Men at the Indian textile supplier Arvind Dyeing & Bleaching Mills sit on a raised floor writing in paper ledger books because computers aren't completely trusted. At the same time, others at the plant use not only computers, but also a cellular phone order management system that dramatically reduces processing time.
Arvind represents the cultural and technological integration of old and new India, with its challenges and innovations.
Agents like Gadhia are classic middlemen. They can work with several groups within the textile value chain: suppliers, such as Arvind, who produce yarn and fabrics; wholesalers/dealers who distribute the goods; and retailers.
The agents must evaluate hundreds of fabric and color combinations, a multitude of prices, and different types of packaging from multiple suppliers. Agents negotiate and place orders -- generally with lots of back-and-forth verbal communications to avoid ambiguity. Then all the orders must be tracked
as they are processed and shipped across the country.
Gopal Marda, executive director of Arvind, told me (and Mumbai blogger and market researcher Dina Mehta), that his plant often gets orders more than a week after an agent receives them. Agents travel frequently, and it can be several days before they are at a computer, a fax machine, or a mailbox. Most agents don't have computers, and many orders are mailed.
An agent who uses Tej can receive and place an order, and get a confirmation, in less than a day. Faster order processing also results in faster payments for suppliers and agents. Marda estimates sales have increased roughly 20 percent to 25 percent because of Tej. However, Tej doesn't provide any electronic funds transfer capabilities for even faster payments.
Nokia hosts Tej, which uses SMS and slow GSM GPRS for messaging and database access. The software is designed for the slowest possible cellular coverage. Even so, technology can't replace everything. Wholesalers and retailers still want to see and feel fabric swatches before placing orders. Tej doesn't display photos of fabrics. Also, many agents use CDMA cellphone service, and Tej is for GSM.
Nokia has been developing Tej for several years and is in beta testing with hundreds of suppliers, agents, and salespeople. Commercial deployment is slated for this quarter, and the Finnish company is still deciding on prices.
In the most likely scenario, suppliers, who make the first decision to implement Tej, which they offer to their agents, would pay a monthly fee as well as per-agent fees.
Could Tej lead to changes in India's textile business? The entrenched players -- agents, suppliers, retailers, and, yes, Nokia -- don't want to rock the boat. They just want to make it more efficient. But Tej generates greater enthusiasm from younger textile executives who are more comfortable testing technology.
With agents being able to access huge amounts of data on cellphones, including pricing and availability, could agents become more influential by "playing off" -- albeit delicately -- suppliers against each other?
When I was in India, the few textile executives and Nokia officials with whom I spoke said the business wouldn't much change because of Tej. They emphasized the longstanding tradition of the textile industry that's built on "trust."
[Disclosure: Alan Reiter is a participant in Nokia's "blogger relations program" and was invited to India to learn about Nokia's new cellphone software and services. Nokia paid Alan's expenses, including transportation, hotels, and meals. He was not paid any fee.]
I have been a wireless communications writer, blogger and an independent wireless data consultant for a long time, so I have been familiar with Nokia for a long time. Years ago I did a little consulting for them on wireless data. However, I am not affiliated with the company and I'm not consulting for them or paid by them.
I do occasionally interview Nokia executives to learn what's new and obtain products to test, just as I do with many other wireless companies. (Stay tuned for some "Internet Evolution" blog posts about Android!)
I'll be working on a ThinkerNET blog about Nokia Money and similar cellphone financial payment services, especially for emerging nations. If I learn anything about currency conversions, I'll probably note that in my upcoming blog in a couple of weeks or so.
Thanks for responding to my comments. As you seem to be associated with Nokia, it would be great if Nokia can think of devising exclusive means to handle money transfers to bank accounts.
International websites are paying to its various contributors in exclusive currencies (I did not mean Internet Evolution). Hope Nokia could handle such currency conversion issues and transfer seamlessly to global accounts through some software. Please do let me know if they have or considering any such arrangement.
Any how I am looking forward to more such postings by you on India.
When I went to India, I usually traveled with a Lonely Planet film crew and interviewer, who were hired by Nokia to produce videos about Nokia software in India.
Nokia has just released a few of those videos. They aren't "public," although they will be in a day or two -- but you may see them now.
The videos include standard definition and high definition. Even with the standard definition, you should have a fairly fast Internet connection and computer to download and play them. The HD videos are huge, so you'd better have a fast connection....or be willing to wait.
In addition, Nokia has just posted a Web site that includes one or two of the videos -- for streaming. More should be posted soon, and you might want to first see these videos before downloading the others.
Here's the URL for the streaming site:
http://www.theprogressproject.com/
I saw most of the locations and people -- as well as interviewing the people -- featured in the videos. The videos are very nicely done. More will be released by the middle of September.
If you have any questions, just ask me in the comments.
I have discussed with Nokia the possibility of integrating some sort of payment system within Tej. So far, Tej is still in the beta stage, although it will become commercial this year.
Offering a wireless payment system is possible, although it will take a lot of research and testing for anything to be considered.
Also, stay tuned about Nokia Money! I am actually looking at writing an article about it and similiar offerings by other companies. If you know of any, please leave a comment.
Nokia executives are attending a major conference this week -- Nokia World. So I won't be able to speak with them for another week or two.
It's probably a valid assumption that the youth in every country is more interested in learning new things and using technology.
As I wrote in the article: "....technology can't replace everything. Wholesalers and retailers still want to see and feel fabric swatches before placing orders."
If buyers are familiar with the fabrics, they often might not need to see and touch them again. However, fabrics can change in many ways on an ongoing basis, so it's still necessary for buyers to physically see them. Touch screens on cellular phones are no substitute!
However, Tej doesn't include photos of fabrics. Perhaps if users believe it would be a valuable feature, photos will be included.
A problem, though, is the quality of phone screens varies considerably. Even the best screens have problems showing exact colors. They could, however, show patterns.
Thanks for the information about MacArthur digital media. It looks as if they are involved in interesting and useful projects.
I like learning about anything that enhances cellular phone applications and improves people's lives, including educational apps that help educate kids who do not attend school regularly.
Great post as always Alan. I was wondering what your thoughts are on the potential adoption rate of mobile payments in India now that Nokia has announced that it is going to be "Building a new ecosystem for mobile payments"..?
It would be interesting to see how Tej plays this.
It is great to know that Tej is trying to bridge the digital divide to make transactions simpler and faster. I only wish that such innovations which can be tamper and foolproof could be produced by technology for various other fields too in India.
Fear of technology and its use still haunts several middle generations that are even highly educated in India. Younger generation is much more at ease and ready to adopt newer innovations.
As for textile industry, a physical feel of the material is a must for a decision and I wonder whether there could be a substitute to it.
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
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