RUN-OF-THEMILL TURNS A GLOBAL CONGLOMERATE.
Mr. Narendra Srisrimal, CMD Medi Sales India Pvt. Ltd., shares his quest for excellence in the competitive Pharmaceutical Industry.
A journey that was chalked upon by fate on Narendra Srisrimal, as he took over the reins of the family business at the tender age of only 16 years, under difficult circumstances and demise of his father in 1984. Renuka Medicals, the family-run pharmacy, was doing well and just like his father, business growth was on Narendra’s mind right from the beginning. A few years later, he decided to venture into the distribution of pharmaceutical products, rather than dispensing the same through the family’s pharmacy.
Expansion as an idea eventually led to the launch of ‘Medi Sales India Pvt. Ltd.’ in the year 1989. Their first brand Medi Sales India(MSI) worked magic with a strong Business Development strategy and in very short time phenomenal success led them to become the best distributor in Tamil Nadu, and later pan -India too. The second opportunity came along when they bagged the contract to distribute Cipla Generics in Tamil Nadu. Having registered outstanding sales as well as growth with these two companies, MSI became a name to be reckoned with. This success led to many companies such as Cipla Generics, BalPharma, Hindustan Syringe and many more.
The company also ventured into manufacturing. Today they are one of the largest manufacturers of pet bottles, lami-tubes, pharma products, and ayurvedic products. The company has also entered into the health care sector with a chain of hospitals called ‘Medway Hospitals’. The group employs more than 1000 people across different hierarchy throughout India. ‘It will be a better day tomorrow,’ is an adage that they wholeheartedly believe in.
They are confident about their expertise, sincerity, and teamwork, enabling them to live up to the tradition of commitment, growth, and success. MSI has their own transportation and distribution system. Their warehouses are ISO certified with competitive and international standard machines for product labeling, racking, bin systems, and other necessary provisions. Narendra emphasizes, ‘ We appoint professional and separate administrative staff for every department, this helps us ensure quality control’.Having been around for about 30 years, the company has seen its fair share of ups and lows. MSI has been roped in by some of the privileged national brands and clients. A few they cater to are – Lupin Mass Marketing, Macleods, Nirma Ltd., Ajanta, to handle their product distribution.
Walking in the footsteps of his visionary father, Narendra Srisrimal worked hard to make sure the company grew manifold. From a turnover of only ‘40 lakhs’ in the year 1995 to multi-crore turnover today, the company has made a name for itself in the medical sector. Today, many new players and many
reputed companies including multinationals have ventured into the pharmaceutical market. The sector is an extremely competitive one, with cut-throat marketing and promotional strategies being the norm. In an industry as dynamic as this, it is important to stay abreast of the current trends in the industry or one faces the threat of becoming irrelevant in no time. “When we entered the industry, there was only one ethical way of promoting pharmaceutical products, that through doctors. But within a few years, another commercial market proliferated by the promotion of unpatented pharmaceutical products directly to stockists and retailers, instead of routing through doctors. Hence, we made a couple of major changes in our company as well,” Narendra quotes.
To remain relevant and competitive, they diversified as distributors for water purifiers, plywood and mica ply, adding to their strength of pharmaceutical and allied industries. Narendra adds, that the backbone of a successful distribution business is well-orchestrated logistics. They then focused on modernizing efficient warehousing systems for all of their products. Currently, they boast of fully automated state-of-the-art warehouses, hence they enjoy a strong and reputed presence in the industry.
Assumably evident and under the excellent leadership of Narendra, the company has garnered numerous awards and accolades, over the years. The most recent award Narendra Srisrimal received is the ‘For The Sake of Honor Award’ by the Rotary Madras Southwest in 2018. Apart from this,he was also awarded ‘The Pharma Trade Excellence Award’ by Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, in April 2017; ‘India Leadership Award for Industrial Development’ by All India Achievers Foundation in 2015; ‘Rajasthan Yuva Ratna Award’ by Rajasthani Association Tamil Nadu in 2012; ‘SIRCCI Business Award’ by Southern India Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2011 and ‘Best Growth Award’ by MPWA in 2003, among many others.
