Alok Tandon \u00a0\u201cDigitalization has been disruptive. Gone are the days of film rolls carefully packed into aluminium canisters.\u00a0 Inox now controls all its screens from its Network Operations Center in Mumbai. \u201c<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

So for Inox, \u201cTechnology has compr<\/span>essed time.\u00a0 Today, digital movies are seen by tier 3 audiences \u2013 the same day, same time as Mumbai audiences\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor The Mobile Store \u2013 Technology is a strategic differentiator \u201c \u2013 Himanshu<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Not only is it a business necessity for front end staff to be well versed in technology (given that 45% of sales comes from value added services \/ devices such as SIM cards, data card etc) but Mobile store has also been able to cross-pollinate technology (and process) applications from other industries.\u00a0 Faced with a change in customer identification norms for reactivation of SIM Cards \u2013 thanks to changes in regulations, the company was able to adapt the Aadhar projects e-KYC process as a solution.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

One of the questions posed to the panelists was \u201cIs IT curtailing innovation in Retail<\/b>?\u201d In times past it took Rs 20,000 and a few days of a fox pro programmer to make changes and tricklet them down to customer touch functions \u2013 but now all IT projects seem to be 9 month long, million dollar budget initiatives.\u00a0 The view was that how IT is used is business specific \u2013 however all the panelists unequivocally agreed that there is a need to start small, prove the concept and then scale up.<\/p>\n

On the issue of IT absorption in Inventory management<\/b> \u2013 a telling point, made by Rajeepan was that even in markets like India and China, talent is getting scarce.\u00a0 As these markets reach a tipping point where scarce labour resources become expensive \u2013 they will need to be replaced by technology.<\/p>\n

As a market, India tends to leap \u201cgenerations\u201d in technology adoption<\/b>. But, Retailers are not always clear \u2013 where they want customers to absorb technology. For grocery retail, that\u2019s at the till \u2013 i.e. ensuring that billing times are low creates significant customer value \u2013 but for other segments of retail this \u201cMoment of Truth\u201d may be elsewhere in their value chain.\u00a0 Also, traditionally, companies have chosen to automate the \u201ccontrollable\u201d moments in their value chain \u2013 witness the focus on inventory,\u00a0assortment automation. Customer facing processes are more unpredictable but focusing on automating them creates greater value.\u00a0 The decision of where to automate has to be a strategic call by the Business as a whole \u2013 it cannot be left to the IT function alone.<\/p>\n

Mukul summed this up succinctly:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAny company that does not put customer experience at the forefront of technology adoption is being myopic\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

A final dimension to \u201cconnecting\u201d technology with business: Consider the relative investments that retailers make in IT versus what they make in process.\u00a0 \u00a0The business folk who run the business day to day are not take enough time to step back and look at \u201cprocess leakages\u201d which compromise on the promise of the \u201cmoments of truth\u201d to customer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTechnology cannot drive process\u201d : – K. Radhakrishnan, President, KB Fair Price \u2013 \u201cif anything \u2013 it should be the other way round\u201d.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Any major scale IT rollout must first focus on what the future \u201cprocess\u201d reality will be and then get technology to deliver to that vision. \u00a0\u201cIf you compare the relative investment in process redesign versus technology implementation \u2013 it\u2019s less than 1%. Its that 1% which can make the difference between significant changes in customer experience\u201d<\/p>\n

To the moderator\u2019s final question: How do you keep pace with technology<\/b> \u2013 the answers were varied:<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u201cTaking to IT companies and\u00a0 Social Media\u201d – K. Radhakrishnan, President, KB Fair Price<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u00a0\u201cRely on my gut as a customer\u201d –\u00a0 Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, The MobileStore Limited<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cBy talking to my daughters!\u201d –\u00a0 Alok Tandon, CEO, INOX Leisure Limited<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u00a0\u201cBenchmarking with what\u2019s happening across the world!\u201d – Mukul Bafana, Co-founder, Jabong.com\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

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