Technology, today, forms the backbone of every enterprise big or small. Boardroom discussions, where IT once took a backseat, now regularly voice concerns regarding tech upgradation and deployment of advanced solutions like artificial intelligence (AI). This tale of transformation is a common factor across enterprises considering the global pace of growth primarily fueled by data and IT infrastructure.
The Group Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Dabur, Ashish Pandey took the stage at the 2nd edition of Technology Senate North while sharing his vantage points on the evolution of businesses from traditional to modern having a data-driven approach. The knowledge platform organised by Express Computer, a B2B IT publication of The Indian Express Group, witnessed a gathering of eminent personalities from the IT domain across industries in the northern region.
Is Customer Experience the key?
With the rising penetration of online stores and tailored options for customers, it becomes essential for enterprises to reimagine their connection with customers. From reengineering their supply chains and product placement to ensuring customer satisfaction and personalised buying options, there are an array of ways enterprises need to reform.
Addressing the esteemed gathering, Pandey underlines how the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector has evolved from basic grocery stores to tech-driven supermarts that have not only enhanced customer experience but digitised supply chain, logistics, and product management. “Today, modern consumers demand personalised products and experiences. Hence, the industry is deploying advanced IT solutions to cater to the evolving demands.”
He also brought to light the pivotal role of quick online commerce stores like Blinkit, Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, and more that took the FMCG sector to the next level adding to personalisation and enhancement of customer experience. “Today, FMCG is leveraging AI-powered insights to develop personalised product recommendations and enhance customer engagement through digital channels,” Pandey underlines while touching on the significance of AI in transforming buyer-seller connect and overall experience.
The FMCG companies today need to build capacities in technology adoption and muscle in on to fetch the much-needed data on demographics like age, income, location, preferences, and more of their target market. Alongside this, data on purchase history, conversation rates, and consumer interests will open up loads of information for strategising your move to get an edge over the competition. The data analysis can also help FMCG brands to customise their customer loyalty programs and offer tailored discounts to customers, further improving the experience and strengthening brand image. Moreover, companies with strong digital presence should leverage large language models (LLMs) through conversational AI bots to reach out to the people at the grassroots or the elderly who are not that tech savvy.
Meanwhile, Pandey also highlights the significance of cost-effectiveness in the FMCG sector. Calling the sector ‘cost-driven’, he says the companies focus on keeping the products affordable to the target market while ensuring extensive availability with the least or no downtime. “Now, this makes the competition fierce.”
Can AI be the game-changer?
AI, the celebrity among technologies, has revolutionised businesses in multiple ways. Meanwhile, it has also impacted the lives of commoners a big time with open source platforms. Many micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are actually leveraging open-source AI tools for their everyday operations, especially in content generation, image generation, transcriptions, voice-to-text, and more.
Speaking in the context of the FMCG sector and exposure to new-age technologies in the country, Pandey points the FMCG sector in some major economies across the globe has significant exposure to technology and focuses on AI-driven innovations. An innovative approach to business by leveraging data-led insights can result in effective business output while building efficiencies among the workforce. “AI enables real-time analysis of market trends, allowing companies to quickly adapt to changes in consumer demands. Further, it analyses historical sales data and external factors to more accurately predict demand, reducing stockout and overstock situations,” he adds.
In a wrap
The FMCG sector is an indispensable part of a person’s daily needs. The fourth largest sector in the country has 50 percent of its sales attributed to household and personal use products, while the healthcare caters to around 30 percent, and the remaining lies with food and beverages segment. Considering the huge data, the industry caters to, it is inevitable to shift to effective digital solutions and AI can prove to be an effective solution to streamline operations, build workforce efficiencies, improve service delivery, have a stronger market presence, and ace customer experience.
Deploying advanced solutions to gauge customer insights through data analysis and coming up with tailored products or buying experiences will make FMCG brands to be future-ready and make strides in overcoming their competition.
