“BIG BANG” DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The word “DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION” appears to be a colossal process that only MNCs and big corporations can afford. The clamor around it by CIOs has resulted in coining of a new term as “DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FATIGUE”- A state where leaders of world class companies have put brakes on digital initiatives to save themselves from the chaos of ever emerging technologies in this field.

However, no matter how ironic it may sound, the fact is Digital Transformation is here to stay. Not for being some trendy buzz words, but to revolutionize the way our businesses work.

In simple words, “Digital Transformation (DT or DX) is not just a simple change, it is a thought driven process”. Driven by people oriented processes, it involves untiring effort for change management and talent management. Communication and involvement of all stakeholders is the key to success. Digital Transformation leverages tools and various technological platforms to accelerate the scalability of business and elasticity of customers.

Digital tools play a vital role to make the information accessible to all employees and stakeholders. It doubles the odds of becoming a successful market leader in your sector. When done right, digital transformation has the potential to enable your business to reap significant, and well-documented, benefits.

Digitized SMEs are capable of diversifying consumer segments in a short period compared to offline businesses by

• Increasing revenue
• Providing access to higher customer base
• Increasing operational efficiency
• Enhancing customer experience

The success story of Chitale Dairy is a prime example of how a strategic digital implementation plan helps in getting the best of the market available. By “taking cows to cloud and farms to fridge”, Chitale devised its way to become India’s one of the top Dairy companies reaching across India. The business owners wanted to scale their family business to thousands of satellite farmers across India. With a vision to boost animal health, which results in higher milk production, higher quality, and the need for less land, RFID tags were attached to more than 50,000 cloud-connected cows. They used these tags to build analytics around health of cows, milk production, nutritional needs, and other parameters. The data is uploaded to the cloud, interpreted by the dairy’s veterinarians and then shared with about 10,000 satellite farmers via SMS messages sent to their mobile phones on a daily basis so they can better manage their livestock and operations. The ability to monitor, react and predict cow behavior and health in real time is providing Chitale Dairy with extraordinary results.

Indian Governments have taken a step forward for putting the cherry on the cake for Small Medium Enterprises. During the difficult times of COVID-19 Locked down government has started taking reforms to help local kirana stores to become e-tailers from retailers. The digital transformation in Kirana stores would soon foster, with Facebook acquiring 10% stake in Reliance Mart to make their orders online using a mix of collaborative tools like WhatsApp. With these emerging trends, local kiranas need to re-think their business models. Either invest and adapt a technology or help in building ecosystems by collaborating with tech-savvy startups like Swiggy Genie or Dunzo, resulting in increased employment in retail management sector.

With such advancements, we are a step closer to becoming a robust economy and probably more structured markets.

Becoming Digitally Awakened is no more a choice, it is a must.