Moving Into 2021: How Embedded Analytics Can Help Indian Businesses Mitigate Pandemic’s Impact

2020 has been a year of disruption. On top of an already slowing regional economy, Asia Pacific businesses also face the major challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation could wipe off $211 Bn from economies this year, as they slow down in response. Hence, the Asia Pacific business landscape we are familiar with no longer exists, and the one that emerges during the recovery will be different as well.

The game rules for data analytics have changed, too. Businesses have to redefine the speed, accuracy and location with which they track, analyse and utilise data. Pre-defined queries, based on conditions of the past, will become less useful in an ever-changing business world. Hence, companies need the absolute freedom to ask any question about their data but there is rarely time to stop and ‘go do analytics’.

Delight Customers, Stay Resilient, Emerge Stronger

Let us examine this through the example of an Indian food retailer, which is experiencing less footfall in its brick and mortar stores due to the pandemic. As a response, it ramps up its online presence and offers home deliveries. There are a few ways embedded analytics can help the retailer optimise operations and boost business.

To adapt to new buying patterns, the retailer embeds analytics into the inventory applications at the branch layer. When checking stock levels, branch managers automatically get insights on what items are selling more, so that they can better decide what to promote and what to stock up on for the week. They don’t have to wait for someone else in the organisation to tell them; they can access these insights and immediately decide themselves. That’s pretty empowering, more efficient and customer-focused.

Then there’s the new delivery fleet in response to increasing online orders and home deliveries. Instead of monitoring the fleet and directing movements from a centralised control centre, the retailer embeds analytics into the fleet management software at the branches, giving staff more control over delivery times. They now know which drivers will become available and can prepare the orders just in time for the delivery schedules. The branches – and, by nature, the entire business – will become more responsive to customers and agile to changes in the market.

On an end-user level, the retailer can embed analytics into the app which consumers use to order their groceries. Visualisations or dashboards analysing the order history could show consumers when their favourite foods will be back in stock or on promotion, and which other items would complement them – inspiring them to cook a new dish they like and not forget that essential item. This way, the F&B retailer goes beyond just selling products to influencing consumers’ lifestyle, jumpstarting their quality of life with meaningful brand interactions.

With embedded analytics, the retailer will be in a better position to weather disruptions and forecast future demand. Consumers might continue to order online or consume different products. Whatever the changes, embedded analytics can give the retailer the immediate insights it needs today to adapt to the Asia Pacific market of tomorrow.

Turn Disruption Into Transformation

While 2020 is a year of disruption, it can also become a year of transformation, especially for those businesses using embedded analytics. Their ability to uncover the data secrets and make the right decisions intuitively puts them into a better position to break previous assumptions that worked before, find new opportunities within this new landscape and create exceptional customer experiences – emerging stronger and more resilient after all this is finally over.