JNA Awards 2012 Jewellery Industry Best Practices

37 JNA AWARDS 2012 The “success story” that is Dharmanandan is built on effective management, manufacturing expertise, smart IT applications, wide product range, client services and most important of all, its talented people. By connecting with its employees and keeping them engaged, the diamond manufacturer is able to clearly communicate the group’s vision and goals with the staff. This team effort has a positive impact on the company’s bottom line. “In 2008, when the world was in recession, Dharmanandan Diamonds, with its strong management team, dedicated staff, quality products, advanced technology and excellent customer service overcame that challenge, registering nearly 50 percent growth in 2008-2009 revenues,” the manufacturer said. Technology innovations Dharmanandan uses advanced technology solutions from procurement and production planning down to rough assortment, planning and bidding, bid analysis, sawing, “makeable” allocation process, blocking and bruting, crown and pavilion faceting, quality assessment and MIS, as well as polished grading to exports. The company also built the Dharmanandan Research Centre, a facility that develops new manufacturing technologies. “It is one of the company’s outstanding competitive strengths since it develops applications, software programs, tools and machines, which make our business more efficient and productive,” the manufacturer said. Some of the diamantaire’s innovations, a number of which are still in the testing phase, include the Color Meter, which Dharmanandan said exceeds the performance of existing electronic colour graders in the market; Digital Tension Meter; Dossier Machine; Diamond DNA/Fingerprint (an image processing technology that is running in its first phase); Temperature Sensor; and the Digital Photographic System. The company also developed the Dharmanandan Price Calculator (DPC). Using its enterprise resource planning program, the manufacturer compiles all the data and market intelligence generated by its sales offices and feeds it to the DPC. The tool translates the data for market analysis and forecasting. This information is particularly valuable since it helps the manufacturer decide on what type of polished goods to produce with the aid of live market figures. “The biggest threat that the diamond industry is currently facing is tight labour supply. To address the issues of skills and labour shortages, we have established the Dharmanandan Diamond Training Institute, which provides free training to our next generation of diamond cutters and polishers. In addition to offering free courses, we will also provide students with stipends, and award those who will complete the programme with training certificates,” the diamantaire said. “This exciting opportunity is open to those who wish to build a career in the diamond manufacturing industry.”