CII Cluster Approach

The CII Cluster Approach focuses on a voluntary group of 10 – 12 companies coming together to work for enhanced competitiveness:

The clusters could be sectoral, locational or OEM-vendor. The cluster approach aims at improving competitiveness in an associated group rather than in discreet companies.

Benefits to Cluster Members include;

Enhanced learning through

• Group Dynamics at Work
• Learning by Sharing
•  Multiplicity of Ideas and Approach
• Productivity up by 1.5 to 2 times
• Cost Reduction up to 20 %
•  Accident Free Factory
•  Reduced Absenteeism
•  Improved Cash Flow
•  Improved Space Utilization
•  Greater value added per employee
•  Continuous Pressure to Improve

The CII – L M Thapar Centre for Competitiveness, established in 2004 at Chandigarh provides the Indian SMEs a one stop shop for all their needs pertaining to competitiveness. 

The centre provides consultancy to a cluster of SME’s for various components of competitiveness like Energy Management, Quality Management, Cost Management, and Human Resource Management and then help them grow together with a “learning through sharing” attitude.

The centre has so far successfully accomplished such clusters at Mohali and Gurgaon and is running parallel clusters at Faridabad, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Lucknow and Parwanoo. Other upcoming clusters are Chandigarh, Faizabad,  Fazilka, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Mohali (Second phase) and Gurgaon (Second phase). Apart from direct services the centre is also devoted to improving awareness and upgrading knowledge in the industry through organizing Seminars, Conferences and Training Programmes on contemporary issues and needs of the industry.

Some of the Services offered by the Centre are

 1) Energy Audit & Management

This involves

·         Detailed energy audits in all types of industries

·        Equipment based energy audits like Air Compressors, Refrigeration & Air conditioning, pumps etc.

·         Training programs on energy conservation.

·         Technical seminars and workshops on energy conservation and management

·         Process Audits

·         Utility consumption study to assess bottlenecks and margins in plant

·         Water audits

 2) Human Resource Management

The CII – L M Thapar Centre for Competitiveness also provides human Resources interventions with specific emphasis on Change Management, Team Work, Daily Work Management, Leadership and Motivation etc.

The process begins with a diagnostic study of the existing systems and policies of the Organization. This serves as input to revise and fine tune the Organization structure and plan interventions in terms of behavioral adjustments and/or specific skill up gradation fully aligned with the changes being brought in the Organization.

3)  Manufacturing Excellence

Manufacturing Excellence is an imperative tool that leads an organization to the path of competitiveness. The underlying objective of these initiatives is building the organizational internal competitiveness through enhancing & upgrading the skills of the employees via proper training and on-job implementation of concepts.

The Centre helps the organization to identify and then implement the key aspects to enable an organization to become competitive.  Establishing quality systems and improving productivity on the shop floor are a key part of the Centre’s manufacturing excellence programme.

4) Total Cost Management

Total Cost Management (TCM) is a systematic and structured approach to understand the costs of an organization, with the aim of providing a holistic framework to control, reduce and eliminate costs. Some of the important tools and techniques of Total Cost Management are:

•  Activity Based Costing
• Activity Based Management
• Target Costing

These tools are an organizational enabler for:

•  Production/Process Improvement
•  Scrap/Waste Reduction
•  Energy Cost Reduction 
•  Marketing/Distribution cost
•  Raw material optimization
•  Inventory Management

Clusters covered

Mohali Cluster

Gurgaon Cluste

Ongoing Clusters

•      CII – UNDP (Ministry of Steel )
•      CII – UNIDO Jalandhar Cluster
•      CII – FSIA (Faridabad ) Cluster
•      CII – Tata Motors Lucknow Cluster
•      Jaipur Cluster
•      Parwanoo Cluster

Upcoming Clusters

•         Noida
•         Ludhiana
•         Kanpur
•         Faizabad
•         Gurgaon

Source: http://www.ciicfc.org/clusters.aspx?mselect=45