The adverse impact of lockdowns has not really worn off when a very awkward situation is now confronting the labels and printing industry at large. Prices of paper and all essential inputs are moving skywards disrupting the cashflows that appeared to be getting back to normalcy.It is a strange situation whereby there is a volume growth in demand and reduced availability of pulp and other materials

coupled with a compulsion of paper mills to recoup the losses incurred due to lockdown, driving up the paper prices. Stuck in between, the label and printing industry is compelled to swallow the increases with intense pressure on their operating margins and working capital requirements. The phenomenon is evident globally, as paper sellers are directing supplies to wherever they find a bigger demand around the world and can command higher prices. There are also logistics challenges owing to the shortage of containers. One wonders if this surge in demand is real or there is an element of stockpiling. If it is the latter, it may result in a market crash once the normal working returns that would be even more worrisome. It is mentioned by analysts that the present spurt in prices is due to increased demand coming from China’s domestic consumption increasing dramatically. Surely these are unprecedented increases happening leaving a premonition of adversity amongst the printing and packaging fraternity.

The price increases in the paper are coming continuously at regular intervals of time. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) which is one of the largest pulp and paper company in the world, wide their notification dated 22^nd  January 2021 increased prices of all grades of paper by 100$ per ton then on 1^st February 2021 they increased the prices by another 100$ per ton and also withdrew the reel discount they were offering,

yet again on 1^st March 2021 they increased the prices by yet another 150$ per ton.With such a steady rise on monthly basis, one is left wondering when and where this will stop. SAPPI another global supplier of label, packaging and specialty papers, on 3^rd March 2021 announced an increase of 7-11% in prices. In the case of labels, both the face stock and the release paper have suffered cost escalation. Vinyl Acetate Monomer or VAM is an important part of pressure-sensitive adhesives used for the manufacture of self-adhesive label stocks and tapes. Owing to a whopping increase in demand from China VAM prices also witnessed a continuous upward trend to reach an increase of more than 20% so far in 2021. This too directly impacts the cost of producing self-adhesive label stock and eventually labels.  Many polyethylenes (PE) and polypropylene (PP) producers in Texas USA have shut plant operations because of the winter storm in mid-February 2021 sending prices of films upwards due to shortages. This increase in the prices of polymers directly impacted the price of label films and filmic label stocks. The increase for different films varies between 12-25%.

As if the raw material price rise was not enough the varying demand across different geographical zones in the world and shift in purchasing pattern of populations around the globe brought about a huge impetus to online retail business.

This resulted in a logistic change of transportation from established routes and volumes causing disruption of smooth flow of materials and altering the planning for container needs. All this led to increased freight rates, coupled with increasing fuel prices the ultimate impact on the end product keeps on escalating.  It is surprising that such an unprecedented upward revision of all inputs in one go has never been witnessed before in the labels industry. The labelstock manufacturer is squeezed between the large raw material suppliers and the printers who are themselves under intense pressure of high equipment cost and facing print buyers who are not willing to increase buying rates. More so, considering that increasing number of label printers are bidding for the same business and are always ready to compromise a bit more, the situation is complicated.

Gautham Pai founder and Executive Chairman of Manipal Technologies Limited Manipal, expressing concern at the situation prevailing says, “The price increase of raw materials is significantly impacting the business. In addition, the supply chain disturbances and logistic cost increases have added to the overall costs increases.

These increases at a time when buyers are still struggling with low demands and muted orders is a major concern.” U K Gupta Group Chairman & Managing Director, Holostik Group also feels, “Price increase in paper, solvents and adhesives have impacted the Label Industry badly”. Indian Labelstock producers have steadily grown in numbers and size as the industry registers double digit growth over the last many years. The industry players have gradually transformed from being manufacturers of  just commodity stocks like semi-gloss and uncoated wood free or maplitho to advanced specialized label materials, both coated, uncoated, filmic and specialty products like security label materials. Since all inputs in labelstock manufacturing have been adversely impacted and spreading the effect to the entire self-adhesive label industry, Ajay Mehta Managing Director of India’s largest indigenous labelstock manufacturing company SMI Coated Products Pvt. Ltd. brings forth the reality that the industry is facing by expressing, “The price rise in all raw materials of Label Stock solutions have gone up tremendously and we have to pass it on to the Label converters and unless the  Label converting industry joins hands, to take immediate action in getting a price rise from Label buyers , the Industry stands to loose INR 250 million per month, which is going to be extremely detrimental for the health of the industry”.

The pain and anguish at the emergence of this difficult unprecedented turn of events in words of, Ajay Agarwal, CEO of Syndicate labels New Delhi, “Price increase is nothing but a nightmare for the Label Printing fraternity and the biggest reason is that it disrupts the operations for all label Convertors.

The process of transmission of the rate increase to the end customer is extremely difficult and is often characterised by a new round of negotiations, reverse auctions etc. and most likely it results in reduced margins for the label convertor. While price increase is a reality and need of the hour yet in face of the current increase in prices of raw materials, it still leads to a lot of pain.” Sharing the same concern, Himanshu Kapur Director, J K Fine Prints Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai agrees, “Price increase is a necessary evil for accommodating inflation, if done effectively it will benefit the entire supply chain else  operation will suffer long term. Unfortunately, the print buyers are also responsible for the collapse of an industry which was once an art form and now considered a commodity”. Rajesh Nema Director Pragati Graphics Indore and honorary secretary LMAI (Label Manufacturers Association of India), “Label industry is indeed facing tough times as cost of all inputs has gone up yet print buyers are not agreeing to price increases. Most of the self-adhesive label manufacturers are in yearly contracts with their buyers, it is difficult to make them agree to price increases during currency of the contract”.  According to Lakshminarayanan business unit head-Wintek at Signode India Ltd. : Impact of Prices is not only from raw materials, but it is also due to Inflation and logistics. There is  a strong demand for consumer goods and food packaging in the country. Nonessential packaging sectors is also regaining normalcy, but the price increases continue to challenge converters supplying due to their inability to pass on the  price increases to end-users, who in turn are driven by their cost pressures and not accepting to consider any price increase in current situation. Considering the greater need for working capital due to the steep increase in prices during recent weeks and the narrowing margins, inventory held by both converters and end-users remained below the average.

A brave Anuj Bhargava of fast-growing Kumar Labels NOIDA beamingly says. “Price hikes shouldn’t affect any organization’s normal profitability in the entire eco-system. All actions favorable to this intent should be taken so that a new equilibrium is arrived at with positivity” However he further adds, “that price hikes should be passed on so that profitability is not affected for anyone. New equilibrium is with revised prices for everyone.”.

LMAI President Kuldip Goel, Managing Director of Any Graphics NOIDA,  sums it up as a situation whereby in the covid times many in the industry have lost customers because when you take the increased price to them, your competitors who have their own pressures to strengthen their balance sheets so that banks are satisfied to lend more, are ready to offer without any profit or at a minor loss. Or if they have spare capacity and can retain their loyal customers they will attempt to take in new customers at unreasonable rates. It is not that the print buyer is not facing the impact of covid-19, the moment they see price escalation they will start exploring options to prevent the rise in the cost of inputs.

Printers at this time must evaluate as to how best they can handle the situation; price increase is imperative for them to sustain but then it needs to be seen how much of their business is dependent on that customer. One must strike a balance in price and cost optimization internally by trying to achieve more from their existing infrastructure and manpower. One must look within, reduce labour cost, wastages, save electricity, inventory control, and produce more with less.

At this time, the entire value chain is in jeopardy, each business product unit is customer of another, all constituents of the industry up to the print buyers need to empathise with their suppliers to bring some relief from this dilemma post continuous increase in input costs, that has descended on entire industry. It is appropriate at this time to mention a famous quote, “The journey is never ending. There’s always going to be growth, improvement, adversity; you just got to take it all in your stride and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment”.

Addendum: Messages received after posting the above article;

Aaditya Kashyap, Marks Emballage Pvt. Ltd.  Baddi”; Already struggling to come back to normalcy from the pandemic-induced challenges, the increasing raw material pricing is like the last thing we could have wished for.  I see label printers in a very weak and vulnerable position completely squeezed out of business by increased prices from bigger players on the supply side and the dominant brands and buyers on the other hand who refuse to accept any price hikes. Would love to see that material manufacturers and suppliers work with printers to take the price hikes to brands and buyers. This is a difficult time for all, so need for all stakeholders to work together to find a win-win in this difficult times.”

Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi March 2021

Note: Print magazines are free to reproduce this article subject to giving credit to author with blog address

On the 11^th of May 2020 an embattled Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fighting a mammoth pandemic Covid-19 on one hand and facing a dwindling economic scenario on the other, made a clarion call to the nation, calling for his countrymen to support his vision for Atma-Nirbhar Bharat or self-Reliant India. He mentioned the five pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat as: Economy, Infrastructure, System, Vibrant Demography and Demand. A natural human response to any form of attack is to go on defense however it is dynamism and daring spirit to prompt the nation into an offensive with long term growth perception. It reminds one of what George Washington wrote in 1799, “That offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only (in some cases) means of defense”. In simpler terms “offence is the best form of defense”. The five pillars of the Prime Minister’s vision of a Self-Reliant India were also explained as.
1) Economy, which brings in quantum jump and not incremental change2) Infrastructure, which should become the identity of India3) System, based on 21st-century technology-driven arrangements4) Vibrant Demography, which is our source of energy for a self-reliant India and5) Demand, whereby the strength of our demand and supply chain should be utilized to full capacity
To achieve the vision, a huge financial package is also being put in place to support and encourage the people, industry and other institutions furthering the cause.  Stressing on the imperative need for going local in mind, he stressed the “make in India” concept to escalate inherent strength of the nation. If the instilled red tapism that has prevailed in Indian bureaucratic system and has refused to die down over the years, does not create hurdles in disbursement to the beneficiaries specially the MSME sector, the large cache of technically educated English speaking manpower in democratic India can deliver the expected results. Expressing his reservations Chennai (South India) based A. Ramesh, owner of Sree Krishna Labels & Solutions Pvt. Ltd. says, “Most MSMEs will be restarting from ground zero and Govt support package has still not reached the banks and it is in the bank’s hand to decide”. This sentiment has been expressed by others as well. As for “going local” or “make in India” concept, as explained by the Indian finance minister on the following day of Prime Minister’s speech, clarifies that it does not mean that the country wishes to be in isolation. It translates into achieving freedom of dependence from global brands for everyday consumption of materials which our youth can provide if their entrepreneurial capabilities are encouraged to produce. It remains to be seen if this package is what will make the industry stand up and applaud and move on.

The Indian self-adhesive or pressure sensitive label industry is completing almost 50 years of existence. In the early years, the production was either manual or simpler and evolving technologies of that time were being used sparingly across India.

It is only in the last decade that the industry has risen to global standards in installing technically advanced label printing, decorating, and converting presses comparable to the best in the world. Since most label printing companies are MSMEs, they have faced a big adverse impact of lockdown following spread of pandemic Covid-19. They are mostly family owned first generation entrepreneurs who do not have large industrial groups backing them. Now if they get the financial aid as communicated by the government, it will be difficult and long before the industry bounces back. However, at this time the support as given, is not a compensation of losses incurred by industry, Government is only giving loans that will attract interest and add to the burden of the entrepreneurs. It may be enhanced business for Banks but a burden on industry. From the difficult experience gained during this lockdown, it may still make sense to take the Prime Minister’s appeal seriously towards becoming Atmanirbhar. Surely it does not imply going into isolation shunning everything or all technology that is foreign. Surely it means we use the best capital equipment available across the world to produce end products that are largely local in content. If Indian equipment suffices the need, it should be preferred. However, the industry needs to aim and create products in their factories that are of high standards and eliminate the need for imported products.

Label industry around the country on the contrary is unhappy and distressed at government’s response and decisions to sufferings they are facing and will be facing an even bigger challenge of reduced demand in coming months. The author interacted with label industry constituents in all geographical zones of India and the reaction every where was somewhat similar.

Kuldip Goel, President LMAI (Label Manufacturers Association of India) said, “I don’t see any benefit in the package being offered. A Loan being given and repayable in just 4 years is not the support that MSMEs need for losses that they incurred in lockdown facing this pandemic. The instalment and interest will be huge and add to the woes of MSMEs in a burdensome time”. Leading Label stock manufacturer Ajay Mehta Managing Director of SMI Coated Products Pvt. Ltd. is also apprehensive about the losses due to the lockdown, he says, “The governments financial support package is a reflection of its policy of Atmanirbhav, the confidence it has on the Indians to be able to take things ahead, despite all the constraints, by providing funds to take care of the liquidity crunch and not delve into the compensating the losses already  made in these months, as well as what losses would be incurred in the coming months.” Manoj Kochhar of Holoflex Kolkata in the East of India feels there is no direct incentive given, the biggest hit is due to this pause in operations. The Government should have at least made the loans interest free and for longer tenure. It is not easy to deal with banks as they have ways to become selective and find loopholes to refuse or reduce support. Harish Gupta heading Sai Com Codes in Rai, district Sonepat in the Delhi NCR is quite upset at the governments package, “We have been pushed back by two years! The support package is an eyewash and joke on the industry” he says and adds, “Ask anyone if he can easily get a loan from bank, they will make you cry”. He is also worried that workers who went back home are starving and they have no support, they now wish to return but there are no means to come back. LMAI General Secretary Rajesh Nema of Pragati Global Indore in Central India expressed, “Lockdown has taught us to live our life in a simpler way. Govt’s package would indeed increase liquidity in hands of entrepreneurs but the interest burden is going to be there. The Govt should have waived off interest for 3 months or at least reduced income tax to lessen the burden.” Sanjeev Sondhi of Zircon said, “Two things are killing; cash flow and manpower shortage. Government initiative looks a big puzzle if you can solve it, you may get something in the end”. Accepting life as it comes Harish Gulati Managing Director Alpine Containers Jammu in the northern most part of India said, “The biggest impact of lockdown has resulted in bringing economy to its knees which is beyond any body’s imagination and taught many new lessons out of management books. The tough time is going to be a new normal for quite a long time.” With a divergent response Raveendran Selvarajan Managing Director at Sel Jegat Printers Private Limited Sivakasi in South India states, “In present circumstances Government has made a good effort to bring about liquidity in market, If the intended support reaches the industry, it will bring buoyancy back into markets”. Summing up Jigesh Dani of Maharshi Labels, Ahmedabad western India says, “Justice delayed is justice denied!” he explains that the corona virus erupted in December 2019, government should have gone into planning to reduce stress on workers and industry, it would then have not led to migration of workers. If you look at the financial package of 20 Lakh Crores, the cost to Government is just 2500 Crores! Please see the table at the end of this article.  Even out this amount meant for them only 20-25% will reach the targeted MSMEs. A small single owner entrepreneur does not have the capability to cope up with the formalities that banks ask for and they finally get tired of pursuing and give up. By the time, the support does eventually reach some, they will be deeper in RED. If the government is earnest in supporting, then they should have transferred the monies straight into accounts…this delay is denied justice.”
To recover from this catastrophe there is need to look within and find the strength as Albert Einstein said, “Adversity introduces a man to himself.” To re-engineer your business we must adopt an operating structure of financial discipline. The adherence depends on profitability and cash flows. The production may appear to be profitable, but a negative cash flow will hamper the march toward self-reliance. Printers need to balance the inflow and outflow all the time and ensure its positive status, it may sound difficult for MSMEs but the present situation has made us realise that we have to be focused on quality customers and not quantity. The latter if not taken care of, will adversely impact your own status in terms of quality as buyers. Costing needs to be in check, for some persons this may translate into integrating backward and forward. Some big label companies may toy with the idea of producing labelstock to cut costs, but that would be counterproductive. It will be prudent to stay with core competence and keep achieving excellence in what you produce. It will also help in maintaining a focus of achieving a quantum jump. The reduction in cost must be in terms of wastages, down time, reduced human intervention, better inventory management and effective logistics. Label stock is the major part of a self-adhesive label and it involves a lot of imported papers. In an effort to localize, our Indian stock producers need to take initiative to reduce the imported content of labelstock and consider using alternative liners and indigenous face materials. They need to interact with paper mills to achieve the localization of these specialty papers. Label printers with support from Labelstock producers need to impress upon print buyers to opt for indigenously produced label materials reducing dependence on imported materials which are not really a necessity.
This leads to the need for better infrastructure and equipment which is a onetime capital investment, amortization of which is quicker as you produce in quality and quantity without wastages but if the equipment is wanting in parameters the impact of higher cost is ongoing for all jobs resulting in reduced profitability. There is now need for printers to implement automation and workflow management. Materials must move in a planned manner without hindrance in the given floor space. Equipment with highly advanced automatic registration control ensuring reduced wastage and setting time help in cost control. Order receiving from customer, approval and processing  for production, make ready (like ink preparation-plates and dies), just in time raw material ordering, final printing, converting, packing and finally logistics to dispatch all with real time targets can all be done through software. The progress of any order can be tracked by the customer, all departments concerned and logistics handlers who are involved with the process. There is virtually no need for huge inventory as materials are received just in time at allocated times and are lined up at designated presses for converting without need of extra worker moving around on shop floor reducing dependence on them. This may look expensive but as mentioned these are one-time costs that get amortised quickly as you produce more.
Systems are which make life easier for the management in label companies. May it be HRD, time management, sales/marketing, customer care, production, order tracking both inward and outward, etc. should all have pre-set systems implemented through proper software that can be accessed by whoever it pertains to with it being limited to his or her area of responsibility or concern. Successful will be those companies that are driven by systems and not by persons. This will surely leave enough time to innovate, create, network and much more to be a part of a vibrant demography.
As the economy of the country if and when it improves and there is more disposable money in hands of consumers, the demand will rise. Demand that has nosedived due to lockdown has impacted economy heavily and created a difficult situation for the label industry which has a direct link to sale of consumer products that need labels and packaging. The present boost promised by the Prime Minister is expected to bring the consumer back to the shopping arenas uplifting demand. Currently Label printers need to deliver well, quality of a label and its ability to motivate an end customer to lift it off the shelf gives a fillip to demand. It is a difficult unprecedented happening that has occurred in our lifetime and we wonder how long it will last? It is now duty of all concerned to contribute their might in bringing back normalcy, there is of course the big condition of receiving governments promised support in time with ease and not loaded with conditions.
As the economy of the country if and when it improves and there is more disposable money in hands of consumers, the demand will rise. Demand that has nosedived due to lockdown has impacted economy heavily and created a difficult situation for the label industry which has a direct link to sale of consumer products that need labels and packaging. The present boost promised by the Prime Minister is expected to bring the consumer back to the shopping arenas uplifting demand. Currently Label printers need to deliver well, quality of a label and its ability to motivate an end customer to lift it off the shelf gives a fillip to demand. It is a difficult unprecedented happening that has occurred in our lifetime and we wonder how long it will last? It is now duty of all concerned to contribute their might in bringing back normalcy, there is of course the big condition of receiving governments promised support in time with ease and not loaded with conditions.

Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Ltd. New Delhi May 2020

Printing magazines may reproduce this article by giving credit to author.

The Indian label industry has been quite resilient to market oscillations over the years. It has constantly been registering a positive CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) and attracting investment over the last two decades. Even in the time of economic slowdown or the great global recession of 2007-2009 the Indian label industry was still growing, though at a lesser rate.

The investment in new label presses and equipment that were technically more advanced offering automatic registration control, faster job change overs, short web path and reduced wastages was never stopped, it may have paused for a couple of months but would bounce back. This has been primarily due to the growing demand of consumer products sale emanating from an increasing number of literate young people with gainful employment and higher disposable incomes in their hands. A large population, predominantly rural and which is second in numbers only to China has a middle class that is getting urbanized being exposed to changing lifestyles courtesy the TV channels or networks and mobile telephony is adopting the modern day global living and shopping standards. From buying essential needs from neighborhood stores in lose condition they have been shifting buying packaged commodities and consumer goods from organized retail outlets and fancy malls offering an amount of safety mentioning manufacture and expiry dates with price and product safety information. This culture has continuously provided fillip to the growing demand of consumer goods and subsequently to demand of good labels and packaging. Unfortunately, the present situation created by the spreading Covid19 virus has put everyone in a state of worry, high alert and caution.

The virus has caused colossal loss of lives around the world besides infecting millions who are fighting to recover from the effects of this life-threatening pandemic. Originating in Wuhan China the first lesson learnt to contain this virus also came from there, to curtail the spread one must resort to complete lockdown of the city.

Once the fatal consequence of this fast spreading virus was witnessed in countries like Italy, Spain, Iran and many others, the Modi government in India took a timely decision to put the entire country in a state of lockdown initially for three weeks. This may have slowed down the spread to a great extent but since the danger loomed over the large population, the lock down was extended for another 3 weeks. The initial days of lockdown was like a vacation but when the reality of its impact on life at all levels of humanity became evident it has surfaced as a nightmare. On the 3^rd of May 2020 when the extension of lockdown ends, we are left wondering if the lockdown will be lifted completely or partially and when life will return to normal. With Malls, airlines, transport, bus services, restaurants, markets, industry and business at large all closed, life has come to a standstill. The imagining of job losses, no revenues coming in, salaries and expenses payable for businesses and receivables for the salaried, not coming makes one sit up and wonder how will life move ahead like this?

The impact: Most label companies are family owned and run on the rotation of funds model with extraordinarily little funds parked anywhere for such contingencies. Now with no payments coming in due to lockdown and customers having a valid reason that they are closed in a similar situation the result is evident. It has a cascading effect on the industry.

The workforce consists of temporary, casual, permanent helpers, skilled and management staff. Most of lower and middle level workforce are migrants who have travelled long distances from their villages and live in rented accommodation on what they get each month getting their rations on credit from neighborhood stores. In the current scenario and no permanent solution in sight they are left with no option but to return to the safety of their homes in villages where they have roof on their heads and meagre agricultural incomes to feed them but without the fear of getting infected. Since Government directive says salaries and wages must be paid in full during lockdown label printers are in a dilemma, how to pay when no revenues are coming in. Production is stopped, receivables are not coming in, both fixed and recurring expenses are accumulating, bank instalment and interest adding on, maintenance is needed to restart, security personnel have to be in place, minimum electricity charges have to be paid, imports are attracting customs duty and incurring demurrages, all together the situation seems to be grim.

Consumer spending for the present is going to change completely and buying will be restricted to bare essentials. Visits to malls and markets or such public places will be restricted to avoid getting infected.

Travel by air, rail or state roadways is virtually stopped and will be immensely hit, this will also similarly impact restaurants, cinemas, shows and events. Biggest sales of garments originate from shops in malls and dedicated markets, these are likely to be impacted adversely. Label is one item that finds usage in all business segments, may it be product labels, Garment labels, Barcode labels, Baggage tags, Automotive labels, Lubricant labels, Computer labels, etc. The garment labels that account for almost one third of the total usage of labels is likely to see a big decrease in demand. Baggage tags is another area that will hugely impacted until air travels picks up to pre-Covid 19 levels or more. With all these indicators pointing towards a shrinking demand, printers are a worried lot and for this reason they have put on hold expansion plans for the time being and at least for the current financial year we do not expect any major expansion decisions coming in. Those deals made earlier may have to be honoured and installations may happen. However still the printers would like to put on hold these deals so as to wait and watch. Since the entire supply chain is affected the resources also become limited, supplier credit may reduce on the other hand customers demand for more flexible terms will arise. The industry will be looking at government support to keep afloat.

With most travel plans shelved print shows postponed or cancelled; it is evident that this downturn will have its full impact during the current financial year which for Indian companies is up to the 31^st of March 2021. Hopefully by then a vaccine has been developed and life may start returning to pre-covid state.

Until then investment will remain extremely low or on hold and customer visits will also be limited, alternate business strategies will have to evolve and ways of doing business will change for good. One thing is sure that eCommerce will emerge a winner in this fight against the pandemic. People will try and order things online and receive at their doorsteps, sanitize them and use. The system may become a habit for all time and a large part of the buying will happen that way. Labels and packaging for ecommerce may also undergo change as the imperative need to tempt the buyer to pick up the product off the shelf at point of sale is not there, so embellishment that increase the price of labels and packaging can be cut for ecommerce.

The brighter side: The Pandemic is not going to last forever. The one that came over a hundred years ago was at a time when science was not that advanced, to day when the technical capabilities and research is extremely advanced it will not be long before a vaccine is invented and the world is freed of this menace.

All the earlier epidemics also came and went away so we must look at things positively and wait for better days to return soon. This pandemic has brought the global opinion against China as it is believed that this was created by them, one must wait and see if there is any proof of such a thought process. Meanwhile global multinational companies have started to consider moving their international manufacturing hubs. India does look to be a preferred destination being a democratic, English speaking country with one of the largest educated and technical workforces. The Indian government needs to create conditions to make the full use of this opportunity by simplifying the entry procedures and ease of operations without unreasonable red tapism. This will attract foreign direct investment and also expand the economy and facilitate return to continued growth.

The way forward: Our label printers need to positively use this lockdown time to make strategies to revive their business, list their strength and plan to put them to effective use to grow their businesses and make it future ready. Create an entity that is resistant to external contingencies. The business must be reinvented to be system driven rather than human driven, integrated workflow automation and distant operation possibilities need to be evolved.

All segments of customer service from development, planning prepress, production planning, printing, logistics, servicing and up to point of sales support need to be brought to a unified electronic platform to make it an extremely satisfying experience for the customer reducing the human involvement to minimum once an order has been initiated. In coming time dependence on online business is going to be the future. Selling via ecommerce model, creating labels from computer to either digital print or initiating the other processes will have to become the operational way in future. Printers need to keep reviewing their planning, updating themselves with latest techniques and processes. They need to create free time to make human contact with important customers when the situation warrants that also through online meetings until things are back to normal

So that we realise and feel that we are human beings and not machines or computers; Once we are back to normal do go over to your customer for a natural desire of meeting personally and giving a warm handshake plus a big hug!!!
Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi India April 2020

As the few days of staying at home in lockdown extend to weeks and now looks like it is going to be months, what appeared to be a small intermission in life has now started to appear a massive traumatic challenge to daily existence even to the upper middle class of the Indian society.

The initial days of this pause in life went like a small vacation, spending time with family, indulging in hobbies. I have detailed some of these in an earlier blogpost. Time was being spent playing with children or grand-children, reading, surfing on the net, meditating, praying, working out at home and when the thought of business at a stand still gave rise to stress many like me busted it by trying creativity in cooking. Anuj Bhargava of Kumar labels shared his singing talent on social media. My own cousin and best buddy since childhood Mohanbir Sahni, chairman and managing director of Elofic Industries Limited, India’s largest automotive filter manufacturers, in response to my twitter/LinkedIn/blog post  which read, “Cooking seems to be the best stress buster during lockdown!” sent to me a WhatsApp message, “I agree cooking is the best stress buster…The cook inside me is getting active!” Sudhir Jain of Jain Transfer products is reading biographies of successful businessmen, Sanjeev Sondhi of Zircon Technologies, a devout follower of Lord Shiva spent a lot of time in prayers, meditation and cooking staying alone stuck at his manufacturing hub at Dehradun, LMAI President Kuldip Goel found time to reignite his passion for writing poetry, my school friend Rana Gurjeet Singh former minister Punjab and MLA Kapurthala spent time and money sanitizing his constituency, distributing food and supporting development of cost effective ventilators”. These are just a few examples of how people have used their time, but as we reach the end of the second part of lockdown; worries of time, money and business lost, looms large on our minds. Also worrisome is the fate of the workers and staff that face loss of jobs.

A growing number of organisations around the world have already started shedding jobs. Some of international Label industry equipment suppliers in Europe and USA have already cut down on the number of senior executives, especially those posted at foreign locations.

It would be unethical to mention any specific names in this difficult time until the companies themselves announce. Suffering is not just from infections due to covid-19 but also from its impact on jobs and lifestyles. In India, as you go down the lower rungs of society the difficulties grow exponentially. See the plight of migrant labourers who travelled hundreds of miles away from home to make an earning to feed their families and now they are without a shelter and without food. Many of them are daily wage earners who earn during the day to have money to buy food for the next 24 hours. They also have no transport to go back to their homes in villages faraway. They cannot pay the rentals and do not know what the next day has in store for them. For those who managed to reach their homes in villages are not sure if they will be accepted back at work. Even the employers will be hesitant as they are not sure who maybe carrying some infection. At this, one is tempted to wonder, “who has done it?”

The origin of Corona virus, everyone knows is Wuhan in China, then who originated it and who brought it to India? While the western world is convinced it is China’s doing and the Chinese say it is American plans to defame them.

Only time may tell the truth if it ever surfaces. Meanwhile it is obvious that the travelers are the ones who spread it inadvertently. In India it is either the foreigners travelling in or the outbound Indians returning home. Almost 3 million Indians travel out of India every month and the arrivals into India are less than a million every month making it a total of 4 million per month. If we take the total arrivals into India from January to march in 3months it should be around 12 million or 1.2 Crore people. Now is it not strange that less than 1% number has put 135 Crore Indians into problem. On the flip side, even just one percent of these travelers if infected, could have spelt havoc for the country. But then no one carries the infection intentionally. Who passed it on is not in the know of the unsuspecting traveler, one cannot really blame them? However, the timely lockdown by prime Minister Modi seems to have stemmed the fast spread to a great extent.

While the industry is still to realise the actual impact of this unprecedented occurrence, the very thought of the time ahead sends a shiver down the spine. India has been adversely impacted due to continuous changes which may have been brought about with good intentions, Demonetization, GST introduction, Slowdown and now the Lockdown due to Corona Virus.

Except for essentials for survival, all spending has been on hold, trade and industry is at standstill, expenses of businesses have ticked on while earnings have vanished. Even when the lockdown is lifted it will be a very slow process and may take many months to return to normalcy. Lack of demand for fmcg and other non-essential consumer goods will impact the industry negatively. The travel trade, organized retail and restaurants will face a crisis as it will be long before people gain confidence to travel or venture out in public places. Schools are not likely to open for a few months, unemployment is likely to rise. Life must go over a complete change. However, as they say there is light at the end of the tunnel. India may appear to become the preferred manufacturing hub for the world and when things improve (may be next year) the economy may bounce back to greater heights. It would be pertinent to mention here that in view of the imperative need for social distancing ecommerce is likely to grow immensely. Instead of crowding in shops and malls, home delivered shopping with safety measures will be opted for. On a brighter note; the pollution is down, the cities are cleaner, the rivers are clean, the sky is clearer, the birds are back and chirping and the world is united in its stance against this pandemic.

Coming back to those who lose jobs and homes (due to non-affordability of rentals), life may put forward many difficult parameters. The daily wage earners or those companies who are forced to shut shop due to being unviable will be asking themselves why this happened to us for no fault of ours? Who has done it?

The government has been putting some small amounts of cash in their accounts that does not cover all and moreover the amount is not enough to feed families of 4 or 5 persons. They are not sure how many will be able to return to their erstwhile jobs and whether they will be taken back or not and what precautions they have to take and whether life in cities will remain affordable here on. The poor and the worst effected will be left wondering the meaning of residual part of life, they will for sure be looking towards government for help. The constitution of India provides for a right to life. Article 21 of the constitution reads as: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.” Elaborating on this the Supreme Court of India has put forth that, “The right to live includes the right to live with human dignity and all that goes along with it, viz., the bare necessities of life such as adequate nutrition, clothing and shelter over the head and facilities for reading writing and expressing oneself in diverse forms, freely moving about and mixing and mingling with fellow human beings and must include the right to basic necessities, the basic necessities of life and also the right to carry on functions and activities as constitute the bare minimum expression of human self.”So, it is an imperative for the government to come to the rescue of the affected citizens. The lockdown is not the brainchild or imposition of business owners or the trade. It is a result of a pandemic over which neither the workers nor the business owners have any control. At this time the government needs to come to the rescue of their citizens to exercise their right to life. Each time one tries to ponder over the impact of this virus and its deadly nature that has affected millions around the world, the question that is beyond a common man’s comprehension keeps cropping up, “Who has done it?”
Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited April 2020
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