S V Prasad Gandhikota

With twenty-three years of experience to his credit, Mr. Prasad Gandhikota is a proven leader in the fields of manufacturing and information technology. Since 2018, he has operated as a Senior System Analyst-Information Technology a leadership role at Conagra Brands Inc., where he specializes in supply chain management business transformation program execution in food manufacturing using SAP and S/4 HANA enterprise resource planning systems as a technology enabler. Prasad Gandhikota is responsible for three pillars with in Conagra Brands namely application management services for 24/7 production support of manufacturing plants across United States, SAP supply chain heavy integration programs for mergers & acquisitions and continuous delivery projects for process improvements like internet of things connected shop floor by providing his subject matter expertise in manufacturing and information technology. Prasad Gandhikota has developed and successfully implemented several customized information technology solutions to solve most complex supply chain business problems, these solutions have drastically improved the productivity and efficiency of the supply chain operations there by providing cost savings to Conagra Brands. Some of these solutions are integrating SAP with MES manufacturing execution systems for a seamless data flow, grading solution for fresh pack vegetables and integrating SAP with modernized crop management solutions Extend AG for efficient contract management with suppliers for fresh pack tomatoes, designing the solutions requires thorough understanding of the business problem and expertise in information technology systems both from functional and technical perspective, one developed solution never fits same business problem in the same industrial sector or a different sector, hence there is a need for diverse set of skills and expertise from domain supply chain manufacturing, SAP module specific configuration experience and technical experience to customize the systems. In addition to the above expertise there needs to be an understanding of globalization vs localization keeping in mind the long-term impact on production support and project scope and timelines, hence these solutions cannot be readily copied by others either in same industry or different industry. Prasad Gandhikota comes with a unique set of experience where he worked both in domain manufacturing and information technology areas and his continual learning is the key to provide more customized solutions to the unique supply chain problems. He is responsible for the overall scope, schedule, cost, technology, resources, communication and change management of the projects for a successful delivery. Prasad Gandhikota won CIO award in 2021 for pinnacle SAP integrations and Modern ERP award for making an impact in S/4 HANA Canada international program at Conagra Brands. Prior to his current appointment, he served as a Senior Consultant for Deloitte Consulting United States from 2014 to 2017 advising fortune 500 companies like Illumina, Caterpillar, Avnet, Hunter Douglas etc. in supply chain business transformation projects using SAP and S/4 HANA. Prasad Gandhikota worked in information technology system implementations for a variety of industry sectors like life sciences and medical diagnostic equipment's for cancer research & genomic products, consumer products, electronics, construction & mining equipment's, textiles & chemicals, and automobile industries. He developed information technology solutions for custom products a multimillion-dollar business of Illumina which helped to produce millions of combinations of products in a quicker time with innovative solutions like variant configuration. Global available to promise solution for Avnet Inc, to fulfil the customer demands protecting and satisfying the top tier customers. Solution for documents storage and digital signature approvals for caterpillar, S/4 HANA implementation for Hunter Douglas. Quality management solution to track the country of origin for procurement and manufacturing to take advantage of tax credits has saved millions of dollars to Illumina inc. Prasad Gandhikota has developed unique solutions to unique problems which cannot be readily copied without understanding the exact business problem and his combined experience in manufacturing, information technology and management education is the secret sauce. Prior to Deloitte Prasad Gandhikota served as a Principal Consultant at Honeywell India 2008-2013 and based on his critical and leadership skills in manufacturing and information technology he was deputed to United Kingdom and United States for implementing SAP-enterprise resource planning systems to standardize business processes in supply chain manufacturing for Honeywell manufacturing plants. Prasad also implemented advanced planning and optimization systems (APO) to solve a complex supply chain business problem by providing consolidated forecast visibility across strategic business groups with his subject matter expertise and project management skills in rolling out the solution to Honeywell plants across the globe. Prasad Gandhikota won team excellence award for SAP deployment in United Kingdom in 2009, won partner award and individual excellence award for aerospace deployments in United States in 2010. Having served in several other consulting roles throughout his career, Mr. Prasad Gandhikota originally began his professional journey in 1995, working for textile process and machine manufacturing companies where he mastered his skills in supply chain manufacturing and provided process consulting to textile companies for six years before moving to information technology consulting in 2005. Before embarking onto his vocational path, Mr. Prasad Gandhikota pursued a formal education, beginning with his time at Nagpur University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in physics, chemistry, and mathematics in 1991. He subsequently continued his studies at Bombay University (now the University of Mumbai), from which he received a bachelor's degree in chemical technology with specialization in textile chemistry in 1995. Mr. Prasad Gandhikota later attained a post graduate diploma in management at the Indian Institute of Modern Management in 2004 specializing in marketing management and information technology. In addition to his academic credentials, Mr. Prasad Gandhikota holds several notable certifications in his industry. To wit, he received a prestigious solution consultant certificate in supply chain management-manufacturing from SAP, he received a certificate in supply chain and logistics fundamentals from prestigious institute MIT, he is certified in six sigma green belt from Honeywell. Adjacent to his vocational responsibilities, he is also well regarded for his contributions as a civic-minded citizen, regularly volunteering as a judge for state science fair at Minnesota Academy of Science, Symposium judge award for judging undergraduate research opportunity program at University of Michigan, as a judge for project management at DECA Inc., as a judge and industry expert for information technology world awards at Globee awards, as a judge for judging American business awards at Stevie awards. Prasad Gandhikota published research paper named "Secrets of Successful SAP Integrations: Mergers & Acquisitions" in peer reviewed journal IJISRT International journal of innovative science and research technology, which is indexed in Zenodo, OpenAIRE, ResearchGate, Scribd and google scholar. Research paper is based on his real-world experiences of implementing information technology solutions for a distinguished food manufacturing company. The research paper which is specifically targeted towards business and technology leaders in supply chain management is getting widespread recognition across the globe.

Work Experience

23 years in manufacturing and Information technology with special focus to SAP and S/4 HANA programs for supply chain manufacturing industries.