Building a data-driven, secure and future-ready manufacturing enterprise: Technology as a strategic backbone at Prince Pipes and Fittings

At Prince Pipes and Fittings, one of India’s leading multi-polymer pipe manufacturers, digital transformation is being approached with a clear business lens i.e. strengthening decision-making, improving customer experience, and building resilience for the future. Under the leadership of Keyur Desai, Head IT, the organisation has embarked on a multi-year journey that integrates ERP-led process discipline, data-driven intelligence, cloud scalability, strong cyber security, and practical AI adoption to reimagine how technology enables growth.

Technology as a catalyst for business transformation

Over the last couple of years, the IT leadership of Prince Pipes and Fittings has focused on accelerating business decisions and enhancing experiences for both internal and external stakeholders. The technology initiatives are closely aligned with senior management priorities, which include improving visibility, reducing manual intervention, and ensuring data integrity across the enterprise.

ERP has been positioned as the backbone of operations, acting as the single source of truth for finance, manufacturing, supply chain, and corporate functions. “This disciplined approach has enabled faster, more reliable decision-making while ensuring that business growth is supported by robust systems and processes,” says Keyur Desai, Head – IT of the organisation.

ERP-led process consolidation and operational excellence

ERP implementation at Prince Pipes and Fittings has been driven by clear priorities. The finance function was addressed first, with a strong emphasis on smooth and predictable month-end closures. This laid the foundation for confidence and trust in enterprise systems. From there, focus expanded to the supply chain, where advanced warehouse management and transport management systems were implemented. These initiatives have significantly improved inventory visibility, logistics transparency, and customer trust.

On the manufacturing front, the organisation is advancing its Industry 4.0 vision through a phased approach. The long-term strategy is centred on digital twins, which includes digitally simulating the entire lifecycle of manufacturing processes to drive efficiency, predictability, and continuous improvement.

“Rather than attempting a big-bang transformation, we are deliberately sequencing initiatives to ensure stability and value realisation at each stage,” adds Desai.

Strengthening customer engagement through CRM, SFA and DMS

Beyond core ERP, Prince Pipes and Fittings has invested heavily in building an integrated, customer-facing sales ecosystem. CRM, Sales Force Automation (SFA), and Distributor Management Systems (DMS) are tightly interconnected to provide end-to-end visibility across primary, secondary, and tertiary sales.

CRM plays a critical role in managing both retail and project-based orders, while SFA ensures real-time tracking of sales activities and performance. This integrated platform provides leadership with a single, unified view of sales data, enabling informed decisions and proactive interventions. For dealers and partners, the result is improved engagement, faster order fulfillment, and a more transparent sales cycle.

From reports to insights: Becoming a data-driven organisation

A central pillar of Prince Pipes and Fittings’ digital strategy is data democratisation. The organisation has moved decisively away from static reports towards dynamic, self-service analytics. A centralised data platform for sales and supply chain allows business users to create their own dashboards without dependence on IT teams.

Desai further states, “Sales teams, for instance, can access granular data on their smartphones while interacting with customers, instantly showcasing performance metrics and trends. This empowerment has not only improved responsiveness but has also enhanced user confidence and satisfaction. Across functions, data is now guiding actions rather than merely describing outcomes.”

Driving cultural change and upskilling for data adoption

Technology transformation at Prince Pipes and Fittings has been accompanied by a conscious effort to drive cultural change. Leadership recognised early that democratising data would require a mindset shift across the organisation. Initial resistance was addressed through structured training programs conducted zone-wise and state-wise, helping users build familiarity and confidence with new platforms.

“Standardised analytical models defined by leadership provide a guided framework, while still allowing users the flexibility to explore and build their own views. Ease of use, reduced dependency on IT, and visible business benefits have collectively helped embed data-driven decision-making into the organisational culture,” elaborates Desai.

A pragmatic and purpose-driven cloud strategy

Prince Pipes and Fittings follows a clear and pragmatic approach to cloud adoption, anchored in a hybrid and increasingly multi-cloud strategy. Most enterprise and analytics workloads are hosted on the cloud to leverage speed, scalability, and resilience. At the same time, non-critical and plant-level applications remain on-premise to meet local operational requirements and ensure low latency.

Backup and disaster recovery also follow a hybrid model, balancing control with resilience. Rather than pursuing cloud adoption for its own sake, the organisation focuses on intentional deployment, choosing the right cloud platforms based on application needs, cost considerations, and ease of integration, while avoiding over-dependence on a single provider.

Building a resilient cyber security framework

Cyber security is treated as a business-critical priority at Prince Pipes and Fittings. The organisation has implemented a phase-wise, multi-layered cyber security framework spanning both IT and OT environments. A simple yet effective risk-classification approach i.e. green, yellow, and red, was used to identify gaps and prioritise actions.

Key initiatives include application security, enterprise-wide vulnerability assessments, secure backup strategies, endpoint protection, and safeguards against zero-day attacks. Equally important has been the focus on human awareness. A structured Cyber Security Awareness Program, conducted physically across locations, educates employees on best practices and threat response.

Desai highlights, “Our innovative ‘Cyber Yodha’ initiative recognises employees who demonstrate strong cyber awareness, turning them into ambassadors for security across the organisation. This has reinforced the belief that cyber security is a shared responsibility, extending beyond IT teams to every user and partner in the ecosystem.”

Practical and scalable AI use cases

Envisaging the tangible benefits, Prince Pipes and Fittings is evaluating and approaching AI adoption with a strong focus on practical, value-driven use cases. Early successes include the use of AI for GST reconciliation in finance that built organisational confidence in AI tools.

The roadmap now spans multiple functions. AI-driven demand forecasting platforms are being developed to connect sales, supply chain, and manufacturing. In parallel, the organisation is exploring enterprise-level large language models (LLMs) to support sales teams through a centralised knowledge repository covering products, SKUs, and manufacturing units.

AI is also being leveraged in HR for employee self-service, while business process automation remains a key area of exploration. Recognising that AI outcomes are only as good as the underlying data, significant effort has been invested in backend data readiness to ensure accuracy and reliability from the outset.

The future outlook

Looking ahead, the vision for IT at Prince Pipes and Fittings is refreshingly simple yet powerful. A future-ready IT organisation is one where technology empowers the business to make the right decisions at the right time, without constant dependency on IT as a function.

Customer experience, both internal and external, remains at the core of all technology initiatives, supported by strong data security and actionable insights. “For manufacturing organisations, the role of IT will increasingly centre on refining business processes, empowering users, and aligning every technology investment with clear business outcomes. At Prince Pipes and Fittings, technology is no longer just enabling the business, it is shaping its future,” concludes Desai.