GoComet, a leading supply chain visibility platform, successfully concluded its industry conference, GoComet Odyssey Edition 2, in Bangalore. The event featured insightful discussions and strategies from key industry leaders such as Unilever, Tolaram, Himalaya, Tata Electronics, Britannia, and MSN, aimed at thriving amid ongoing disruptions, providing customer delight for better profitability.
The event commenced with an address by Mr. Gautam Prem Jain, Chief Executive Officer of GoComet. Jain engaged the audience by tracing significant supply chain disruptions over the past five years, including recent events like the Red Sea Attacks, Suez Canal blockades, and the Baltimore infrastructure collapse. He posed a thought-provoking question, “Will disruptions ever cease in the international supply chain?” Jain further added, “What we once considered anomalies in the past have now become ‘business as usual’”, underscoring the need for resilient strategies in today’s dynamic environment.
Keynote 1
Mr. Saravana Mariappan, Supply Chain Head at Tolaram, a renowned business conglomerate with strategic partnerships with Kellogg’s, Colgate, and Kimberly Clark, took the stage to share his fundamental strategy for disruption-proofing supply chains. Mariappan emphasized the importance of building better visibility through technology, as he shared how digitisation upgrades led to proactive exception handling in their S&OP systems, resulting in an improvement of 10-15%, in accurately predicting stock demand. He further added that, “supply chain visibility is about making sure that the right data reaches the right people at the right time” pointing at advanced exception handling flows built by their teams
Keynote 2
CA Sanket Chhajed, Head of Taxation & Audit at Himalaya Wellness, joined the conversation, talking about the importance of digitization in achieving resilience profitably. He emphasized that businesses must approach digitization strategically, leveraging on his five key pillars:
- Problem Identification: Start with the problem not the solution
- Digitization of Processes: Find the best way to solve your solution with one of the many tools available
- Ecosystem Readiness: Check if your business and people are both ready to embrace change. User Experience is key to easy change management
- Re-assess Data: Assess data and insights generated for tangible business value add, frequently
- Roadmap for Future: Align digitization efforts with long-term business goals.
Sanket concluded that though digitisation is the way to go, businesses must take the time to find the right problem-solution pair to achieve resilience, profitability.
Keynote 3
Ravi Balasubramanian, Head of Logistics at MSN Labs, shared his insights, emphasizing on the ongoing nature of supply chain disruptions and the need for agility to ensure resilience. Echoing on what was shared he added the following steps to achieve resilience with better planning,
- Forecasting and Planning Ahead: Anticipate disruptions through proactive forecasting and planning, developing contingency plans in advance.
- Backup Strategies and Diversification: Diversify and explore alternative routes/transportation modes for operational diversification.
Mr. Ravi added that the only way to be truly resilient is to be proactive and aim at seeing further ahead instead of merely reacting in the moment. He added, “Disruptions present opportunities to delight customers and take the lead” pointing at agile chains that are ready to pivot and deliver. In conclusion, GoComet Odyssey Edition 2, brought invaluable insights from industry leaders, from proactive digitization strategies to cultivating a culture of foresight and adaptability, the keynotes underscored the critical importance of resilience in today’s dynamic business landscape. Concluding the session, Jain added, “We are committed to leading the charge towards a future where resilience is not just an aspiration but a fundamental pillar of success in the supply chain industry, building a playbook that works” unveiling the thrilling news that GoComet Odyssey will return in July 2024, this time in New Jersey, setting the stage for continued innovation and industry excellence in the US.
