses who want to grow and compete globally. Their turnover can be anything ranging from 1 crore to 1500 crore. That doesn’t matter. Growth mindset matters for people using this system.

If someone says this system is not affordable for me, we have many ways to make it affordable. We can give them pricing according to their growth level. We have this flexibility which is not there in any other ERP.

TejoERP and ExpandX become your partners. We don’t want to be your vendors. We are your growth partners. We want you to grow and we want us to grow along with you. If you don’t have enough capacity to spend right now, we can start with smaller modules which can help you grow. As you grow, you can keep on investing money into the platform.

Our customers started small and have kept on investing some amount into the system.

Niranjan Kulkarni : Is TejoERP only for manufacturers? Or is it also for a big trader, dealer?

Aditya Achlerkar : TejoERP can be used by anyone. I am running a software company and I use the same system for my company. The concept is the same everywhere. As an example, if we consider my house and consider my kitchen as a factory. The kitchen also has a store. It also has manufacturing which involves cooking the food. So manufacturing is everywhere.

Traders do not have manufacturing per se. They procure goods from somewhere and sell them. This process also needs ERP. 

ERP has 2 legs. One is CRM (Customer Relationship Management) which captures all the information related to the customer like what is the customer asking for, what are his quotations, what did I talk to him etc. This can be used for order and production forecasting.

After selling a product, After Sales Service comes into picture. We have managed everything from beginning to the end.

There are other things beyond this that come under Supply Chain Management. We also have modules for that.

Niranjan Kulkarni : This is the age of AI. Have you used any AI tools in your system? If someone wants AI tools in their system, can you help them with it?

Aditya Achlerkar : More than AI, we have used machine learning. It is different from AI. Machine learning is when you give different type of data to an algorithm, it should still give desired results. I will give you a practical example. When we learn to walk as a child, that is machine learning. First we crawl, then we stand with support. That builds our confidence. Then we start walking and slowly we start running. Sometimes we fall and analyze why we fell. Then one day we start running without falling. This same process is done in machine learning. We take a small data set and write an algorithm for it. You train that algorithm on a larger data set incrementally. Finally a situation arises where the algorithm gives the desired results regardless of the data variations given to it.

You had previously asked what will happen when GRN is incorrect due to human error. We have used ML there. The uploaded invoice is scanned and information is extracted from it. The supplier’s invoice can come in multiple formats. We have trained the models to extract correct data and send it to the ERP.

Similarly, we have a virtual assistant called Eva (ExpandX Virtual Assistant). ChatGPT is used by everyone. It is a generative AI meaning when you give it a prompt, it generates a human-like response. Similarly, we built Eva 2.5 years ago while ChatGPT has come now. We are a tech-driven futuristic company. Using Eva, you can check order status, stock status or analyse financial data using the chat commands. For example, you can ask “show me last five years month on month sales comparision”. It gives you a graph that shows you what is working and what is not working.

We have incorporated all this in our system.

Niranjan Kulkarni : For the students who are studying computer science or engineering and who want to enter into this field, what vision will you give them? What are the career opportunities for them?

Aditya Achlerkar : I would say they have a bright future ahead. Not only for computer science but for other degrees too. For example, take mechanical engineering because we are catering to mechanical industry. The students from this field actually have a benefit. They know programming and computer science concepts too in addition to mechanical engineering concepts. If you combine these two like we did in our company with my mechanical background and software knowledge. We made things possible with this combination. If the students think in this direction of combining their core engineering field with software instead of only running behind software, they will be far ahead of software engineering students.

These days everyone is looking into AI/ML and there are multiple opportunities to use these. Today the major problem is that big industries who are ready to invest, have many options but no one is looking at the MSME segment. We work for them and MSME is our focus. We bring products to complement and grow their business.

Niranjan Kulkarni : Before we leave, I have one last but important question. What is the definition of success according to you?

Aditya Achlerkar : It is a tough question. Definition of success is different for everyone. According to me, as we thought of Tejo, which is moving from darkness to light, success is also the same. Success is moving from darkness to light. If you started something with good intentions and made sure that it is benefitting a lot of people, that is success according to me. Today, TejoERP and TejoBiz is being used by 75+ customers. Companies ranging from 1 crore to 1500 crore turnover use these products. For me, success would be if 1000 companies start using TejoERP and TejoBiz in the next 2 years. That would be a stepping milestone for me. Success is never a goal. It’s a journey. It never happens that everything you do will always be a success.

Niranjan Kulkarni : Like you said starting with good intentions to bring a good change in people’s lives. We are working in that direction with “Parivartan Creations” to bring about good change. That is also a type of success.

I understood many new things like ERP which I didn’t know about earlier.

Thank you so much for giving us your time.