Pakistan needs deeper industry-academia collaboration, says Sarmad Zia
‘IMS is striving to enhance the capabilities of our local vendors under the indigenous program so that the imported parts are replaced with locally made parts.’

What is the importance of operations in engineering products? How do you run the show?
Operations is the backbone of any organization and their main role is to manage the daily activities of the organization seamlessly. Before Operations, I was leading the Project department and soon I realized, my strong interest in the technical side and my desire to handle the challenges related to design and operations. which led me to assume this office—Manager Operations. I realized that this was the domain where I found I can fit myself.
You are a foreign-educated Pakistani, would you like to tell us about your education and the experience that you brought here?
I did my engineering from the University of Manchester England and then my MBA from the same university. I worked in UK for 4 years and then moved to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and worked there for around 14 years. At a time (Approx 1.5 years back) many people were leaving Pakistan and we thought it was time to pay back to our country. Eventually, we returned to Pakistan. We resolved to impart the talent to those who could not travel abroad to acquire such knowledge and experience that we had.
You lived in England and Saudi Arabia where you had a professional atmosphere. What was the difference when you moved here and started working?
I think the buyer in KSA knows what he is buying and what is his motive. He knows he is buying a premium product and what benefits he is to reap. He is ready to pay for the quality as he is educated enough to know the meaning behind the price whereas his counterpart here in Pakistan has cost in mind. He eyes at a minimum cost no matter if the seller cannot offer you quality and after-sales service. In the case of IMS/Schneider, we sell premium products, and we know if the panel develops a fault it has to be hauled back and repaired. Also, we guarantee the parts availability for ten to twenty years. When the product is purchased from companies that you don’t know, one never knows if you will be able to have after-sales services.
What specific responsibilities do you fulfill as Manager of Operations at IMS Electric?
I look after the Production, Quality Assurance, Quality control, and Maintenance of the whole facility. Also, handle issues related to aftersales and warranty claims.
In the current national scenario, there are many issues including the supply chain. How has it affected your operations?
The top management has decided not to retrench the people. We are trying to make the best use of people’s capabilities so that we are able to work in those domains where we find obstacles. I have worth Rs.500 million orders on the shop floor, but unfortunately, parts are stuck at the port for a long period. Everyone is of course affected; our customers continuously contacting for the deliveries of their respective orders as they need to put their plant/machines into operation. We are trying our best to serve them as much as possible. But the industries which have their expansion plans have come to the halt.
While you share such a situation, we witness frequent exhibitions and the people exhibiting their products. Where is the balance?
It {the balance} does not exist at the moment. All exhibitors and assemblers have their parts stuck at the ports. We at IMS are striving to enhance/develop the capabilities of our local vendors under the indigenous program so that the imported parts are replaced with locally made parts. We are deeply involved in the development of local vendor processes. Besides sharing the cost, we are sending them our modules and manpower to develop and grow their expertise.
If the imports are allowed in Pakistan, what do you think, how much time would take to respond to the orders?
We are always told that you will get the supplies very soon but I don’t see this happening so soon. Sharing my backlog with you, it will take around four months to complete it.
Does academia meet your expectations in terms of providing you with the engineer that you require?
There is a gap for sure. Fresh engineers do not fully meet the requirements of the local industry. The industry is far more advanced and it then passes the graduates through its training programs like we at IMS do. IMS is not only providing the training platform to engineers but to diploma holders (DAE) as well. For engineering, we have a one-year training program. Currently Five engineers and approx. 20 technicians who are being trained in various skills.
Since you have studied abroad, how did you see this collaboration in the process there?
It was deep there, In UK OEMs and Universities have much closer relations. OEMs invest heavily in university infrastructures and laboratories; they offer funded scholarships for research programs. Unfortunately, we do not witness such a kind of collaboration in Pakistan.