Balrampur Chini Mills Limited board leads transformation with Dess

Jan 20, 2023

Introduction:

Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) is one of the largest integrated sugar manufacturing companies. The company was established in 1975 and is engaged in the production of sugar, ethanol, and power. In terms of sugar production by quantity, BCML is one of the largest sugar manufacturers with an annual sugar production capacity of around 2.5 million tons. The company also has a significant presence in the ethanol market with an annual production capacity of about 110 million liters. Additionally, BCML has a co-generation power plant, which is used to generate electricity from the by-products of sugar production.

One of the key areas of BCML is its ability to vertically integrate its operations. The company has its own sugarcane cultivation operations, which allows it to secure a consistent and reliable supply of raw materials for its sugar and ethanol production operations. Additionally, BCML has diversified its product portfolio by adding co-gen power generation and distillery units, which have helped it to mitigate the risk associated with the volatility of the sugar market. In recent years, BCML has implemented several initiatives to improve its operational efficiency and reduce costs. These include the installation of new technology and equipment in its sugar and ethanol production facilities, as well as the implementation of best practices in areas such as energy management and water conservation.

  • Capacity of over 77,500 tons of sugar production
  • Distillery capacity of over 1050 KL per day
  • Power generation of over 176 mW
  • Ethanol production of 110 million liters
  • 10 plant locations

The Challenge:

BCML has a diverse board which consists of seven directors including multiple independent directors, non-executive directors and executive directors. In addition to compliance requirements of quarterly meetings, board members tend to meet numerous times when operational tasks arise. Initially, BCML relied on traditional paper and email-based agenda packets to support their board meetings. The agendas in these meetings could be as long as several hundred pages. BCML sought a complete board portal software solution that could efficiently deliver and properly handle such board meeting processes and the obligation of continually communicating on critical board-level engagements.

The Dess Advantage:

BCML chose the Dess Digital Meetings software solution for paperless board and committee meetings to efficiently communicate on critical board-level engagements. Instead of holding essential board and committee meetings on traditional paper and email-based systems, BCML now employs a paperless meetings solution that is dependable, secure, and easy to use.

As a result of implementing Dess, features such as agenda management, draft, and final minutes management, attendance and reports, digital signature integration, agenda distribution,  and circular resolutions, workflow management, and one-touch VC integration, among others have saved significant time and efforts for the directors. 

The Dess Board Portal software has been commended for its user-friendliness by the management, staff, and board of directors at BCML. The agenda management solution’s cross-platform functionality, which is compatible with iOS, Windows, and Android devices, has also given directors at BCML a holistic user experience.

Commenting on the board meetings software initiative, Mr. Manoj Agarwal, Company Secretary, BCML said, “Dess Digital Meetings is very easy to use. Our directors and secretarial team are delighted with the experience of going digital and the ease of use.”

We value our association with Balrampur Chini Mills as their board meetings solution partner. We endeavor to consistently leverage the power of digital to deliver the finest experience to our clients,” said Mr. Dilip Ganeriwal, Founder and Managing Director of Dess.

The Dess Board Portal software has supported the high corporate governance standards of BCML by enhancing board cooperation, management communication, and organizational governance.

BCML’s Corporate Governance Achievement:

Corporate governance is a combination of laws, regulations, and good practices and processes that enable a company to operate efficiently and ethically to generate long-term prosperity and value for all of its shareholders. With the implementation of different initiatives, BCML has been driving good governance as an ongoing pursuit that serves as a guiding factor for long-term success. Recognizing its culture of good corporate governance, BCML was awarded the Best Corporate (Medium Category) at the 22nd National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance held by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). This laurel was conferred upon BCML by Hon’ble Supreme Court Justice Mr. P. Sathasivam & prominent tennis player Mr. Leander Paes in addition to the President and Vice President of ICSI. 

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Mr. Manoj Agarwal, Company Secretary and CSR Head of BCML receiving the award 

Delivered as a one-stop board meetings software for BCML:

  • End-to-end board portal software addressing pre-meeting, during-meeting, and post-meeting requirements
  • Paperless board and committee meetings with cross-platform compatibility for all major devices such as laptops, desktops, tablets, and smartphones and all operating systems including Android, iOS, and Windows
  • Minutes management solution with in-built automatic activity tracking and action taken reports, agenda builder, and minutes builder
  • Online approvals with digital signature and e-signature compatibility and workflow management software
  • Calendar management for the board of directors with automatic board meetings scheduling and attendance management
  • Notings and annotations including shareable and private comments, drawings, and highlights with offline use for on-the-go access
  • Configurable reports for compliance management and tracking corporate governance and ESG goals
  • Board evaluation and performance evaluation with configurable and confidential reports

About Dess:

Dess Digital Meetings is the world’s easiest-to-use board portal software for paperless board and committee meetings. Leading organizations in over 25 countries prefer Dess as their choice for efficient and effective board management software.

Dess believes in enhancing the value of information globally by harnessing unstructured data to empower the right people at the right time using the right technology. With its group of highly competent and motivated people, it has implemented several first-of-its-kind solutions.
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