Aditya Birla Group to scale up LIVA Accredited Partners Forum

Aims to reach out to more players from small towns and rural hubs

(L-R) Mr. Uday Khadilkar, Head – Supply Chain; Mr. Prakash Nedungadi, President – Consumer Insights and Brand development and Mr. Suresh, Unit Head, Harihar

Coimbatore: The $41-billion Aditya Birla Group will scale up and expand further the LIVA Accredited Partners Forum (LAPF), a unique initiative to improve the textile value chain, by reaching out to more players also from the rural hubs and small towns across the country.

“This is an attempt to bring all textile stakeholders on a single platform and promote innovation and quality, and make India the world’s leading cloth manufacturing hub in line with the Make in India strategy. India has the potential and can compete with any country including China,” said Mr. Prakash Nedungadi, President, Consumer Insights and Brand Development, Aditya Birla Group.

“This initiative is not just limited to cities, but will also include small towns and rural players,” he said, at a stakeholders’ conclave. The summit, involving over 200 leading textile players mainly from the southern states, was held as part of the efforts to support design development, technical skills, marketing and buyer link support, under LAPF initiative.

“We have 320 members on board and the forum plays a key role in improving the value chain through critical support,” said Mr. Ashwin J. Laddha, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing (India, SAARC, Far East).

Birla Cellulose – the pulp and fibre manufacturing division of Grasim – has tied up with Mumbai-based Netcarrots to implement a customer relationship marketing programme for the stakeholders. LAPF members include spinners, weavers, knitters and fabricators, with major participation from textile hubs such as Tirupur, Erode, Ludhiana, New Delhi, Kolkatta, Surat and Bhiwandi.

The LAPF programme is linked to Birla Cellulose’s brand LIVA which was launched in March this year in line with the Group Chairman Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla’s vision of establishing connect with the end consumer.

The company has also tied up with Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) to undertake quality improvement programmes and stringent audits for the partners. The partners are shortlisted for the programme after they comply with eight stringent parameters. After the s;election, the company will equip them with five major services, including design and development, technical services, vendor management, marketing and buyer link support and market intellegence.