5 Wish There's A Course to Teach Us Empathy

Amazon reporting a 40% increase in YoY net sales, strategists believe that this is the new normal of the post-COVID era. Commerce has changed. Due to this rapid digitalization, the operational challenges of the industry have evolved into a whole new monster. With 17%, the Indian eCommerce industry has one of the highest return rates. High warehousing and logistical charges cripple the industry with high YoY losses. Since the industry is working on a model where the money is lost on every transaction, the growth, while spectacular, has also been alarming. Mix in and saute the rapid need for improving supply chain efficiencies to further reduce the last mile delivery times for consumers and you have the perfect storm.

Paradigm Shifting

Consistently ranked in the lower thirties and forties in the Global Logistics Performance Index, countries in SEA and Indian subcontinent face significant logistical challenges due to its large landmasses, geography with jungles and rivers, and archipelagic state. On average, it takes 3X longer for deliveries to happen in these regions when compared to their western counterparts. These regions are the new frontier for eCommerce giants to establish their empires as they house more than 25% of the global population and over a billion internet users.

The global eCommerce and internet companies have already started investing in possible solutions for these last-mile problems. The introduction of micro and nano warehouses in cities with dense order volumes is thought of as one of the leading solutions for this problem. A major drawback though, is that directly acquiring and managing thousands of warehouses in places with steep

rentals is a fool’s errand. The industry seems to have found the answer in organized retail stores. These are already located at the prime locations in the busiest of the cities, housing SKUs that are needed for an eCommerce fulfillment center. The cost of management and rents are being taken care of by the offline operations of these stores. With a reduced distance between the fulfillment centers and customers, the costs of logistics and warehousing also decline.

Amazon India has already started working on its strategy of converting such stores into fulfillment centers. They acquired 49% of Aditya Birla’s More Megastore in late 2018 and have already started fulfilling orders from these stores. Amazon’s supply chain management strategy could not be

more evident. Amazon’s supply chain management strategy could not be more evident with them prospecting a 40% s take in Reliance Retail ventures (which recently acquired Futures Group’s retail division comprising of brands like Nilgiris and Big Bazaar).

This model though functional is very expensive. The trend seems to be shifting towards a more Uber-like model, a “Neo-Retail” network if you will, where individual shop owners can be added as nano-fulfillment centers.

Just like cloud kitchens in food delivery services, this opens up a possibility of purely online SMB retail shops as well. The Neo-Retail network benefits all the stakeholders:

• The small shop owners get a new channel of sales. • ECommerce companies can have quicker, cheaper deliveries without any capital investment. • The end consumers get instantly serviced and gratified.

Neo-Retail plays by the rules of Metcalfe’s Law where the addition of new members continuously increases the strength of the network. As this network grows, the power centers will also move from the hands of big giants to whoever owns the reins of this network. From Google’s multiple acquisitions in the space of digitalization of inventory to Jio’s smart POS and Jiomart initiatives, it is fair to say that the juggernauts have found themselves in a zero-sum game.

Even with numerous benefits, the issue of inventory mismanagement cripples the strategy of the creation of Neo-Retail. The first hurdle that needs to be crossed is the creation of a centralized inventory and order management system. This hypothesized system would seamlessly connect offline POS systems and online order management systems. A collaboration of this kind would give rise to a truly omnichannel retail paradigm. This paradigm shift rivals the invention of eCommerce itself in the late nineties.

This system, when incorporated in enough small retail stores, will act as the cerebrum of the NeoRetail network. Enough resources are already deployed in the development of these channels. Small retailers, with their revenues bleeding, have a newfound hunger to grow their businesses. As Bob Dylan would say, “the times they are a’ changing”.

Who will be the winner of this race? Will it be the technology companies like Google and Microsoft who are providing these systems, or the eCommerce giants who are improving their operational dynamics? Or someone entirely else, perhaps a little guy who is just a node in this network?

Only time will tell.

Ms. Bhavana A S Associate Product Manager II Bigbasket.com

Graduate courses can teach us how to communicate well, but probably there’s no course which would teach us how to be empathetic. Recent studies show that empathy is the most valued skill in the corporate world. So I want to share some real stories with the upcoming managers, on how being empathetic can make you great managers.

I have been in the IT industry for 5+ years now. I’m currently working as a Product Manager at bigbasket. I don’t have juniors working for me, but now I can understand what my juniors would expect from me. So let me tell you five short stories. You’ll know how you could be perceived as a good or bad manager.

Let’s say you have a manager called Arya.

You send ~20 emails a day, keeping Arya in Cc. Arya doesn’t read any of your emails. He’s too busy with his work. Weekly once, you have a catchup of 30 mins. Arya asks what are the things you are working on, because he has no idea on what’s happening with your work. How do you feel when your manager doesn’t read your emails? What can you do as a good manager?

Read emails from your reportees. You are there in the loop for a reason.

They want you to know what they are working on, thinking you will correct them if they are going wrong. Correct them or guide them on how they can communicate better. Weekly catch ups could be to understand more details where you can suggest how they can improve their work.

Arya had accepted your weekly catchup meeting. Then declined the meeting in the last minute because something more important came up for him.

Now Arya will tell you to reschedule the meeting to tomorrow. What is your thought at this moment? What can you do as a good manager?

If you had accepted a meeting and then declined it for some reason, do not ask your reportee to reschedule it. First, apologize and politely ask them to reschedule the meeting. Maybe you could reschedule the meeting yourself. It shows that you are humble and you are not trying to be superior.

Say, you are presenting your first webinar / some important presentation. You are excited about it and you share the PPT with Arya. But he doesn’t even bother to open it. While Navya, a manager from some other team cares to check it and provides feedback. Do you notice the clear difference between Arya & Navya? What can you do as a good manager? When your reportees are trying to do something extra, not just conventional work, always support them. It’s not about saying ‘Wow! Congratulations’. It’s about going through that PPT / doc and sharing your feedback. Giving them some tips. Real encouragement is shown in actions, not just with fancy words.

Story 4— Welcoming bad news

When you say “Release is delayed by a month”, Arya says “Oh no! Why so much delay? How can we reduce it?”. How do you feel? Do you think you gave some stress to Arya and both of you are anxious now? What can you do as a good manager? First say “Thank you for sharing this”. Saying thanks at first ensures that you welcome being informed about bad news. This will build an honest culture, and the person sharing this (reportees) wouldn’t be hesitant or hiding the truth. Solving the problem is important, but appreciating the courage to share the bad news is much more important.

Who doesn’t like appreciation? Be it from an unknown LinkedIn user or be it from your peers? But whose appreciation makes you the happiest? I’m sure most of you said either parents or managers.

Say you are giving a webinar. Or say you are looking for some votes to be selected in a competition. Arya doesn’t care to even vote for

you. What do you think then? What can you do as a good manager? Spare a few mins and attend it. If you can’t make it, say you missed it. Watch the video, give feedback. Appreciate in front of bigger audiences, before your team, because they are doing something different than the rest, which definitely needs to be highlighted and appreciated. If votes are needed, you be the first person to vote. Also spread the message among groups to vote for her or him. Show that support –it is the least you could do. It makes

a lot of difference. Are these practices only applicable for managers and reportees? — No.

If you are a person who invests their time for others, who shows empathy, who shows support not just in fancy words but in actions, are the ones who are trusted, loved and respected. That’s when people enthusiastically do all the work for you, go that extra mile when needed.

The above instances could happen with your coworkers. People may not read or respond to your emails. Do not get agitated. Maybe it’s better to talk to them over the phone and get an answer. Perhaps ping them over hangouts or Whatsapp, SMS. If you can work out ways (with coworkers or juniors or seniors) and get things done smoothly, that’s when you are on the path of becoming a great manager. Being empathetic is the key.

Mr. Vaibhav Joshi Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies, Pune

On an average, workers waste 3 hours of working time per week looking for information. So, if we have 1000 frontline employee, that’s Rs.58, 896,000 or $800K on average wasted every month simply looking for information to do the right job. Digitally enabling your frontline workforce is the singular most impactful investment you can make to optimize productivity, increase safety, and reduce costs in the current uncertain climate. If your business’s operations and internal communications are not mobile, you may be leaving a critical part of your workforce out of the loop — frontline workers. Whether you’re in the technology industry and rely on mobile devices to achieve sales targets, or you’re in manufacturing and the company is facing constraints on output, mobile accessibility will play a vital role in operations management for 2020. Apart from today’s reliance on mobile devices for communication, consumers also turn to their smart devices for everything from household goods to travel accommodations and job applications. When it’s all said and done, your frontline workforce will expect the same access, ease, and utility from their tools at work. Help your employees put that time to better use by providing a single point of contact for

all their communications and tools.

Establishing outlets for mobile collaboration, like an employee app, enables a multitude of improvements to employee and overall workplace experience, including access to:

• Maintenance requests

• Shift handovers

• Updated SOPs

Mobile accessibility for remote staff allows them to access the information, tools, and connectivity they need to best perform their job regardless of their role within the organization. This is especially relevant for frontline workers who don’t have a company email address, or whose work requires an on-the-go communication solution. Mobile-first, digital enablement meets this need.

Outside of the relying on their mobile devices for communication, consumers today are using their phones and tablets for everything from traveling, job applications, and buying groceries and other household items. As you research technology that facilitates mobile operational communications, be sure to keep in mind that different things are important to those at the top of a business and those on the front line. They have different opinions about their priorities, the scope of their work, and how it all connects to mobile platforms. One potential way to navigate the divergence is to ensure that a great user experience is an integral part of the technology. Given that everyone in the business, at every level of the business, will be using any new communications platform, it’s important to focus on the overall shared experience and ensure everyone will have no problem using it. Establishing an outlet for mobile collaboration, such as team apps, allows for a range of improvements to the employee experience and enhances workplace experience.

Reasons to embrace Mobile communication tools

1. Organizational Alignment: When a company forms, they set out a clear mission statement. The key to achieving desired business objectives and securing a market share is to get every staff member aligned to the task at hand

• Value alignment: Leaders should establish a set of core values that every employee agrees to as a member of the organization. These create the ethical guidelines that dictate how an organization should work towards goals.

• Cultural alignment: A strong, highperforming culture unifies a workforce through policies which emphasize the employee experience, like employee recognition programs.

• Objective alignment: Mobile communication is a portal for disseminating information, both unique and automated, to ensure everyone is

aligned on company goals and objectives. 2. Improved Efficiency: Mobile solutions can improve efficiency in a variety of ways, but it is especially helpful to mobile workers who spend their time on the sales floor, a job site or simply working remotely. It increases operation efficiency by:

• Cutting down the need for face-to-face meetings which are often unnecessary and mismanage

• Creating increased opportunities for management to communicate with staff

• Eliminating data silos for a free flow of information accessible to all workers

• Enabling real-time messaging for faster alignment and decision making.

3. Deeper Employment Engagement: This rise in employee engagement is increasing as companies are forced to make flexible arrangements so their teams can work off-site due to social distancing requirements. The right mobile communication solution can support this new normal in business and strengthen employee engagement by keeping everyone connected no matter where they’re working. In fact, at 38%, workforce engagement is higher than it’s been in two decades. 4. Improved Productivity: With mobile solutions, managers can capture the wisdom of their operations staff and apply it to an entire division or department. The employees in the action are most intimate with the challenges their company faces. An enterprise messaging app allows management to capture this valuable intelligence. 5. Greater Autonomy and Empowered workers: A mobile communication tool at the tip of their fingertips gives workers a greater sense of belonging within the company. It also empowers them with features that allow them to be more autonomous. Few examples can be:

• They have the power to initiate communication through a flattened hierarchy.

• They can manage their own schedules.

• They have the power to provide feedback through surveys and messaging that can

benefit the company. • They have access to professional development opportunities over their mobile devices.

While there are many benefits to mobile communication, it’s important to keep in mind that there is always a security risk when using it. That’s why it is so crucial to choose business-specific, secure, qualified platforms, and systems.

K Pavan Kumar Reddy ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad

While the world is eagerly looking for a vaccine to be developed. Let’s have a look at the present scenario in pharmaceutical industry of India, with vaccine in reach major countries are looking at the doors of India and its pharmaceutical production capabilities for the production and distribution of the vaccine when developed. The major questions that need to be answered here is to what extent Covid19 affected Indian pharmaceutical industry? Is India’s supply chain capable of fulfilling the responsibility? What changes post- pandemic is expected to bring?

SCM is defined as the management of flow of goods and services which includes the total process from procurement of raw materials into final products and fulfilment of order from point of origin to point of consumption. The last three decades gave birth to a new term Global value chain(GVC) which means production and distribution at different geographies or supply, processing, assembling and distribution taking places in different countries to lower the economic cost of production. The present situation calls for the evaluation of the GVC.

The pandemic Covid19 has its negatives in almost every sector across the globe. But the major important positive note that different sectors gained from it is the drawbacks or setbacks that they have in supply chain management.

First let’s take a look at the major concerns that are exposed in pharmaceutical industry’s supply chain due to impact of Covid19 on Indian pharmaceutical industry: