NextGen Digital leader:Partha Mondal: Atul Ltd

Can you give an overview of emerging technologies you have deployed?  

Cloud based Enterprise Mobility (mobSales Application for retail salesforce) – In today’s age of Digital Transformation, it is utmost crucial to metamorphose the customer satisfaction into customer delights, we as an organization always strive to provide an enhanced customer experience (CX) and endurance to our esteemed customers. A cloud based mobility solution “mobSales”™ integrated with Oracle eBusiness suite R12 and amalgamated with Open Source Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence has brought a sea change in the revenue model and growth to our Polymer and Crop Protection business with enhanced business efficacy. This futuristic ZERO cost solution designed, developed and implemented by in-house IT team to eliminate current business impediments and transform customer satisfaction to delighted customer experience.

Business Analytics with Open Source Data Warehouse – This agile, user friendly Business Intelligence Dashboards portray the data on the real-time through multiple data source, viz. Enterprise Database (Oracle), Financial Consolidation Database (Hyperion MS SQL Server), HR Database (Peoplesoft Oracle), Third party Forecast Engine (Planvisage), Secondary Sales Tracking Application (SFA), Open Source Data Warehouse and unstructured data (excel files) and orchestrated the multiple data-source into single platform which enhance visibility and meaningful representation of the data to senior management to take an apt decision.

Which are the functions/departments in your organization that is starting first with the emerging technologies? 

Retail Business (Polymer and Crop Protection) – Enterprise Mobility Solution

Production Floor - Shop-Floor Automation through Industry 4.0 (AI, ML & Machine Integration through IoT, Digital Twins) Commercial & Logistics – Supply Chain Process Automation through Blockchain (Process Automation)

Corporate & Division Finance - Collection Process Automation through Virtual Account and Integration with Oracle Application R12 (Financial Cash-Flow Enhancement)

How will emerging technologies like AI, Machine Learning, IOT, Big Data, Augmented Reality, Analytics etc. will change the fabric of IT organizations? 

Conspicuously, the ‘NextGen’ technologies has already started disruption in various industry verticals and enforce a sea change in many sectors to the way we used to do business earlier. Subsequent to the disruptions in financial sector, print media, logistic segment; the changes are inevitable into the core manufacturing industries where the emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), Business Intelligence & Analytics (BI&A), Open Source Application integrated with Core ERP systems, Enterprise Cloud Mobility solution etc. would create a substantial impact on the existing business processes to bring out the best efficacy of the system and provide a competitive edge to the organization over its peers.

The early adoption of Industry 4.0 which is an orchestration of all the above technologies could bring forth a significant value proposition to all the facets of Supply Chain Management (SCM) starting with Sales Forecast (Demand), Production Planning Management (PLM), Procurement & Order Management, Manufacturing Processes (In our case Process Manufacturing but applicable to Discrete as well), Logistics (Includes Transport Management), Service and Maintenance and could optimize the operational costs in the value chain. 

Emerging tech best practices and deployment strategies 

‘Customer First’ Experience – The utmost focus to be given to provide delighted customer experience with technology evolution. Organization’s goal & Digital Transformation Strategy ought to be formulated to render the delightful offerings to the customers.

Digital Transformation Strategy – Organization’s digital strategy should be amalgamated with business model and methodology and should be strongly focused to meet Organisation’s goal. Project portfolio Management plays a crucial role to recognize the business critical projects and subsequently execute the same to ascertain business demand and strategic priorities are duly taken care of.

Be Agile, Open and Adaptive to change – Flexibility and adaptability to change is the new normal. Understand business requirement, through analysis on ‘demand-response’ to address uncertainty, adaptability to change management, choose apt ‘NextGen’ technologies that suits best for the business, agility to eliminate the impediments and enforce the changes and finally delivery excellence.