Varun Kumar

Now, when 51% FDI is allowed in multi – brand retail and 100% in single brand retail, let us see the possible effects of the reform:- ·          Supply Chain Efficiency The most important impact will be on supply chain. It will bring efficiency and productivity to the farm – to – fork supply chain which will bring immense benefits   from farmers to small manufacturers and above all to consumers. ·          Investment in the back-end infrastructure like cold storage, packaging and other logistics Investment will increase in back end operations like cold storage, packaging and other logistics. These large investments in infrastructure would lead to rise in farm productivity, manufacturing, food processing and cold storage, thereby leading to cutting down of wastage. ·          Price Reduction It will create a much more efficient supply chain and prices will com...

Human beings never know what lurks around the corner, so why are we making such a big deal of uncertainty, some may ask, said Pepsico's Chairman and CEO, Ms Indra Nooyi, as she tackled the AdAsia 2011 theme head on. She, however, felt that this time round the uncertainty that corporations were facing was far more unsettling, and the fear and risk higher than ever seen before. In this milieu of uncertainty, she had a few tips for corporations. First lesson Her first lesson to corporations was to recognise and accept that we are in a new era of uncertainty. “No longer do companies have the luxury of planning from a base of security…These days, volatility is not just the way that our normal lives are disrupted. It is our normal lives,” she said. Urging speed and agility, she said, “We need to start the next plan while the ink is still drying on the old one. We have to think in a wholly different way. Responding to change is not the same as being fickle. We need to learn a wholly new ...

1.     Product Innovation Innovation is the key to move ahead in the cluttered market. Unique products can’t be compared with other low price offerings and thus, premium can be earned out of it. 2.     New Market Exploration If competition is playing on price, it’s better to explore new markets where a good pie of the market is available even at higher price. 3.     Benchmark Pricing Understanding pricing of other players in the industry and the value being perceived by customers will give benchmark price. 4.     Product and Services Bundling When similar products are available everywhere, it’s the best service provider who wins. When customer is at ease, he doesn’t care about price. 5.     Better Packaging Developing packages that might catch the customers’ attention better can give edge over competition. Creating packages (smaller or larger) which can serve customers better or can increase their comfort zone m...

In this age of declining customer loyalty, some areas that a marketing manager needs to focus can be put as follows:- ·          Marketing needs to lead in substantial or transformational innovation that will result in new offerings that will define new categories or subcategories ·          Marketing should own customer insights as driver of strategy which should enable growth initiatives and be the basis for strategic resource allocation ·          Value proposition needs to be the centerpiece of business strategy ·          Marketing should own brand strategy which should both inform and enable the business strategy ·          Marketing needs to get control of the product, country, and functional silos to foster cooperation and communication rather than competition and isolation · ...

·          Customers hate having to return when their issue isn’t resolved. So, focus should be on instant solution to current issue. ·          Complaints of customers should be utilized for service improvement. Feedback from disgruntled customers should be utilized to determine the biggest pain points. Reach out to unsatisfied customers and find out what can be done differently. ·          Don't reward speed over quality. Measures such as "average call time" encourage reps to get off the phone quickly rather than fully addressing customer concerns.

Following points need to be taken care while taking decisions on technology for the organisation:- ·          Clarify corporate strategy with your IT department. ·          Fund only IT projects that support your strategy. ·          Transform IT investments into profits. ·          Build one technology platform for your entire organization. ·          Adopt new technologies only when their best practices are established. ·          Use analytics to make smart decisions at all levels of your company. ·          Integrate social media into your business. Source: HBR

One of the world's great entrepreneurs who transformed the worlds of personal computing, music and mobile phones and gave the world iPod, iPhone and iPad ...

What should I stop doing? What should I keep doing? What should I start doing? These questions are applicable for customer service as well as individual understanding.

You get genuine pleasure from helping others do their best work; you measure your own success by theirs. You don’t treat everyone the same. You know your people well enough to manage them as individuals. You understand that your title gives you power, but intelligence and integrity give you influence, which is invaluable. Your feedback is specific, sincere and constructive. People know where they stand with you. More than a few people on your team have saved notes of praise you’ve sent them. Your words carry that much impact. Your constructive response to mistakes and problems leads people to feel they can safely bring you bad news, when necessary. You communicate your plans and goals clearly, and people understand their roles and responsibilities as members of your team. You hire people smarter than you are and aren’t intimidated by their knowledge. You can look out your office door and see your replacement. Your staff members feel ownership of ideas and initiatives, even thos...

"What worked in some other company, may not work in our company". So, before adopting any best practice, following checklist need to be taken care of:- ·          What are the downsides?       Before adoption one needs to evaluate the changes required, the possible implications in both best case as well as worst case scenario ·          Is success truly attributable to the benchmark practice?       Possibly the other company would have got success because of some other reason and not because of specific practice. Check needs to be there in this scenario too.  ·          Are the conditions similar at your organization?       For best practices to be emulated businesses need to have similarities in strategy, business model, market and workforce. Source:   HBR

An interesting finding has come from a study conducted by Cisco. The study presents how fundamental internet has become in the human life today. It has reached the importance level of air, water, food and shelter. It has become a vital part of human life sustainability. All other loves are now secondary compared to it. We can say that we are living in “Social Life 2.0”. One of every three college students and employees surveyed globally (33%) believes the Internet is a fundamental resource for the human race – as important as air, water, food and shelter. About half (49% of college students and 47% of employees) believe it is "pretty close" to that level of importance. Combined, four of every five college students and young employees believe the Internet is vitally important as part of their daily life's sustenance. More than half of the respondents (55% of college students and 62% of employees) said they could not live without the Internet and cite it as an "integra...

One of my friends recommended me the book ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho and I found it to be one of the most stimulating books that burst with optimism. It is the kind of book that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. "When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true". These words echo throughout this book. The Alchemist is a wonderfully simple story of a young shepherd who follows his dreams of treasure and encounters many experiences and people, learning wisdom and life lessons along the way. In his journey to unknown and unseen lands, the young Santiago sees the greatness of the world, and meets different kinds of people. He gets duped, experiences love, loses and makes money, learns a different language, meets different people, finds himself in pleasant and not-so- pleasant situations. His journey is full of adventure and lessons, while he also finds the privilege of meeting a ...

“The One Minute Manager” is a quick read with clear and straightforward ideas presented in the book. The key to success of One Minute Manager are as follows:- 1.       One Minute Goal ·          Agree on goals ·          See what good behaviour looks like ·          Write out each of the goals on a single sheet of paper using less than 250 words ·          Read and re-read each goal, which requires only a minute. ·          Take a minute every once in a while to look at performance ·          See whether or not behaviour matches goal 2.       One Minute Praising ·          Tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are doing ·   ...

“The Monk who sold his Ferrari” is a story on how to live a simple life with greater balance, strength, courage and abundance of joy. Julian Mantle, a very successful lawyer was the epitome of success. Suddenly he has to come in terms with unexpected effects of his unbalanced lifestyle. Julian Mantle, the great lawyer collapses in the courtroom, sweating and shivering. His obsession with work has caused this heart attack. The last few years Julian had worked day and night without caring about his mental and physical health. One fine day he quit his law firm and took off without saying where he was headed. Three years passed without any news from Julian. One day he paid a visit to his friend and former colleague John. Julian, in the past three years, has miraculously transformed into a healthy man with physical vitality and spiritual strength. Julian explains his experiences with Yogi Raman and describes the seven virtues of enlightened living:- Master our Mind Cultivate mind - it will ...

I came across this book and found it highly inspiring in such a short length.   It offers advice on meeting goals, learning from experience, asking the right questions, and tackling tough projects with unflagging zeal. The book is about how a person most likely to fail in a quest succeeds and exceeds expectations by never letting other people's prejudices stand on his way. The story is about an old lumber company founder, Cappy Ricks, and a young World War I veteran, Bill Peck, who comes to the old captain of industry for a job. The assignment given by Cappy Ricks to   Bill Peck and the way Peck accomplishes it fighting different hurdles is inspiring. I love the words "It shall be done". Peck overcomes outrageous obstacles with his persistence, determination, passion and a giant sense of responsibility. Peck epitomizes the employee who is able to surpass expectations and join the ranks of leadership through undaunted effort. I recommend this book to everyone.