Samarth Dakshini
Director
Samarth Dakshini is a dynamic and visionary leader who has been driving the growth and success of Raydean Industries, a leading solar energy solutions provider in India. With his strategic thinking and innovative approach, Samarth has transformed Raydean Industries into a highly efficient and profitable organization that is constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the renewable energy industry.
Below is an excerpt of Samarth Dakshini’s exclusive interaction with CEO Insights magazine.
Can you share your experiences and accomplishments in your career so far? And, what were some of the early experiences in your life that influenced your leadership abilities?
I embarked on my professional journey straight after completing my 12th standard. At that time, the industry was small, and my company was planning to enter the renewable sector. While studying for my graduate degree, I was also involved in business. After that, I pursued a master's degree focused on the manufacturing industry. Furthermore, as a leader, I faced challenges during the company's growth and have been a part of the complete growth of the company. When I joined, we only had 20 employees, but now we have over 500 employees and have become suppliers for module mounting structures in the solar industry across the country. To sustain our rapid growth, we needed to establish the right processes, quality parameters, standardizations, and scaling methods. Thus, we collaborated with some major power companies, which guided us in aligning with the processes and quality standards to maintain high standards in trading.
Describe your leadership approach and what has been your success mantra.
My leadership approach is to encourage my team members to be hands-on, quick to react and understand the complexity of any given situation. As we work in the manufacturing industry, we face challenges such as supply chain management and execution on tight timelines. Therefore, it is essential to manage all operations simultaneously and remain aware of any situation at any given moment. I believe that major control cannot be obtained by sitting in your cabin, so it's necessary to go down to the
shop floors and working areas to understand the problems from the grass root level and make management decisions accordingly.
My success mantra is to surprise my team now and then and not let them get complacent. I have observed that once we achieve a certain level of growth, the workforce tends to get comfortable around it. To that end, as well as, to maintain our growth trajectory, I continuously challenge them with new tasks, targets, and objectives.
Define Raydean Industries as an organization and its position in the market.
At Raydean, we strongly believe in our family culture, and we refer to ourselves as the Raydean family. Each stake holder, from a lower-level shop floor worker to higher management, is an integral part of our family. Our organization ties everyone together under a single umbrella, and we encourage every individual to take their work seriously as if they are working for their organization. And we have an open door policy, and even a shop floor worker can reach out to the chairman or managing director of the company with their problems.
In addition, Raydean Industries is one of the largest manufacturers of solar module mounting structures in the country, and we have been in the industry since the beginning of the solar boom in India. We currently operate in more than 18 states and serve clients from Rajasthan. Apart from this, we have diversified into the telecom and power transmission sectors, to achieve the same pole position in these sectors as we have in solar.
What are the growth factors you look into to ensure the company’s operations run smoothly?
As someone who has extensively studied Toyota Production Management (TPM), I believe it is one of the most critical principles in the manufacturing industry. I always try to implement the principles of TPM practically, ensuring that our company structure can accommodate them in a way that makes sense for our unique requirements.
When it comes to planning, we take a meticulous approach that involves detailed and approved plans for materials management, as well as an understanding of the product's life cycles and the raw materials that go into it. Additionally, we incorporate as much technology as possible to streamline our operations and improve efficiency. This includes tools such as ERP, Excel Sheets, and Google Sheets, which we rely on heavily to help us operate smoothly.
However, in an industry of scale, it is essential that everyone in the company, from the top management to the shop floor, is aware of what is going on at all times. Thus, we make a point of setting up targeted timelines for each order, treating each one like a project, so that everyone knows what they need to do to help the company succeed.
Tell us about your expertise in product management. How do you ensure client satisfaction at every level of the product?
My success mantra is to surprise my team now and then and not let them get complacent. I have observed that once we achieve a certain level of growth, the workforce tends to get comfortable around it. To that end, as well as, to maintain our growth trajectory, I continuously challenge them with new tasks, targets, and objectives.
My leadership approach is to encourage my team members to be hands-on, quick to react & understand the complexity of any given situation
Define Raydean Industries as an organization and its position in the market.
At Raydean, we strongly believe in our family culture, and we refer to ourselves as the Raydean family. Each stake holder, from a lower-level shop floor worker to higher management, is an integral part of our family. Our organization ties everyone together under a single umbrella, and we encourage every individual to take their work seriously as if they are working for their organization. And we have an open door policy, and even a shop floor worker can reach out to the chairman or managing director of the company with their problems.
In addition, Raydean Industries is one of the largest manufacturers of solar module mounting structures in the country, and we have been in the industry since the beginning of the solar boom in India. We currently operate in more than 18 states and serve clients from Rajasthan. Apart from this, we have diversified into the telecom and power transmission sectors, to achieve the same pole position in these sectors as we have in solar.
What are the growth factors you look into to ensure the company’s operations run smoothly?
As someone who has extensively studied Toyota Production Management (TPM), I believe it is one of the most critical principles in the manufacturing industry. I always try to implement the principles of TPM practically, ensuring that our company structure can accommodate them in a way that makes sense for our unique requirements.
When it comes to planning, we take a meticulous approach that involves detailed and approved plans for materials management, as well as an understanding of the product's life cycles and the raw materials that go into it. Additionally, we incorporate as much technology as possible to streamline our operations and improve efficiency. This includes tools such as ERP, Excel Sheets, and Google Sheets, which we rely on heavily to help us operate smoothly.
However, in an industry of scale, it is essential that everyone in the company, from the top management to the shop floor, is aware of what is going on at all times. Thus, we make a point of setting up targeted timelines for each order, treating each one like a project, so that everyone knows what they need to do to help the company succeed.
Tell us about your expertise in product management. How do you ensure client satisfaction at every level of the product?
As a company that produces customized products made to order, we have a very specific process in place to ensure that every aspect of the project is clearly defined and approved by the customer to avoid any miscommunication. We work closely with our customers to understand their needs and requirements, including the site where the product will be installed and the combination of modules needed. Our defined standard operating procedures help us to adhere to timelines given by the customer, as well as ensure that the quality parameters are always met. We also communicate with our customers at every stage of the product life, including how the material will be packaged and delivered, to make sure that there are no issues during installation.
In our industry, it is crucial to use the right grade of materials and check for their availability to avoid any quality issues. At Raydean Industries, we have a defined SOP for this as well. We take pride in our work and strive to ensure that our products are delivered on time and of the highest quality, with no issues at the site.
How do you nurture a learning culture in your team to draw valuable market insights?
My leadership approach is to encourage a learning culture within my team. I believe that we can learn from successful companies in our sector by observing what they are doing well and how they are investing their resources. To ensure that my team is aware of the whole production process, I encourage them to go beyond their job descriptions and SOPs and to learn about each department's role in the company. This will help them grow and understand how each department works effectively, which is important if they want to move up in the company. Additionally, I want my sales team to be aware of our competitors and each order that they have given, to help them anticipate and react accordingly to the market trends.
What is the future destination you are heading towards?
We are currently a successful manufacturing company in the solar sector, but we want to expand and diversify our business into the booming telecom sector, especially with the emergence of 5G technology. We are also shifting our focus towards engineering and project management services, rather than just manufacturing products. Our goal is to be known as a major engineering company and not just a manufacturer. While we have a good reputation in manufacturing, we understand that we cannot achieve the scale we desire solely through manufacturing in the next five years. Therefore, we need to work hard, diversify our business, and embrace new technologies to achieve our goals.
Samarth Dakshini, Director, Raydean Industries
Samarth Dakshini is a seasoned leader in the renewables and environment industry with expertise in Product and Operations Management, Managerial Finance, Strategic Business Direction, and Business Process Improvement. Further, he holds a Master's degree in Family Managed Business from S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research.
In our industry, it is crucial to use the right grade of materials and check for their availability to avoid any quality issues. At Raydean Industries, we have a defined SOP for this as well. We take pride in our work and strive to ensure that our products are delivered on time and of the highest quality, with no issues at the site.
How do you nurture a learning culture in your team to draw valuable market insights?
My leadership approach is to encourage a learning culture within my team. I believe that we can learn from successful companies in our sector by observing what they are doing well and how they are investing their resources. To ensure that my team is aware of the whole production process, I encourage them to go beyond their job descriptions and SOPs and to learn about each department's role in the company. This will help them grow and understand how each department works effectively, which is important if they want to move up in the company. Additionally, I want my sales team to be aware of our competitors and each order that they have given, to help them anticipate and react accordingly to the market trends.
What is the future destination you are heading towards?
We are currently a successful manufacturing company in the solar sector, but we want to expand and diversify our business into the booming telecom sector, especially with the emergence of 5G technology. We are also shifting our focus towards engineering and project management services, rather than just manufacturing products. Our goal is to be known as a major engineering company and not just a manufacturer. While we have a good reputation in manufacturing, we understand that we cannot achieve the scale we desire solely through manufacturing in the next five years. Therefore, we need to work hard, diversify our business, and embrace new technologies to achieve our goals.
Samarth Dakshini, Director, Raydean Industries
Samarth Dakshini is a seasoned leader in the renewables and environment industry with expertise in Product and Operations Management, Managerial Finance, Strategic Business Direction, and Business Process Improvement. Further, he holds a Master's degree in Family Managed Business from S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research.