In a weekly series, India retailing brings you a feature of India’s key retail tech icons. Kicking off with Ajit Kolhe, Head IT at VIP Industries Ltd.
A survey of 1,420 IT executives across the Europe, Asia and the Middle East found that there has been a 59% rise in investment in technology by retailers during 2022. Respondents in the survey revealed that over the next 12-18 months, they planned to invest in the cloud (75%), security (57%) and digital transformation (48%).
In 2021, Deloitte quizzed 50 senior retail executives across multiple subsectors about their priorities over the next 12 months. Reimagining the workforce, supply chain resiliency, and digital revolution emerged among the top three. Despite the difference in functional areas, it boils down to investment in technology.
Big Box retailers are even going a step ahead and investing in technologies like Metaverse which are still in their nascency. For instance, Reliance’s Jio Platforms invested $15 million in the ‘Metaverse’ by buying a 25% stake in Two Platforms, a Silicon Valley-based deep tech startup.
There’s no denying the fact that technology is central to every retailer’s growth story. No exception.
The rising importance of technology in transforming and growing the business has changed the roles of those in-charge of tech operations in a retail business and expectations about them.
No longer are CIOs department heads of a support function, they are fair and square in the driver’s seat and need to be more than just subject-matter experts. According to International Data Group (IDG)’s “State of the CIO Study 2022,” 58 percent of workers outside of IT describe their company’s CIO as a “strategic advisor who proactively identifies business opportunities and makes recommendations.”
Today’s CIO must know how to leverage technology to create value for the business.
In this special feature, India Retailing showcases the torchbearers of retail technology.
Ajit Kolhe
With an experience of 20+ years, Kolhe has worked and helped multiple companies to grow their business, by being a business excellence professional, strategist, leader, solution architect.
With enthusiastic, self-motivated, and entrepreneurial approach, he has been an effective communicator and team leader with strong analytical, problem solving & organizational abilities. He possesses a flexible & detail-oriented attitude.
Roles & Responsibilities
- Heading IT applications
- IT Strategy, service management and audits
- Supply chain planning, optimization and execution
- SAP implementation & Project management
- IT infrastructure, security, compliance and governance
- Digital Technologies: – IoT, Analytics, AR/VR, Mobility, Cloud and Plant
- Automation
- Enterprise Applications: – SAP, DMS, CRM, SRM, MES & PLM
Education
- Indian Institute of Technology
- MTech
- Tata Management Training Centre
- Leadership Development Program
- IIM Bangalore
- Certification Program for Business Managers in General Management
- Government Engineering College, Amravati
- Bachelor of Engineering
Skills
- SAP implementation
- IT infrastructure management
- Business intelligence
- Internet of things
- Vendor management
- SAP
Career History & Experience
- VIP Industries Ltd.
- Head IT | July 2020 –present
- D’Decor Exports Pvt Ltd.
- Head IT | May 2019-July 2020
- Greaves Cotton Ltd.
- Head IT & Digital | April 2017 – May 2019
- General Manager – IT | Dec2011 – March 2017
- IBM India Pvt. Ltd.
- Managing Consultant | May 2010 – Nov 2011
- Siemens Information System Ltd.
- Senior Manager (Program Management) | Dec 2000 – May 2010
- Godrej Agrovet Ltd.
- Procurement Executive | February 2000 – December 2000
- Ashok Leyland Ltd.
- Senior Production Engineer | Jan 1995 – Jan 1998
This article first appeared in November 2022 edition of Images Retail.
