SMART MACHINES AND SMARTER PROCUREMENT

This story examines how project procurement professionals are steering the transformation, embedding technology, sustainability, and domestic value creation directly into their sourcing mandates.

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National aspirations, such as Viksit Bharat 2047, are propelling India's infrastructure and mining sectors to new heights of economic prosperity. The procurement landscape for heavy machinery is changing as capital expenditure reaches new heights, with the government's infrastructure investment estimated at ₹11.21 lakh crore in the FY 2025-26 budget and the mining and quarrying sector experiencing strong growth. The primary problem is no longer obtaining equipment, but ensuring performance, dependability, and adaptability in a constantly high-speed project environment. In this new era, procurement strategies are breaking free from the constraints of traditional, long-term planning. The emphasis is changing to agile, data-driven, and project-synchronised decision-making.

The TCO revolution

Heavy equipment acquisition in India used to be all about the lowest bidder—the infamous L1 model— for decades. In a high-speed, high-stakes setting where machine downtime can cost millions of dollars, this strategy is proving untenable. The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) framework is currently undergoing a significant transition in the industry.

As M.T. Swamy, Director of Sales, Kennametal India, puts it, there is a strong urge for a "shift away from a solely lowest-price-based model." He advocates for a “holistic Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) approach where procurement decisions prioritise factors like long-term productivity, commitment to R&D, reliability of service, and demonstrably sustainable practices." This holistic view recognises that the long-term value of an asset lies in its uptime, fuel efficiency, and extended component life, not just its initial acquisition cost. This shift is creating a procurement ecosystem that rewards innovation and quality.