Kolkata, May 21, 2018: To improve ease of doing business and make more coal available for the small, medium and other sectors as per the New Coal Distribution Policy of Ministry of Coal, the Maharashtra Governmentappointed Maharashtra State Mining Corporation (MSMC) as the state nominated agency (SNA) for coal distribution to MSMEs of the state.
The erstwhile offline process of coal distribution in Maharashtra was unable to address the needs of the MSMEs and it did not meet the desired objectives, and coal distribution to MSMEs was put on hold in the state for the last few years. The major pain point was lack of transparency as the consumers did not have fair and equal opportunity to buy their desired coal at the right prices. The dependency on coal handling agents appointed by SNAs led to frequent customer complaints and non-compliance. The process of distribution was inconvenient to the SNAs as well as to the consumers due to unfair and inefficient practices.
While the Government wanted the entire distribution process to be transparent, the consumers wanted it to be user friendly and convenient. MSMC decided that in order to meet the objectives and to address the above challenges, an innovative IT enabled business process is required where the offline practices could be replaced by system based automated solutions. The overall automated solution should be able to ensure complete transparency in the coal allocation process and to enhance convenience for the consumers.
MSMC decided to entrust the responsibility of digitizing coal distribution in the stateto mjunction services limited, a JV between Steel Authority of India and TATA Steel. mjunction, using their strong domain knowledge on the coal industry and on IT enabled solutions, conceptualized automation of the entire coal distribution process. mjunction developed and implemented a fully-automated and a comprehensive coal e-distribution platform for MSMC in 2017, and roped in various MSMEs to successfully register onto the system after undergoing a stringent due diligence process with the help of the district authorities.
Mr. Vinaya Varma, CEO of mjunction, said, “The web-enabled e-distribution platform makes coal available online in a fair manner. The digitization of the coal distribution process will go a long way in empowering the MSMEs in realizing their full potential. MSMEs can then provide the much needed impetus in the country’s economic growth and GDP figures.”
Today Maharashtra is the most successful state in India in terms of volumes of coal booked and allocated to various consumers. Out of the total coal offered by Coal India to Maharashtra, 93 per cent have been booked by MSMEs through the onlineplatform. MSMC has been able to distribute 1.94 lakh tonnes of coal through this platform, with a transaction value of around INR 4800 Lacs.in its first year of operation.
MSMC MD, Dr. NirupamaDange said, “The digitization of coal distribution has ushered in a new age of transparency and accountability. mjunction has developed a dedicated web portal which provides round the clock access to the users, who can readily access the relevant data and information on real time basis. The coal e-distribution system has helped MSMC to meet the objectives of the various stakeholders”.
The e-distribution system has infused confidence amongst MSMEs by enabling them to buy coal through MSMC in a fair and convenient manner without any active role of middlemen. Consumers are now able to place their requirement of preferred coal online, and the system ensures that coal is allocatedto the consumers based on a pre-defined algorithm, resulting in fair and equal opportunities to all.
MSMEs across Maharashtra are now able to book their coal requirements online and to get access to the status of their transactions on a real time basis through the e-distribution system. MSMC, on other hand, has also benefitted through the automated system as they are now able to ensure compliance to the Government directives, avoid financial leakages and efficiently manage the coal distribution process with considerable ease.
Business efficiency has increased over the past one year as the cycle time has improved significantly. More than 1700 delivery orders were issued by MSMC in
FY18 through this platform with an average turn aroundtime (TAT) of 3 days. 8000 plus vehicle wise invoices were issued online to the customers during this period.
mjunction has pioneered e-distribution of coal in India, starting with West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Ltd. a West Bengal Government undertaking. Recently mjunction has also won the mandate from Bihar State Mining Corporation for e-distribution of coal to MSMEs of Bihar.
Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)
