“BALANCING FINANCIAL, HUMAN VIEW OF CRISIS”

AS the automobile industry drives back to normalcy from a period of lockdowns and low demand on the back of vaccination, resurging domestic interest and robust exports, the lessons from the pandemic have been revelatory, dynamic and in some cases, irreversible. Offering a manufacturing sector perspective, Suzuki Motorcycles’ Sneha Oberoi, spoke with BW Businessworld’s Janani Janarthanan about staying digitally ahead and taking people along with the speed of change. In her dual role as CFO and VP Admin at Suzuki Motorcycles India (SMIPL), she relates her learnings from the finance function and also the HR and IT, giving a unique fiscal, human and technology-first perspective. Excerpts:

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As companies recover and grow, what is your top learning from the pandemic?

The pandemic has changed various things including the way of working, coordination, and collaboration with the stakeholders. Now, you have to determine exactly where and how the crisis has stretched and broken your existing models — and where the risks and opportunities lie as a result.

The factors coming into the risk register changed dramatically and it has become very important to make the recovery plans in advance and you have to be sure that they are in line with the business requirements.

What are the changes specific to the manufacturing sector?

For a manufacturing company, the pandemic has provided a different kind of challenge. On one side production can’t stop and on the other departments can’t come to office fully. While one can’t resist change, however, one can remain updated. Information flow should be intact between the risk management team and the key persons of the organisation who influence decision-making.