Preparation of business transformation processes for implementation in EPCM: Reliance Industries Limited

Abstract

The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002), is India's largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Group's annual revenues are in excess of US$ 66 billion. The flagship company, Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company and is the largest private sector company in India. Backward vertical integration has been the cornerstone of the evolution and growth of Reliance. Starting with textiles in the late seventies, Reliance pursued a strategy of backward vertical integration - in polyester, fiber intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum refining and oil and gas exploration and production - to be fully integrated along the materials and energy value chain. The Company expanded into textiles in 1975. Since its initial public offering in 1977, the Company has expanded rapidly and integrated backwards into other industry sectors, most notably the production of petrochemicals and the refining of crude oil. The Company from time to time seeks to further diversify into other industries. The Company now has operations that span from the exploration and production of oil and gas to the manufacture of petroleum products, polyester products, polyester intermediates, plastics, polymer intermediates, chemicals and synthetic textiles and fabrics. The Company's major products and brands, from oil and gas to textiles are tightly integrated and benefit from synergies across the Company. Central to the Company's operations is its vertical backward integration strategy; raw materials such as PTA, MEG, ethylene, propylene and normal paraffin that were previously imported at a higher cost and subject to import duties are now sourced from within the Company. This has had a positive effect on the Company's operating margins and interest costs and decreased the Company's exposure to the cyclicality of markets and raw material prices. The Company believes that this strategy is also important in maintaining a domestic market leadership position in its major product lines and in providing a competitive advantage.