The way goods are traded and bought is being redefined by the digital commerce. In scope, digital commerce matches the telecom revolution a decade back. Online retail is a natural evolution from unorganised mom-pop stores, to mass retailing from the malls to digital commerce now. In fact, online trade brings the small sellers, retailers and artisans to the customers directly. The access is the same—whether you are in the urban areas or the rural areas. Apart from the sellers and buyers, there is a growth of logistics and courier companies. Brick-and –mortar stores can co-exist and thrive. In fact, most of the brick-and- mortar stores have developed omni-channel capabilities. Online stores are convenient. They do offer a large variety. In India, the focus on just discounts is misplaced. It should be on convenience and variety.
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Wearable Technology
It is predicted that the next era of computing will be wearables. The speculation is about the nature of these wearables. There could be a number of wearables on the wrist. And wearables on the face, just like the glasses. It is possible that the future gadgets will be stretchable, bendable and thinner. They can adhere to the skin like tattoos or attach to the body like a Band-Aid strip. All these attachable computers will have sensors. They can collect a lot of health-related data. They will look like body art. Scientists are working on e-skin that sits on the body. It may lead to life-like prosthetics.
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Gallup
Gallup conducts polls.Its three practice areas are employee engagement, customer engagement and well-being. Gallup earns from large polls to corporations and governments. Gallup turns classical economics on its head to stand out. Gallup perspective is growth. They look things from the perspective of behavioural economics. ‘Gallup Path’ is unique proprietary model. Basically Gallup capitalised on human nature, which plays a role in business outcomes. Gallup Path is pretty much the operating system in a clutch of companies. Jin Cliffon is the CEO of Gallup since 1988.
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Internet of Things ( IoT )
Internet of Things is the next wave of the internet. Here billions of objects detect one another, communicate and co-operate with one another over the internet. One can make these objects perform a physical task e.g. opening a door, turning on a conveyor belt or opening/closing valves in a hydro-electric turbine in response to command that comes across the internet. IoT is a catchy name for a loose category of applications that involve identifiers, sensors and actuators working with one another and the IT systems. Previously the idea evolved over different names—object internet and machine-to-machine ( M2M ). In the 1990s, the radio-frequency-identification ( RFID ) was more common. There was realisation that if objects were to have their unique internet address, the standard IPV4 would be inadequate. A new standard IPV6 was developed to expand the available number of internet addresses. There were smart meters called advanced metering infrastructure ( AMI ) in the utility industries. Motes or smart dust are small, self-contained chips that can be scattered across a wide area, and integrate one or more sensors with radio and battery. They establish communication among themselves to create an ad hoc network. They can monitor the environment and raise an alarm when they detect an abnormal condition. IoT as a concept has evolved technologically across the applications quoted above. It is not a single technology which can be lifted off the shelf.
In order that IoT succeeds and becomes a reality, we have to focus on the following factors.
Accelerated innovation in hardware capabilities, issues of size, weight and power ( SWaP ), memory and battery life.
Design challenges as the devices are always on, issues of mixed signal, low power, SIP or system-in-package.
Standardisation as there is a lack of standards governing IoT. This will improve inter-connectivity, and simplify product development.
Cost and turn-around time which are critical for success. Cost management should be done by frugal engineering. The system should be set up in the shortest time.
Eco-system collaboration with eco-system partners to develop practical and reliable solutions in a reasonable time frame. There should be collaboration among semiconductor designers, vendors, IP providers, foundries and other players.
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Modelling and Ageing
In fashion, modelling, and glamour industry, women were judged ruthlessly beyond the age of 25. China Machado, however, is changing all this stereotyping. She is now 82 ( 2012 ). She became muse of the well-known photographer Richard Avedon in the 1950s—1960s. She shows her wrinkles to the world with elan. She appeared in HBO documentary About Face. In this documentary, the other supermodels and actresses featured are Jerry Hall, Cheryl Tiegs, Beverly Johnson, Isabella Rosellini, Christy Turlington and Carl Alt. China Machado currently works on print assignments. According to her, one should learn what to wear to look good at any age. She is the first non-Caucasian woman ever to appear in a major American fashion magazine in 1958. She says that what is more important is feeling beautiful rather than looking beautiful. She attributes her strength to the gift of laughter which she has inherited from her mother’s side. A model has to reinvent herself to keep pace with the times.
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Duster : Consumer Psychology
Cars are aspirational products bought more for their image than only for their functionality. This is more so for an SUV. An SUV may not be the right choice for a rational customer doing cost-benefit analysis. SUVs are big, unwieldy and difficult to manoeuvre in cities. They are high on maintenance and low on fuel efficiency. It is psychology and not economics that drives SUV buying. There are functional benefits of SUVs—more space, off-roading capabilities, more power and flexibility of use. However, many customers never go off road, Renault understands this consumers psychology. Duster has flared wheel arches, muscular body, roof rails, raised suspension and big tyres—all these create the right image. Being small, it removes limitations of a large SUV. Duster delivers value-for-money of price, convenient handling and mileage. It has opened a new category..
Use of Focus Group by Product Development
Renault designed Duster by relying on Focus Group of around 200 people whose profile matched the potential buyer of Duster. It then short-listed 30 families from this focus group across five Indian cities for an ethnographic study spread over two months. The product development team during this period, lived with their target customers to understand their needs and lives. They also assessed their likes and dislikes about their vehicles.
The European Duster, according to this study, required 41 modifications. The critical purchasing factor, they understood, of a car in India is the exterior design. People love an SUV with a rugged look that stands out in a crowd. At the same time, it should function operationally like a sedan — easy to drive, and giving good fuel efficiency. The Indian consumers prefer lot of chrome on their cars. They like body-coloured bumpers. Inside they like a dual-tone interior. The power-window switches should be on the door rather than on the central console. The rear seat need better treatment. There should be inclined seats for comfort. Rear air-conditioning was critical. There should be arm-rests, a mobile charger and a reading light. Some storage space is welcome.
The car was modified to suit Indian conditions. The suspension was reinforced to tackle tough Indian roads. More brackets were added to the doors as they were handled roughly. The engine was tuned to meet the quality of fuel in India and deliver a high efficiency of at least 20 kms per litre.
A customer clinic was organised after initiating the changes. The feedback was sought. It showed that the company is on the right track.
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Lupin Uses IT in Sales
Out of its 15000 employees at Lupin a third are on the field.The idea is to have a doctor call reporting systems, chemist reporting, leave, expense and even performance appraisals through tablets. Lupin has eliminated paper work by using a doctor call reporting system instead of paper reports field staff use now. The reporting software to send virtual reports that includes doctors’ feedback on new drugs is being used by Lupin. It has also introduced an SMS-based anti-counterfeit solution. The medicines from Lupin display a code which can be texted to Lupin to authenticate it.
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Digital Marketing Trends
These can be divided into macro and micro trends. Peter Kim, the chief digital officer of Cheil Worldwide identifies these trends. He speaks about three macro trends.
# there will be participation, rather than just interaction
#from too much data and information, people ask for meaning
# marketing has become real time
He has identified five micro trends.
#Instead of consumers, the brands are in the driver’s seat
#Everything is shoppable
# Data leads to mass personalization
# Interconnectedness of things and eco-system
# Sharing economy
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Camel Milk
Camel milk is sold in the Gulf countries as health drink. It is flavoured. Camel milk is shown to reduce the blood sugar level. It has three time more Vitamin C and ten times more iron than the cow milk. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids and Vitamin B. It is as nutritious as human breast milk. Camel milk is also sold in the African countries as a health food. In 2013, the European union permitted the import of the camel milk from the Emirates.
In India, camel milk has been used for generations by the desert nomads. It is privately sold in Udaipur and Bhilwara districts of Rajasthan. It is popular among foreign tourists. The League for Pastoral Peoples under its aegis runs Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan ( LPPS ) in Rajasthan. It aims to revive the fortunes of camel breeders of Rajasthan. They developed and tried to market a range of camel milk products—fresh milk, pasteurised milk, ice cream and curd—in Jaisalmer district but they could not scale up.
The state of Rajasthan has passed Camel Bill, 2014 to discourage sale of camels for meat and trade across borders. But camels can be saved only if the camel breeders have a decent income. To have such an income, camel dairying is the only option.
Meanwhile, LPPS is making camel milk soaps which are very popular at fairs, such as the Pushkar fair and at Nature Bazar in Delhi. They have the ice cream making facility on their campus at Sadri.
The GCMMF which markets Amul is ready to process 5000 litres of camel milk at its Kutch project. The product will be first launched in Ahmedabad, and then the rest of Gujarat. At the initial stage, they will source milk from camel breeders in Kutch and Bhuj and later from Rajasthan. In theory, Rajasthan could produce about 1 lac litres of camel milk per day. If we add up Gujarat, it comes to about 1.5 lac litres.
The Food Safety Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI ) has to set the standards for camel milk. In 2000, the SC has ruled that camel milk is fit for human consumption. The Milk and Milk products order still recognises milk only from cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats and combination thereof.
Camel milk is beneficial in curing life style diseases.
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Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes is acknowledged as one of the greatest comic strips of all times.Its creator is Bill Watterson. The last strip was published on New Year’s Eve, 1995. The strip was ended because Watterson was frustrated by the compromises he had to make as a result of the comic’s syndication. Joel Schroder is making a documentary called ‘ Dear Mr. Watterson’. It discusses the influence of the strip on other artists.