For example, Tata Chemicals acquired UK-based Brunner Mond Group and its Kenyan subsidiary, Magadi Soda Company, in 2006 and US-based soda ash producer General Chemical and Industrial Products (GCIP) in 2008 to expand its chemicals business which accounts for roughly half its sales. Instead of opting for the “hard integration” process that typically follows mergers and acquisitions, Tata Chemicals allowed each entity to retain its local identity but created a structure to leverage global strengths.

To coordinate operations across its four geographies, it put in place a global advisory council that comprises the heads of the Indian business, Brunner Mond, GCIP and Magadi plus the vice-president, marketing and strategy, based in India.

Meanwhile, reporting structures have also been kept flexible. For instance, the human resource chief of each organisation reports to an overall head in India but also to the chief of each geography. As with Bharat Forge, this flexibility enables the group to cherry-pick the best practices from within the global organisation, explains R Mukundan, managing director, Tata Chemicals.

The benefits have accrued in terms of talent retention and operational excellence, he adds. For instance, the acquisitions did not result in the usual top-level exodus that follows most M&As. “On the contrary, we ended up retaining people,” says Mukundan.

Importantly, the soft integration allowed the company to move talent around to exploit its acquired global skill base. For instance, the operational head of the Kenya plant had moved from a unit in Wyoming, US, and the CFO of the US operations had previously headed the same function in the UK business. Regional managers are now also responsible for key group customer accounts, an example of how Tata Chemicals has been able to leverage its global network to deepen relationships with customers.

To be sure, many of the best practices that have evolved from the exigencies of doing business are scarcely big-ticket in nature — India Inc is yet to deliver a concept equivalent to, say, a Six Sigma or Toyota’s seminal logistics system. But as globalisation raises the stakes in staying competitive, the country may just emerge as the source of useful next practice.