ITC accelerates digitisation to enhance operational effectiveness: Sanjiv Puri

Diversified business entity ITC has accelerated digital transformation under the company's future-ready strategy to enhance competitive advantage and operational effectiveness, its Chairman Sanjiv Puri has said.

The current coronavirus pandemic has accelerated manifold the transition to digitalisation that was already moving at high velocity and the company is adopting new-age technologies to stay ahead of the curve, Puri said.

New technologies such as Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Learning are being deployed by all Businesses, including supply chain and logistics to enhance operational effectiveness, Puri said while addressing shareholders in his AGM speech.

ITC had made substantial investments for a digital ecosystem to drive "smart manufacturing, product quality, traceability and supply chain agility, amongst others. This accelerated digital journey has begun to demonstrate appreciable outcomes," he added.

According to Puri, the pandemic has accelerated the transition to digitalisation and apart from e-commerce, digital entertainment, work-from-home conferencing, telemedicine, education, learning and skill development, e-services, social media communications have all experienced an exponential surge.

ITC's Marketing Command Centre now leverages "cloud-technology, cutting-edge social-media engagement tools and a digital marketing & analytics platform" to drive contextual communication and product development rapidly.

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"The Centre has today developed into a real-time repository on market trends. Based on the insights gained, several digital campaigns have been rolled out and product variants developed," he added.

Social media trends like 'Dalgona coffee' were leveraged to deepen consumer engagement for ITC's Sunbean Beaten Caffe and introduce a new variant in a long shelf life ambient format.

ITC has also launched an online ordering system for retailers to address the surge in demand during the pandemic.

"Enhanced presence across e-commerce platforms led to accelerated growth in sales and marketing of ITC's FMCG products," he said.

Its wholly-owned subsidiary, ITC Infotech has developed domain-led expertise in emerging areas of digital and automation solutions and is now the company's strategic partner in its journey of digital transformation.

"The pandemic saw an explosive adoption of digital tools and platforms, which is poised to redefine business operations and consumer engagement significantly," said Puri adding ITC would continue to invest in "building its digital enterprise capacity and capabilities to stay ahead of the curve" and shape formidable strengths for the future.