 ts supply chain is easily one of the most complicated in the world.

How do managers at
Amul prevent the milk from souring?
 Walk in to any Amul or Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)
office, and you may or may not see a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi [ Images ], but you
will certainly see one particular photograph. It shows a long line of Gujarati women
waiting patiently for a union truck to come and collect the milk they have brought in
shining brass matkas.
 The picture is always prominently displayed. The message is clear: never forget your
primary customer. If you don't, success is certain. The proof? A unique, Rs 2,200 crore
(Rs 22 billion) enterprise.
 Organisation structure
 It all started in December 1946 with a group of farmers keen to free themselves from
intermediaries, gain access to markets and thereby ensure maximum returns for their
efforts.
 Based in the village of Anand, the Kaira District Milk Cooperative Union (better known
as Amul) expanded exponentially. It joined hands with other milk cooperatives, and the
Gujarat network now covers 2.12 million farmers, 10,411 village level milk collection
centers and fourteen district level plants (unions) under the overall supervision of
GCMMF.