Lenovo to upgrade India facility

Chinese PC major Lenovo, which recently gobbled up IBM's computer business, has announced plans to upgrade its manufacturing unit in India located in Pondicherry.

The facility, which was transferred to Lenovo from IBM under the deal, will now see phased upgradation making it more efficient aligning it to global standards of supply chain management.

The India facility has a capacity to produce 400,000 desktops and notebooks and, according to Lenovo, this capacity will see the company through till 2007 to meet demand in India and, if needed, units will be imported from China.

Lenovo is currently gearing up to launch its products in India, a market which it had stayed away till this time.

According to independent estimates, Lenovo has inherited a Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion)

PC and notebook market from IBM and is expected to step on the pedal by storming the market with cost-effective desktops.

Lenovo traditionally is well known for consumer desktops and this trend is expected to continue in India though enterprise business will also be given due importance.

Monoj Chhura, executive director, integrated supply chain, Lenovo, said the India facility will be upgraded over the next two years in a phased manner and things like switching over to a common supply chain platform to SAP from the current dual platform of Baan and SAP will be done eventually to derive optimum benefits.

Chhura added that Indian manufacturing environment such as building an effective supplier base, Customs and export procedures are yet to reach standards such as in China and Lenovo will use its China manufacturing facility as the major global manufacturing hub.

Lenovo had earlier stated that the company will continue to sell its products under the ThinkPad (for laptops) and ThinkCentre (for desktop) brands.

"We will innovate in technology and cost. The new company will be more PC focussed," Lenovo had highlighted, adding, that they will be launching new products, mainly in the consumer space.