Published on April 07, 2025
Tata Realty & Infrastructure (TRIL) was a participant at the Tata Supply Chain Forum Meet held on July 4-5, 2024, at Tata Motors and Tata Steel. As part of the two-day proceedings these companies shared several path-breaking practices that have been recognised on global platforms. Shop floor visits supplemented classroom learning and helped the audience see practices in action and take back learnings to their organisations. From this two-day visit, TRIL could take back learnings and implement them in its own context.
Learnings Implemented at TRIL
Streamlining fire door procurement through rate contracts
TRIL develops multiple commercial and residential projects across India, all of which require fire-rated metal doors. Previously, procurement was done on a project-by-project basis, with separate tenders issued for each requirement. While the doors were largely similar across projects, minor design variations led to repeated tendering, consuming time and effort without leveraging the benefits of bulk purchasing.
To address this inefficiency, TRIL identified an estimated requirement of 2000 fire-rated metal doors over the next three years. A structured procurement plan was developed, outlining project-wise and yearly delivery schedules. Discussions were held with leading fire door suppliers across India to ensure they met technical and quality specifications. Their capabilities were assessed based on production capacity, financial strength, and past performance.
Vendors meeting the criteria were empanelled on TRIL’s e-tendering system (EffiGO). Based on a delivery schedule, a rate contract was then negotiated, securing competitive pricing for a three-year period. An initial order of 800 doors was finalised, with price validity extending across all upcoming projects.
The rate contract ensured TRIL secured the best possible pricing from a top-tier supplier, leading to significant efficiencies. The new approach saved approximately 25 man-days of tendering efforts, assured product quality, and provided better control over cost escalations across projects. By streamlining procurement, TRIL not only reduced administrative workload but also enhanced operational efficiency in project execution.
Enhancing vendor experience with a chatbot on EffiGo
TRIL uses an e-tendering portal, EffiGO for managing end-to-end procurement, including vendor empanelment, tender issuance, and bid evaluation. The empanelment process requires vendors to submit various technical and financial documents in specific formats. However, many vendors faced difficulties in uploading documents due to format, file size, or detail requirements. While most issues had simple solutions, resolving them required manual intervention from TRIL, leading to productivity loss and delays.
To streamline the process and minimise manual intervention, TRIL’s IT team collaborated with the EffiGO team to deploy a chatbot on the portal. Launched in December 2024, the chatbot was designed to assist vendors with document uploads, tender submissions, and common queries. The initial set of FAQs was curated based on past manual interactions with vendors. Additionally, the chatbot was built with a learning mechanism, allowing it to improve through iterative updates based on user queries.
The chatbot significantly improved response times and vendor support, reducing dependency on manual assistance. The initiative saved approximately 200 man-hours for the TRIL team while enhancing service efficiency for external vendors, ensuring a smoother and more efficient vendor experience.