MAHINDRA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR

BRISTLECONE BUSINESS CASELET

The Mahindra Group has signicant presence in the IT Industry through Tech Mahindra
and Bristlecone which serve several Global 100 and Fortune 500 companies, to deliver
effective business solutions that help drive their success. This caselet pertains to the
Bristlecone Business of the Mahindra IT Sector.

BUSINESS BACKGROUND
Bristlecone was founded in 1996 to help businesses maximize the strategic value of
their supply chains using SAP enterprise software. Bristlecone works closely with large
enterptises in areas such as strategy and business process consulting, systems
implementation services, SAP Netweaver and independent software vendor (ISV)
services, and business process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge process outsourcing
(KPO) services. Bristlecone has a team of more than 1,000 professionals with ofces in
USA (California), Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, UK, Germany, Switzerland and India.
Bristlecone has implemented SAP for over 150 clients across the globe, spanning
industries like Automotive, Technology & Telecommunications, Semiconductors, Life
Sciences & Pharmaceuticals, Media & Entertainment & Mining. Among Bristlecones
clients are global leaders like Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, LSI Logic, Motorola, Nestle, Nike,
Palm, Unilever, and more.
LIVE CHALLENGE: OPTIMIZING SUPPLY CHAIN USING BIG DATA
Bristlecone being a niche consulting rm focuses on select industries and consulting
solutions, unlike large management consulting rms, focusing its energies to help
clients optimize their supply chains using technology as an enabler.
With the advent of the Big Data, companies see an opportunity to better integrate their
business processes and drive cost efciencies in their supply chain processes.
However, most of them have not been able to gain clarity over where the application or
opportunities of Big Data lie with respect to supply chain. Depending on the context it is
used, the term Big Data has been around for many years, but has recently gained
tremendously in popularity. In 2010, Big Data started appearing as google search term,
and in 2011, it was mentioned in Gartners Hype Cycle Report of Emerging
Technologies. In 2012, it started getting used widely, and was added to the Oxford
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English Dictionary in 2013, dened as data of a very large size, typically to the extent
that its manipulation and management present signicant logistical challenges.
Bristlecone views Big Data as an opportunity to help enterprises solve supply
chain challenges. Bristlecones core competence lies in facilitating this critical
link between meeting the supply chain expectations of a business with effective
use of technology. Evolve a strategy for Bristlecone to leverage the Big Data
opportunity within the supply chain space for future growth, considering its
position as a niche, boutique consulting rm. How can Bristlecone leverage Big
Data to create a new market? How can Big Data be applied to various supply
chain processes? What kind of services can Bristlecone provide to customers to
optimize their supply chains using Big Data?
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