Data is a game changer for many industries. The retail sector however stands out as it has seen high impact changes with the right approach towards data. A firm believer that India is on par with global counterparts when it comes to analysing and creating data-led solutions, Vidya Laxman, director of technology, Tesco, explains how the retail major has changed the way it is working for better use of data, leading to tangible results.
Data has always been important for Tesco. The dunnhumby acquisition to better understand customer loyalty was one of the early examples signalling Tesco's commitment towards data and analytics. Where have the gaps come in that you are addressing now?We had all the data but we lost the opportunity on what to do with it. With our new CTO, who has done his PhD in data, there is new comprehension of some of these challenges and requirements. When we now talk about event-based analysis, it is no longer just real time analytics but it considers every touch point, going beyond just the customer side. Everyone speaks about customer 360 but no one is talking about product 360. How do you connect - the brick and mortar side, the logistics, transportation, buyers and suppliers and the likes? For all of this, the heart and lung is product. We have been collecting pockets of data but we have now looked at historical data for not just predictive analysis but foresee the future by asking different questions. There is a need to do backward analysis, and think from the place you want to be at than just where you are at. That is a mindset change.
What are some of the overall trends and best data practices that you are seeing in the industry right now?Coexistence of different kinds of service providers is a key trend. Within Tesco, we are investing on both Teradata and Hadoop, a trend that is true across the board. Companies such as these are coexisting and creating solutions that are allowing companies like ours to truly get to data granularity at a low cost. There are so many tools available now for data modelling & analytics, slicing and dicing and essentially further deep-diving that enable us to go beyond analysing traditional data or just predictive analysis. In the brick and mortar business, this is difficult but we are doing this. We have gone through the storming phase, where savvy consumers have caused highest disruption. We are now identifying, creating and serving solutions for the changed landscape.
How does this translate to what you want to achieve in India?One of the biggest challenges that we faced was dealing with silos. Technology was treated as IT and data was treated as data warehouse. The first outcome we wanted to get was the single source of truth, and get there fast. We are late in the journey already in comparison to some of the other players. We were looking to create a single platform, where we define standardised KPIs. All information has to go only through this platform. Anyone in the company can access this platform for their modelling and other requirements. We are transforming the ways of working and our technology investment so we have multiple solutions.
At one point, we would pass on significant amount of data to the likes of dunnhumby directly. Now, we are creating a single platform. All data will flow through one place and we have ownership of that data. During the transition, data also gets manipulated and you can lose the truth. We have changed that way of working as well so there is better and faster data ingestion. We have also worked on capability improvement within teams. In short, we are impacting change in people, process, technology and being outcome-based so people can tangibly see the difference when we use data to achieve business solutions.
Which of your markets is getting this right, and where does India factor in that?In our more matured markets, where Tesco is present in different sectors like banking and fuel stations, we have an advantage as we are able to connect these customers to retail. We have it stitched but we still have some way to go in getting it right. The journey for this has begun. In a market India, in addition to the volume that it presents, there are so many things happening that have to be factored. There is the youth that has been the biggest disruptor. Second is the economic growth, and then the socio-economic segments - there are five kinds of rich and there is the 'rurban' audience, which is one of the most important segments that is revolutionising the sector. So much has happened and we have to see how we localise solutions to each of the markets.
And where do you put India in utilising data led solutions?In India, there is still the tendency to pick up the phone and get information or information-based insight, versus what data scientists say. But we have leapfrogged in many areas including data. Many new companies are using data in so many different ways to better understand and identify what consumers want. They are using machine learning along with data. Most startups and corporates in India are using data in a big way. Some companies are looking at value based solutions using data, and are able to make region specific solutions in India. I would say India is well on par with some very mature markets.
