Focused On Success

Throughout her career, Vanitha has seen ups and downs, but has learnt to pick the positive lessons from the journey, which is why she has experienced success as the Executive Director & CFO of India’s first Analytical Instrumentation company.

Sai Nikesh | March 2016 Issue | The Dollar Business

Vanitha Datla, Executive Director & CFO, Elico Ltd.

Having overcome hurdles and hard times, Vanitha Datla now stands tall as the Executive Director and CFO of the 50-year-old ELICO Ltd., a pioneer in the Analytical Instruments industry and an industry leader in India in terms of technology, market share and products. According to her, the last 20 odd years of her career have been a rollercoaster ride. "I have witnessed many ups and downs, many achievements and failures, but have learnt to accept whatever has come my way and pick up the positive lessons from the journey," she says. Ask her, as a healthcare industry professional, where does she see opportunities for Indian healthcare companies, pat comes the reply. "Indian companies in the healthcare industry are growing over the years and have immense opportunities to cater to services from most of the developed nations. Developing economies do not bring consistencies in policy framework and procedures and as a result standardisations are lacking," avers Vanitha.

TDB: As an Executive Director of the first Analytical Instruments manufacturing company in India, what do you think of India’s strength as a manufacturing destination?

Vanitha Datla (VD): India’s biggest strength is its large internal consumption, with more than 80% of the GDP being generated internally. As the economy keeps growing at a high rate, India cannot afford to keep on importing. Hence, domestic manufacturing becomes very critical for India. Having said that, government policies are encouraging “Make in India” and creating a manufacturing hub not only for the domestic market but for the global market too. Cost of manufacturing in India is still low when compared to manufacturing elsewhere in the world. India is poised to become the world's manufacturing hub.

TDB: Whatever be the industry, handling channel partners remains a key challenge. How do you ensure smoothness in this area across foreign markets?

VD: Dealing with channel partners is akin to dealing with customers. We need to establish a smooth working relationship to forge better partnerships. Timely supplies, quality, scale, credit-giving abilities are some of the key parameters while choosing vendors, while trust, market penetration, servicing capabilities and credit worthiness determine choosing the right distributors or sales agents. We at ELICO have forged long-term partnerships and ensure that our partners grow along with us. 

TDB: When it comes to implementing policies to ensure a viable business environment, where exactly does India stand?

VD: While government is formulating policies – for insatnce Make in India, Digital India, etc. – in various areas to encourage economic growth, there seem to be many gaps in implementation. The government needs to focus on ensuring these key initiatives become the drivers of the economy. Also, in foreign nations majority of the policies continue, even with the change of government.

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