Mavalli Tiffin Room

Business Today Feb 13 2005

Did you know ?

1. JP Morgan has a 28% stake in MTR
2. MTR uses SAP/ERP

Those reluctant to use the term complexity in association with the foods business clearly do not know MTR Foods. The Bangalore-based firm, an offshoot of that hallowed eatery Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, makes and sells some 240 different ready-to-eat foods, mixes and spices. Each stock-keeping unit (SKU), in turn, requires the use of 15-odd ingredients in varying quantities, with additional constraints regarding quality thrown in. For instance, the cumin powder used in channa masala (a traditional north Indian preparation involving a type of lentil) powder has to have a certain level of moisture-too little moisture, explain the company's in-house experts, will make the powder too dry and too much will kill the taste. A small company can afford to get away with hand measures and the consequent variation in taste across batches; not MTR Foods, a Rs 123-crore company in which JP Morgan partners, the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase, has a 28 per cent stake, and is headed by J. Suresh, who once ran Hindustan Lever Limited's beverages business. The company's response has been to implement an enterprise resource planning package from sap, and leverage this to monitor both production and sales. "Technology helps us solve complexity," says Suresh. "We operate in a wide range of categories and technology helps us keep track of all our products." The man is also counting on technology to help the company's overseas prospects. Although 80 per cent of MTR Foods' revenues comes from the domestic market, it has slowly increased its presence in the US and the UK. "There are over 1.8 million Indians in the us and many of them want to eat home food," says Suresh. Crunching order and delivery times is one thing; creating an online-interface for customers to check on the status of their orders is another. And to think it all began with a restaurant.