The strategy to have “in-country, for country” manufacturing and diversified supply chains, has helped Agilent Technologies Inc, said an executive with the US-based scientific tools company, at a time transnational firms grapple with disruptions caused by the war in West Asia.
“We have been very focused through our Ignite transformation to activate an area focused on supply chain resilience. …for the past year to two years, we’ve parallelly started to begin in-country, for-country manufacturing, as well as supply chain diversification to truly have resilience. We’ve looked at our shipping routes. We’ve looked at all of those areas. And it’s been a critical focus for most organisations. And we’ve taken that really to heart,” Jonah Kirkwood, Agilent Technologies Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer told . The company has “not seen any material impact” to its supply chain, he said, responding to a query, adding that the humanitarian situation meant their first thoughts were on the safety of employees and distributors. Agilent spun out from Hewlett Packard in 1999, and recently marked its 25 years as an independent company.
Agilent management representatives were in Mumbai for the launch of their Customer Experience Center – that facilitates technology demonstrations, for instance, in an integrated facility. And it caters to the needs of its customers including pharmaceuticals, biopharma, diagnostics, chemicals, food safety, and environmental testing.
Last December, the company had opened a refurbishment center in Manesar (Haryana) – to deliver certified pre-owned instruments “restored to factory-grade standards”, and supported by programs that enabled laboratories to buy their advanced technologies through various financing solutions.
It represents a big component of the business, said Kirkwood, outlining sustainability and affordability benefits. Customers get a one-year warranty, the same as with a brand new instrument purchase, he said. “For India, we are really focused on within-India-for-India in terms of the refurbishment. And so that sourcing also comes from products and portfolios that are directly sourced from within India.”
Bharat Bhardwaj, Agilent Vice President (Asia Pacific), explains the significance of this service for startups, and small labs who may not be able to afford a new instrument. “They want to acquire the latest … but they may not be having enough capital to invest in this. And that’s where we bring our refurbished market products available at a very affordable cost,” he said. On the financial solutions available, he added, customers could pay through subscription, rental, or pay-for-a-project models.
“Crown jewels”
The last year has seen much activity from Agilent, the executives said, catering to Indian companies increasing their presence in the CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation) segment, or in making GLP-1 (diabetes and obesity) drugs, as innovator products like semaglutide lose patent protection.
Kirkwood said, Agilent is a $6.95 billion dollars (2025), and approximately 15 to 18 per cent of that total revenue comes from Asia-Pacific – the fastest growing region for the company. “India represents one of the absolute crown jewels in that growth story for Asia-Pacific. We see consistent, sustained growth …,” he said, across focus areas of pharma and biopharma (the biggest); chemical and advanced materials; and environmental and clinical tools segments.