Satish Karunakaran, Director, Transformation sheds light on the denim brand’s future tech implementations, approaches to data handling, security initiatives, and more…
New Delhi: With over 20 years of experience, Satish Karunakaran has spearheaded transformative initiatives in Supply Chain and Operations across the fashion, apparel, retail, and FMCG sectors. His experience spans diverse regions, including India, the USA, and South Asia, where he has delivered significant value through supply chain transformations.
Currently leading digital transformation strategy and execution at Pepe Jeans India, the seasoned tech professional focuses on identifying and implementing impactful technological interventions to maximize business value. He has a strong track record in developing and implementing supply chain strategies for startups like Fonterra Future Dairy and mid to large-sized companies such as Aditya Birla Fashion Retail and More Retail.
He has led complex, multi-geography projects such as Distribution Network Optimization (DNO), Integrated Work Systems (IWS) implementations, and warehouse automation initiatives. He is passionate about continuous learning and actively explores disruptive technology trends such as Big Data, Advanced Analytics, IoT, and AI/ML, using them to drive innovation and transformation in supply chain management.
Pepe Jeans India Limited plans to expand its retail network by adding 100 stores in the next three years, its India chief executive officer (CEO) Manish Kapoor told news agency PTI. About 35% to 40% of the company’s business in India is expected to come from selling directly to consumers either through physical retail stores or through online marketplaces including Pepe’s marketplace (pepejeans.in). Furthermore, the company has set a target to achieve a revenue of Rs 2,000 crore. The supply chain is core to fulfilling these aggressive growth plans, making Satish Karunakaran’s role even more challenging and critical.
In an exclusive interaction with IndiaRetailing, the veteran sheds light on how he plans to use technology to help the company achieve its goals and improve operational efficiency across important functions.
On Pepe Jeans India’s tech journey….
Our tech journey has evolved significantly, particularly since 2017. Initially, the company had minimal technology investments and relied on basic systems needed for operations, focusing instead on business growth by setting up stores, distribution channels, and infrastructure.
The first major technological intervention came in 2017 with the global implementation of SAP (end-to-end ERP software covering multiple business processes).
This transition moved the company from using MS Excel or isolated applications for most operations to utilizing SAP, enabling real-time reporting, timely month-end closings, and improved overall system efficiency.
Pepe implemented the SalesForce Commerce Cloud for the business-to-consumer (B2C) website, aligning with global strategies, and introduced various human resource (HR) tools, including Darwinbox and GPS-based attendance systems. These advancements have significantly improved operations, reporting, and overall efficiency for Pepe Jeans India.
Any tech implementations on the supply chain side?
In the last few years, Pepe Jeans India has successfully implemented several critical technological advancements. These include the establishment of end-to-end supply chain tracking using ClickPost solutions, the development of data analytics focused on sales partnering with Algonomy and the implementation of a responsive omnichannel strategy partnering with Vinculum Solutions.
These initiatives have had a positive impact, enhancing customer experience by minimizing stockouts and reducing delivery lead times. Furthermore, these tech interventions have enabled the organization to make informed, data-driven decisions through advanced analytics and insights.
Satish’s Tech Mantra
- Put user experience at the core of the tech program. Think outside in.
- Keep it simple by removing unnecessary complexity. Deep, clear thinking leads to simplicity.
- Keep experimenting and testing out important business hypotheses. Use the outcomes of these experiments to make data-based decisions.
Anything on the e-commerce side?
In e-commerce, the company has enhanced its homegrown Product Information Management (PIM) system, which automatically formats product images for different websites and ensures data accuracy.
In addition, we have also adopted capabilities within the e-commerce platform for “Return To Origin” (RTO) reduction partnering with GoKwik to identify and flag the risk of returns. This system proactively recommends specific actions based on flagged data, such as limiting cash-on-delivery (COD) options in certain cases.
Do you also use technology for training?
We ensure employee and associate training through a combination of methods. We use Wooqer (an online workplace tool) to distribute training videos and gather feedback from retail employees on their usability.
Additionally, we have an internal education portal where employees can subscribe to various courses and engage in self-driven learning, further empowering them in their roles.
And on the customer experience side?
Out of all the tech-enabled interventions, the highest priority in Pepe is customer-enabling solutions.
Pepe Jeans India is exploring augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies for enabling Virtual Try-on (VTO), including the development of a smart mirror. This smart mirror is capable of enabling customers to choose garments, visualize the fit, share images on Instagram, and facilitate automatic checkout processes.
What else are you doing to enhance customer experience?
We are focusing on enhancing personalization, particularly for customers navigating our website. To assist customers who may need support during the purchasing process, we are working on an AI-powered chatbot. This chatbot will be capable of answering questions in multiple languages. The bot’s ability to understand and respond in the same language should greatly improve the customer experience. It will also play a role in personalised recommendations based on customer shopping history.
Currently, we are in the early stages of the chatbot development, evaluating a few potential partners.
What is your current omnichannel approach?
We are well on our way to putting in place the building blocks of an omnichannel strategy, where customers to place orders and get the orders fulfilled faster from stores nearby. As a first step, we have a single view of the customer across our own direct-to-consumer sales channels. We focus on enabling omnichannel in locations where it is most effective for the customer.
As a platform, our systems are mostly integrated across regional warehouses, stores, and central warehouses using an order management system (OMS) from Vinculum.
Most of our systems are on the cloud, with only a few remaining systems yet to be migrated, which we plan to complete in the next six to nine months. This cloud-based infrastructure enhances our ability to manage data and orders efficiently while tightening data security.
How do you handle data?
At the core of our operations is data analytics. Our primary sales and operational transaction data is stored in SAP, which we use extensively for analytics. Initially, much of this analysis was conducted using simple tools like MS Access and SQL databases that we created internally. Recently, we have partnered with Algonomy to further enhance data handling and reporting capabilities.
We are in the process of consolidating our secondary sales data from Pepe Stores, E-commerce marketplaces and Large Format Stores (LFS) into a single database. We have started to automatically generate dashboards displaying sales trends. This allows us to drill down across product hierarchy and geographic hierarchy levels to gain actionable insights for decision-making. This will also enable us to see precisely what is selling and where enhancing our ability to make informed business decisions on inventory deployment to our store network.
How do you ensure data security?
We plan to identify vulnerabilities with our tech stack at any given time and take action to mitigate this risk. The forthcoming digital personal data protection (DPDP) regulation has made it a critical focus for us to ensure data security at every level. Customers are becoming more aware of data security issues, and we need to assure them that their data is safe at all points in time.
Although we have made significant progress, we recognize that there is still much more to be done. As an industry, we need to continue improving data security and communicating with our customers about the steps we are taking to protect their data.
