Infosys CPG in the headlines

Select media mentions and exclusive reprints featuring Infosys’ CPG solutions practice and practitioners

 

Infosys receives wide coverage in leading publications related to the Consumer Packaged Goods domain. Some of these articles are authored by Infosys experts, while others quote their views. Exclusive reprints of such articles are available for complimentary download in this section.

 

Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani in conversation with GMA Forum

Nandan M. Nilekani, CEO, Infosys Technologies spelled out his vision for the CPG industry in an interview with the GMA Forum. According to him, the key drivers of the industry are standardization, simplification and innovation. He says that CPG companies need to explore outsourcing models that combine technology with analytics. “Category managers need a lot of help putting together the right insights from the vast pools of information that reside in their organizations”, says Nandan.

Reporting for Duty

- Mary Catherine O'Connor, RFID Journal, June 2007

The RFID Journal published a story on how Infosys uses proprietary algorithms to analyze RFID data and generate reports that provide visibility into the movement of tagged goods through the supply chain. "Infosys' New Product Introduction and Key Promotion software is designed to run on SAP's Auto-ID Infrastructure middleware. It generates alerts when, for example, read events indicate that a retail store hasn't received its first shipment of a new or promotional product on time or hasn't placed it on the sales floor on schedule. These alerts are sent to the manufacturer's brand promotions team so it can react quickly."

What 'The World Is Flat' Means to IT Outsourcing

- Ben Worthen, CIO, May 1, 2007

The CIO magazine quoted Nandan Nilekani, CEO, Infosys Technologies, in a report on outsourcing. The article shares guidelines by CIOs on outsourcing. Nandan, who inspired the phrase, 'The World is Flat', says, "Work will be done where it makes the most sense."

Supply Chain Metrics that Measure Up

- Tejas Faldu and Srikanth Krishna, Supply & Demand Chain Executive, April/May 2007

An integrated single view of supply chain performance across functions and hierarchies is essential to help senior management determine the causes of supply chain failures. By defining, building and leveraging an effective "metrics framework", CPG companies can turn supply chain performance management into a potent tool. When executed effectively, the metrics framework can lead to significant benefits including enhanced collaboration, increased employee productivity at all levels, and greater commitment and ownership of metrics and targets.

With most US markets overstored, how to grow now?

- Kishor Gummaraju

Reprinted with permission from GMA Forum Magazine's CPG/Retail thought leader roundtable section (First Quarter/ Trade Promotion 2007)

 

A recent IRI report put the industry growth at 2.5%. With overall inflation at 2.7%, this in effect means that the underlying volume growth is challenged. Compounding this challenge is significant clutter on the retail shelf. An average family gets 80-85% of its needs from just 188 SKUs (Source: IRI) -- while there are over a million SKUs across all channels. In such an environment, assuming that an increase in the number of retail stores will automatically result in growth is a fallacy. Success today means winning the fight for the shoppers' wallet by outsmarting competition at the shelf and standing out amid all the clutter. Where should the focus be?

Identify, quantify, nullify

- Anantha Radhakrishnan, Progressive Grocer, April 01, 2007

Research by Infosys shows that nearly 65%-70% of total supermarket shrink accrues from the fresh category, eroding up to 10% of an individual store's sales. The root causes of shrink may be resolved by increasing automation through the incorporation of basic business rules and analysis. An alternative method is to implement a master data management system to achieve a single version of truth for enterprise data, create a workflow to support the business process, and synchronize internal and external systems.

 

Customization

- Kishor Gummaraju

Reprinted with permission from GMA Forum Magazine's CPG/Retail thought leader roundtable section (First Quarter/ Mid-Winter 2006)

 

The quest for differentiation and the fight for shelf space invariably lead to increased complexity, which CPG companies must deal with. The 10 Lessons for effective shelf-centered collaboration to deal with this complexity are fairly comprehensive. However, the primary issue is not which of the 10 lessons to focus on, but how to establish the right scalable and repeatable decision support environment -- the environment to help decide on the what, how much, for whom and how of customization.

Time for a shift in thinking to shopping occasions?

- Kishor Gummaraju

Reprinted with permission from GMA Forum Magazine's CPG/Retail thought leader roundtable section (Mid-Fall 2006)

Emphasis on consumer shopping occasions and need states is a logical evolution in the multi-touchpoint or 360 degree marketing effort of brands. The ultimate objective of a brand is to strengthen its loyalty and image, leading to market share gains. Consumer attention today is highly fragmented with Internet, multiple media for entertainment, multiple channels for shopping, and reduced but specifically defined trips for shopping. A brand needs to be consistent in its appeal and messaging, and in sync with consumers' motivation and need state to buy. This has led brand owners to adopt a holistic approach, spanning the entire lifecycle of the shopping trip from pre-shopping to consumption, to win consumers.

Optimizing promotional returns - myth or reality?

- Kishor Gummaraju, CGT Inside News, March 14, 2007

The secret of an effective Trade Promotion Analytics solution lies in measuring and predicting "true" ROI and building the "complete picture" by integrating and automating disparate data sources. Success is not dependent on investing in the most expensive TPM tool but on understanding the underlying data and developing specific models and processes to act on them. The time is ripe to develop and implement a working TPM Analytics solution.

India Supply Chain insights - look before you leap

Whether your supply chain is ready for India is as crucial a question as whether India is ready for your supply chain

- The Supply & Demand-Chain Executive

 

The Supply & Demand - Chain Executive published a story on the challenges faced by companies to establish supply chains in India. In the article, Sandeep Kumar, Group Leader, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Group, Infosys Technologies stated that the character of local supply chains is changing as, "India's major institutions of higher learning ramp up supply chain programs to impart the skills and knowledge necessary to manage a complex supply chain."

 

Reprinted from The Supply & Demand-Chain Executive, November 2006

Infosys deploys SAP® RFID solution for CHEP's Container Fleet

- RFID Update - The RFID Industry Daily, October 27, 2006

 

"Infosys and SAP are committed to delivering innovative RFID solutions that strategically fit with our customers’ business initiatives. We are proud to work on the deployment of SAP solutions for RFID to manage returnable assets," said U.B. Pravin, Senior Vice President and Executive Sponsor of RFID Program, Infosys Technologies.

A RFID-enabled Returnable Transport Item Tracking solution helps CHEP manage more than 280 million pallets and containers in a global network of service centers.

Out of stocks: Whose fault? Whose fix? How?

- Kishor Gummaraju & Tom Holland, Infosys Technologies Limited

 

Reprinted with permission from GMA Forum Magazine (GMA Executive Conference/ Greenbrier Issue 2006)

 

It is the culmination of months or years of effort. It is the moment that a consumer walks down the aisle of a retail store to purchase a product. But when, after so many studies and so much industry hand-wringing, that product isn't there -- why? What is being done, and what can be done, given our growing visibility into the problem and fast-changing technology, in the fight against out-of-stocks? To go beyond the numbers, we spoke with executives for retailers, CPG suppliers, sales agencies and technology providers to get their latest perspectives on out-of-stocks, and the trading partner attitudes and technologies - mature, emerging and horizon - they recommend be brought to bear on the problem.

Achieving Return on Investment: Where does it Happen in the CPG / Retailing Business?

- Amitabh Pushparaj Mudaliar, Infosys Technologies Limited

 

Reprinted with permission from GMA Forum Magazine's CPG/Retail thought leader roundtable section (First Quarter/Trade Promotion 2006)

 

ROI has risen to the top of every CEO'S priority list, and CPG/ retailer CEOs are actively looking for tools, techniques and resources that meet the ROI test. So, for this IS/LD issue, we asked CPG and retailing experts: "In your travels about the CPG industry, what noteworthy initiative or investment have you seen that impressed you because it actually produced a meaningful ROI for a CPG company and / or a retailer company?"

Analytics: Is CPG missing the boat?

- Keith Scovell, Infosys Technologies Limited

 

Reprinted with permission from GMA Forum Magazine's CPG/Retail thought leader roundtable section (Fourth Quarter/Mid-Winter 2005)

 

At the recent GMA MSM Conference (Colorado Springs), the sales director for a major CPG company stated that “analytics” is too costly and complicated for most companies; that “the most powerful technology we’re not taking advantage of are the calendar and the alarm clock.”

The dance of the trading partner: collaboration

- Kishor Gummaraju, Infosys Technologies Limited

 

Reprinted with permission from GMA Forum Magazine's CPG/Retail thought leader roundtable section (Fourth Quarter/Mid-Winter 2005)

 

'Collaboration' is much on the lips of CPG suppliers and retailers. But meaningful collaboration must start with FACTS - solid, agreed-upon information about a mutual problem or opportunity. Please name a specific industry problem/ opportunity that trading partners could fruitfully collaborate on, if only they had the FACTS (read: good information). What facts about this problem / opportunity do trading partners typically lack? How could they obtain them? In the fact-gathering process, what role should be played by the supplier? By the retailer?

 

What difference would/ could having these facts make, in trading partner relationships and in outcome?

Strategic imperatives for winning now: Play something different better?

- Keith Scovell, Infosys Technologies Limited

 

Reprinted with permission from GMA Forum Magazine's CPG/Retail thought leader roundtable section (Third Quarter 2005)

 

 

In short, the gap has narrowed, the bar has been raised. Thus, if CPG companies (and retailers) want to stay competitive, they will need to distinguish themselves by doing something not just better, but differently.

 

In your view, what might that be? Where would you advise today's CPG leaders to look for an edge? What advanced new tools and/or skills are required?

 

 

Related Information

Analyst Reports

AMR Research: Infosys scores highest among offshorers in consumer product sales and marketing solutions
More

Testimonials

"Consider mining this information to understand what consumers of your products are saying about them... Talk to Infosys about the pilots it is doing in this area."

- Lora Cecere, AMR Research
"10 Cool Technology Applications for Consumer Products" (May 17, 2007)

More

In the News

Sourcing at your fingertips:
Global Sourcing Essentials
Everything you wanted to know about global sourcing, in five easy parts.
Download your copy

Copyright © 2008 Infosys Technologies Limited

Privacy Statement | Safe Harbor Provision | Terms of use | Trademarks