Customers worldwide trust Thermo Fisher Scientific’s products and services. In conversation with The Edge, Amit Chopra, Managing Director – India and South Asia, Thermo Fisher Scientific, talks about his organisation’s high- impact innovation, scale and unique value proposition.
Thermo Fisher Scientific has an annual revenue exceeding $30 billion and supports its customers in accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and increasing productivity in their laboratories. With its global team of over 80,000, Thermo Fisher Scientific delivers innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services via its brands.
Thermo Fisher Scientific has an office in Powai Business District, managed by Brookfield Properties. We interviewed Amit Chopra, Managing Director – India and South Asia, Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
In India, Thermo Fisher Scientific was incorporated in 2000. We have more than 2,300 employees across the country and have established a considerable commercial footprint with presence in more than 40 cities. With eight distribution centres, eight manufacturing facilities, five application laboratories, two R & D centres and an extensive network of over 400 channel partners, we are well-positioned to serve our customers in India.
At Thermo Fisher Scientific, our 4i Values—Integrity, Intensity, Innovation and Involvement—make up our work culture. These values not only build a strong foundation for us but are also fundamental to our continued growth. Moreover, these values are ingrained in the way we work every day and guide us at every touchpoint we have with our customers, suppliers, partners and each other.
Thermo Fisher Scientific is at the heart of the global response to Covid-19. We have been actively involved in providing end-to-end capabilities for screening, diagnosing and treating the virus, leading the world with Covid-19 testing.
During the initial stages of the pandemic, we realised how important it is to have access to reliable supplies of Covid-19 testing. We, therefore, pivoted our strategies to successfully navigate the challenges posed by the pandemic. In 2020, we made significant investments globally to increase the depth of our capabilities for our customers, including an investment of over $1 billion in R & D to launch high-impact new products across our key technology platforms. Thermo Fisher Scientific is also committed to supporting the development of more than 250 therapeutics and vaccines, thereby making meaningful contributions during and beyond the pandemic. Overall, these investments reflect our commitment to ensure that our customers across industries have access to and experience of our cutting-edge solutions to enable their success.
The pandemic allowed us to deepen our relationships with our customers and colleagues. We embraced technology and digital capabilities to offer end-to-end solutions to our customers and partner with them. We even invested in a new manufacturing site and have continued our investments in technology and in training and development of our employees. Many of our businesses are launching CRMs, mobility solutions and virtual-reality tools so that we meet the ever-evolving needs and operate more effectively. From an employee standpoint, we are relentlessly focusing on measures to ensure the safety of our employees. Communicating regularly and transparently has been the key. The most important aspects across these communications were reinforcing our mission and articulating the importance of the work we do each day. These approaches have helped in rallying the teams to operate during the pandemic and in coping with the new normal.
Thermo Fisher had been qualified for government exemptions during the pandemic that allowed us to keep our operations running, given our essential role in response to the outbreak and healthcare in general. We have remained operational by prioritising the health and safety of our employees, working with local governments and implementing a coordinated business-continuity plan. At our sites in India, we have implemented several safety protocols including enhanced sanitation, increased hygiene, social distancing, face mask usage, travel and visitor guidelines, temperature monitoring and awareness training. Additionally, we have curated several programmes and initiatives to offer our employees guidance and tips to maintain their mental and physical well-being.
It is very important to have partners who follow safety guidelines, as do we at Thermo Fisher Scientific. We have collaborated with Brookfield Properties on several fronts, including partnering with them for fire safety systems, ensuring adherence to safe practices and conducting safety audits in the premise. In addition to this, we partnered with Brookfield Properties to set up enhanced cleaning and sanitisation processes, along with other safety protocols. All of this, in turn, has given us trust and confidence as we gradually bring our colleagues back to work.