‘Our investments will be focused on in-memory analytics, improvements in supply chain, et al’

Arun Gupta, group CIO, Shoppers Stop possess a rich experience of over 25 years. He has extensively provided business IT leadership to companies across various verticals. He has constantly focused on driving technology and enabling business with improved customer satisfaction while reducing operational IT budgets. Since 1994, he has supported and driven major IT initiatives across companies such as Philips, Pfizer, DHL Worldwide Express, and Great Eastern Shipping. Last but not the least, he has successfully brought in IT effectiveness both in terms of business and process benefits. Gupta shares about the integration of information and technological solutions at Shoppers Stop with VOICE&DATA. Excerpts—

ow are you utilizing ICT right from the level of vendor management to manufacturing, logistics, distribution, and billing? How does automation at each level help in increased efficiency and revenue for the company?

We utilize the best-of-breed solutions from multiple vendors for the abovementioned processes and business needs. Some of our key technology vendors are JDA, Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM.

Automation across the value chain provides the ability to serve our customers consistently across all our stores. It also helps us stay efficient and profitable in the uncertain world. An optimized process automation drives business and best practices that do contribute to increased revenue. It is about helping the customer shop at our stores and simultaneously providing a great experience.

How does integrated ICT such as ERP, CRM, and SCM help retail industry? Of these, what solutions have been deployed and what do you intend to deploy over and above all these solutions?

Today, an integrated IT system is a norm for any industry, hence retail is no excep-