The Covid-19 pandemic has created a ruckus in every aspect of the global supply chain. We have been witnessing the disruption for more than a year now. This change has exposed us to the previously unknown gaps in the global supply chain models. Leading companies have shifted their eye from brand to the customer and going for a more customer-centric approach.
A panel discussion regarding the same was held in the 35th Inflection Supply Chain Conference and Awards which was moderated by…
Vikas Kumar from Coca-cola spoke about failing risk models during the first wave of the pandemic and coming up with better contingency plans, business preparedness, and understanding the customer’s needs.
Sanjeev Kumar Yadav from Nestle India discussed the four essential elements of customer-centricity:
- Efficiency, which can be increased by the automation and digitalization of different processes like claims, credits, order generation
- Agility, which can be defined based on how more flexible replenishing models are formed such as in the case of direct-to-customer, direct-to-consumer, dark store deliveries, etc.
- Responsive, which is indicated by how multi-channel needs are being addressed.
- Innovative, how the multi-channel needs are addressed in different and new ways, optimization of the logistics also needs innovation.
He also talks about “becoming the partner of choice”, that is to become the preferred suppliers of their customers and to forge a bond of trust.
Samrat Sehgal from Dabur India extended on the discussion by adding another important element of customer-centricity which he calls “a tailor-made experience for the customers” and quoted “every time a customer interacts with you, it decides whether he will come back to you or not”. He explains through the example of e-commerce companies that give a personalized update of every step from order confirmation to its delivery. He further focuses on two keywords, “adoption” and “adaption” in the process of learning a customer-centric supply chain.
Sharad Garg from Varun Beverages explained in detail their approach towards a customer-centric supply chain. He emphasized targeting the channels like SMT, grocery, and food delivery as during the present situation people are focusing more on social distancing and hygiene.
Dharmesh Srivastava from Agro Tech Foods gave his perspective on how flexibility and agility are the cornerstones for the supply chain in today’s new normal. He discusses the various challenges being faced during these uncertain times in meeting the customers’ demands and the steps which are being taken to combat those challenges like changing the production-planning model and distribution model.
Vipul Aggarwal from Havells talked about the inventory risks and service level as well as availability risks. He pointed out that customer-centricity, at this point, is a matter of “big wings and big feet” that is, having customer-centric goals is like having “big wings”. But the execution of those strategies and taking those steps need “big feet”, so he talked about having a pragmatic approach according to the situation and focusing on the planning gambit, resilience to handle shock, and logistics service provider. Furthermore, he detailed the significance of automation and digitalization and put forward his views that even if there was no pandemic, digitalization is a global need and there should be more innovation towards its transparency and efficiency.
Mihir Mohanta from Mother Dairy discussed the opportunities amidst the uncertainties like, despite all restrictions, GOI declared Kisan Rail for the supply of fruits and vegetables from various parts of the country which proved to be an opportunity to get supplies in less time with fewer damages and better cost-saving. He further talked about various customer-centric campaigns which helped in improving their sales and creating an overall awareness about health products.
More hereNitin Bakshi from Schneider Electric explained the importance of having a flexible, digital, and smart supply-chain model to meet customer demand. He discussed three elements which are important as well as relevant during this pandemic from the customer-experience perspective and they are business continuity, end-to-end visibility to customers, and the sustainability of the operation and to make these things happen he talked about a strategy called STRIVE, which is an acronym for Sustainability, Trust, Resilience, Intelligence, Velocity, and Efficiency, that helps them to provide good customer experience.
The web conference ended with a conclusion that automation, digitization, flexibility, agility, reading consumer behavior, and demand-forecasting act as very significant elements to develop a customer-centric supply chain in the new normal.
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