Evolution of Automation

As the nature of work has changed, so too have the methods of automation. Robotic process and intelligent automation tools can help businesses improve the effectiveness of services faster and at a lower cost than current methods.

Automation Technologies applied to our day-to-day activities in Business and IT operations have been evolving over a period of time. Starting from mere “scripts” (to automate mundane and repetitive tasks) to “orchestrations” automatic work flows and run-books and now Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence powered techniques that automates part of human reasoning/ decision making process, automation technologies have come a long way.

We are at a juncture today where technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is going main-stream and disrupting the Business Process deliveries. Virtual Assistants are becoming real. IT Process Automation is getting to the next level with Autonomics and supported by AI-Powered technologies. In other words, Automation is fast becoming the next leap we can take to achieve better growth in the following years to come.

Process Automation and AI-Powered Technologies bringing reduced cost of delivery, higher quality and faster time to market. With adaptability and awareness, rpa is capable of automating activities that once required human judgment. Adoption of Autonomics and Cognitive technologies in IT operations are on the rise. Digital labour is getting real. Humans and machines co-exist for the increase of business efficiency.

Among leaders in the automation industry, robotic process automation is perceived as “offering unique capabilities and advantages over previous technologies.” The benefits of robotic process automation (RPA) are considerable. As it stands, around a quarter of back office workers spend time performing tasks that are repetitive and rule-based. Those tasks can, in many instances, be automated by robotic processes that are up to three times faster than the average human, work around the clock, are more accurate and are consistently available. The cost for the RPA now comes in at around one-third as much as an offshore employee and one-fifth as much as onshore staff. Furthermore, RPA can be easily scaled based on requirements, and therefore do not require the complexity of employment conditions.

The growth of RPA is happening quickly. RPA adoption and innovation is happening in a manner similar to the growth of business process outsourcing (BPO) and shared services markets twenty years ago, but it is accelerating and intensifying much more quickly. And as we look to history to help us predict the future, we cannot deny that automation; in particular, robotic process automation is today’s version of outsourcing – unstoppable.

Success Vs Procrastination

We all do come across people who daily face a vast rift between what they fully intend to do and doing it, in all facets of their lives. Just to clarify - Prioritization of work and therefore, delaying any work because some other is more important can certainly not be referred to as procrastination. While few don’t have any reason for procrastinating since it after certain duration gets imbibed in their habit and daily work-style. One speculation of procrastination is that few people like the adrenaline rush of postponing things to the last hour and find excitement in it. I am sure this rationality will find very few buy-ins.

 

Another logical rational follows: the fear of failure generally accentuates to more failure. The fear of failure often paves way to procrastination. One thing the fear of failure will never lead to is success. Pushing the "go" button may not guarantee success but it opens chances for you to succeed. On the contrary, having your foot on the brakes will never get you anywhere. Your odds of succeeding always go up when you just go for it simply because you already have the conviction of succeeding rather than having the outlook of fear. You will find yourself engulfed in a catch-22 situation - if you focus on not failing, in the end, you're really focusing on failing. The fear of failure will never drive you toward success. In fact, the fear of failure will push you farther away from success. The only way to move forward in your life is to get your foot off the brakes, and press the "go" button. Stop running away. Stop focusing on fear. Stop focusing on failure.

This leads to conclusion that procrastination is significantly associated with human psychology and therefore, opens gates for further discussion. Often success in any sphere means transformation or change and people are apprehensive about or reluctant to any kind of change. This is quite common and nothing peculiar about it. A very practical way of overcoming this obstacle is to be adaptive and learn to embrace change. Try to gauge what this change will bring about – more often than not one will realise the positives outweigh the negatives.

 

The road to success passes via good planning, commitment, punctuality and of course, hard work. Procrastinating things/work may lead to excitement, experience of working under pressure and sometimes, to success but it is definitely not the safest and surest way to success. In life, you should avoid one big risk at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing. Procrastination assassinates the opportunity in your hand. It will always keep you caught in the web of yesterday and consequently, you will never be able to move to today (forget about tomorrow). The best way to do something is to begin. To conclude, I will borrow a quote which I read few days back “Procrastination is like a credit card: it's a lot of fun until you get the bill.”

Mantra of building and sustaining a Thriving Practice

The ease of delivering work remotely and the opportunity to control the type and amount of work you do are key trends that have led to verticalisation of practices and nowadays emergence of independent consulting/practices. I, myself, having established a consulting boutique which was short-lived and then presently working as a Practice leader in a Global conglomerate have myriad intricacies of establishing and growing a practice. Each practice is uniquely defined by experience, specializations and clients served, but all business/practice leaders share the challenge of building and sustaining a thriving practice.

Sell results, not services: Keep clients laser-focused on the lasting value you create, and bill based on scope of work and end results. Provide a range of possible cost scenarios and value-adds what you have offered or can offer. Presenting a mix of case studies, testimonials, and client showcases can also prove a powerful business driver--prospective customers want to see what you've done, so they know what you're capable of doing.

Flexible Structure: Business will wax and wane. And because no two projects are alike, you must remain flexible by cultivating a freelance support network. Use contractors from varied industries and disciplines who can introduce additional expertise and perspective. This approach also lets you reduce overhead, minimize risk, and better staff projects to meet clients' needs. You can also look for strategic alliances and partnerships (e.g. product partnerships, etc.)

Initially don’t try to be jack of all trades: Understandably, most businesses are revenue driven and in an attempt to meet the (revenue) target, we have tendency to go after anything to raise the figures in the balance-sheet. Though it is wise to diversify only after you have established your mark/brand and then you are looking other horizons to grow. It may prove lethal/ suicidal to venture into unknown/lesser known domains even when you have not established your practice. Over-aggression can sometimes engulf your own practice. The crux is to excel with your core-competency (what your practice is known for) first.

 

Solid and robust business plan: The rules of the game might have changed but few things remain the same. You need to have a robust business plan which considers most of the possible scenarios, what-if situations, plan-A,B. A reality check here – there is no fool-proof plan. A robust business plan is a well-thought strategy and therefore, reduces the chances of probability.

 

Networking still works: Develop and nurture a strong network. Most successful consultants receive the majority of work from their trusted network. It is indispensable to create an environment that provides you with an ongoing flow of opportunities. Attend networking events, utilize blogging and social media, or create an email newsletter to keep your network up to date. There are many ways to build and nurture a strong network, but the key is to be active. More importantly, develop strong relationships with existing/old customers who can refer you to new ones and at the same time reward you with you more work

 

Excellent core team: Ultimately, it is your team which is going to deliver. Everything can prove to be a marketing gimmick if you team fails to deliver. This makes it paramount to handpick your core-team who has to play a pivotal role in expansion of the practice.

Despite making sure that you have ticked all the above boxes, a lot of the success depends on your leadership and your instincts. You need to have a vision and definitely passion for what you are doing else you will find yourself changing the lane every now and then and frequent change in lane can be fatal (for business).

Selection of Vendors while Outsourcing - Look Under the Surface

Selecting an outsourcing vendor implies a complex process to gauge not only what the provider can do, but also the way it’s done. If your organisation’s assignment falls in the wrong hands, it could endanger organisation’s strategic plans. In return, with a well-selected provider, you will see savings, enhanced product value, and greater speed to market, thus giving your business a competitive edge. Therefore, effective and meticulous due diligence of each vendor is of extreme significance, having high impact on the business and the future plans of the organisation. Today we rarely buy anything without doing our comprehensive research. The story is no different while selecting a vendor – we need to perform a detailed under the surface study as we do while estimating the size of an iceberg.

Generally, Request For Information (RFI) is issued when a company seeks to gain market intelligence regarding options available to meet its requirement. Typically the company enquires the vendors about services they could potentially provide, what differentiates them from other vendors in the marketplace, etc. With an RFI the company does not state a particular intention to award a contract. However, since responding to an RFI is time-consuming for suppliers, generally suppliers will only respond to the RFI if they expect that the buyer will eventually issue an RFP or RFQ.

Web research does provide us some of the key areas to rate a vendor on, such as company overview, market expertise, strengths, etc. All these things can be commonly found after some basic research, and a few discovery demonstrations. Nevertheless, we still see cases where a company has selected a vendor, and that vendor continues to fail on their delivery of the solution. You would think that these failures would be picked up on during their extensive, informed research, but there is more to a company than the aforesaid points. Here we discuss few additional factors to consider when selecting a vendor while outsourcing a business process, service, etc.—those that go beyond pricing, features, and tools.

Financial Health: As mentioned earlier, it is criti­cally important to examine and evaluate the vendor’s financial well-being as well as their services. Today, mergers and acquisitions have become so common that it is not rare that a company’s control is sometimes in the hands of VCs. Venture capital investment, loans and lines of credit to keep operations going—many more complications which necessitates to examine the financial details of the vendor.

i. Search the Web: Look for press releases from investors on your vendor, and read carefully on whether the investment firm is providing capital, or actually purchasing the vendor. Do basic read of the company profile through trusted agencies e.g. D&B, Gartner, etc.

ii. Scrutinize Debt to Equity Ratio: Core finance people would easily understand this while for others, let me quickly explain - this is a swift way to see the financial health of an organization without prying into their books. The Debt to Equity ratio will indicate how much they owe versus how much they own. Understandably, companies with low debt to equity ratio are preferred.

iii. Analyse Annual Growth Rate: Analysing annual growth rate for a horizon of 3-5 years would be good. It provides a more accurate depiction of how the company has fared financially over the past few years. Another similar parameter to study would be annual net income growth rate for the same period.

iv. Cash Flow details: Sometimes companies go bankrupt despite having good annual growth and income. Shortage of cash aggravates the survival, eventually making the go kaput.

Referrals: Besides looking for case studies, it is recommended to get some referrals from some of their customers. This is a good yardstick to gauge their capability, credentials, scalability, quality of workforce, global and functional/industry exposure – this can be inferred from the referrals and the customers they have. Remember, selecting right vendor is important not only as an investment in a solution but it can also be an investment in the people within the vendor-company. Multiple inputs from their customers add dimensions to the vendor (e.g. implementation track record, consulting assignments, etc.) and also give you an indication of the health of the company.

PoCs and Workshops: If you find two vendors at par, then it might be time to suggest a workshop or proof of concept. These are typically 1-2 day engagements with the vendor whereby you give them a simple set of requirements, and ask them to implement it on a small scale. This demonstration makes it powerful and you can get a glimpse of how your future relationship with the vendor will be, and how they work when implementing your solution/business process.

In the contemporary digital world where information is available at behest of our fingertips, there are still those data points that are not publicly known, and getting the right answers can make a big difference in your decision. So it’s important to do your research. Lastly, remember that outsourcing is a long-term relationship, and choosing the right vendor is crucial to meeting your technology, business, and financial objectives. If you base your decision on following the steps above, you will eliminate (or at least minimize) the risks of engaging in a wrongly-selected affiliation that can not only fail to improve your business, but even do harm.

Intricacies of Family Run Enterprises

When we say family business, the first thing most of us envisage or visualise is a small or mid-size company with local-market focus and concentrating on one-business space, at the same time companies having similar problems such as arguments over succession-planning. Now wait a minute before you continue with same notion. Think about the top big companies. Walmart, Ford, Samsung, LG, Fiat, News Corp, Tata Group, Marriott, Reliance Industries and Cargill – these are few companies tasting success globally and are family businesses. Few of them have thrived in diversifying selling from salt to software and from textiles to vehicles.

Let me give few more facts which may reveal more things. Family firms account for up to 90% of businesses in the world - and in several nations, these companies are a strong and durable support of the economy. The contribution of older, long-established family firms to a nation's economy is excessively greater than that of many public firms. As per BCG, the family firms contribute more than 30% of all companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion. A Morgan Stanley study shows that family firms generated Return on Equity of 18.5% as compared to 14.1% from non-family corporations. The sustainability of family businesses is another feature. Few of the oldest companies are family owned business e.g. Faber-Castell (8^th generation), Moller Group (7^th gen), Kongo Gumi (46^th generation, Japanese construction company), Barone Ricasoli (Italy) – many of these being more than 500 years old. All these evidently establish the fact that the family-controlled firms have a very strong and dominant role in the global economy.

Even less than 30% of family-run enterprises are successful to survive to second generation and the figure comes to a low 10% from second to third generation. Despite this, these figures are far better than small businesses not controlled by family. Though family run businesses also deal with routine issues that emerge around turf battles, they also have additional problems – such as succession issues, dealing with family discord. John Kotter in his book “Leading Change” also touches upon the challenges faced by the people who lead family businesses.

Lets gradually look deeper into the functional operatives of the family controlled enterprises which have led to their tremendous success. Family businesses concentrate more on survival than performance. They sometimes relinquish the excess earnings available during heydays in order to increase their possibility of survival during rough times. While non-family businesses focus more on performance that too short-term performance. The family businesses often invest with a 10- or 20-year horizon, concentrating on adding value for the next generation. Apropos expenditures, the family run companies have more prudent and economical cost-structures which explain that most family businesses enter recessions with leaner cost-structures.  This also elucidates the reason family-run enterprises always maintain low debt ratio. Family businesses believe in the organic growth and generally do not prefer acquisitions that too of big companies and into different business.  A study reveals the rate of acquisitions of non-family run enterprises is almost double to that of family-run enterprises. It is common myth that the owners of family-businesses are conservative people. Well, the family businesses do always keep an eye on diversification. On one hand companies such as Ford, Michelin, New Corp and Walmart still continue to focus on their core-business while on other, there are companies – Cargill, Tata Group, Hyundai Group and LG – epitomise diversification. A study shows that 46% of family businesses are highly diversified while the same figure is mere 20% for non-family businesses.

Honestly, it is really tough to answer whether any business is more enduring or universal than a family business. In his book “Centuries of Success”, William O’Hara very aptly commented ““Before the multinational corporation, there was family business. Before the Industrial Revolution, there was family business. Before the enlightenment of Greece and the empire of Rome, there was family business.”

Mushrooming Malls and Dynamics of Successful Malls

Shopping at malls is becoming a popular phenomenon world over. There is a huge sum invested in such properties beginning from its development to managing, leasing, marketing and so on. So the big question is - How can mall developers maximise the returns on their investment? Malls across India have turned out to be the central institution of modern shopping culture. The environment is full of choices and lures, which takes the consumers’ soul into the temptation of buying the world. People of all races, creeds, ages, and social status flock to shopping centres to participate. The ascendancy of malls as a significant shopping, social interaction and entertainment destination has a major impact on retail strategies and the retail landscape in numerous Indian companies. In India malls are amongst the very few options available where people can conveniently shop keeping in mind the country’s extreme weather conditions, lack of utilities such as absence of washrooms and parking spaces on high streets. Another reason for the growing mall culture in India is that the country is currently deprived of good entertainment places where people can spend quality time with their families, and  hopping centre is perhaps one such great entertainment place.

With the increasing number of malls in India, and many more in the pipeline, mall management has been identified as the key to success of malls. Therefore, it is critical to have a well thought-out mall management strategy and the first step to address this urgent need is to understand the factors that determine mall management. With malls becoming the preferred choice for shopping these days, it is clear that the retail real estate industry in India has a promising future with lots of growth opportunities. However, managing a complex entity such as malls is not easy. Therefore, it has become all the more imperative for mall managers to take into consideration the needs of all the stakeholders such as customers, retailers, employees and statutory bodies.

With the mushrooming of malls in India, the competition among them is becoming intense. As the competition intensifies, the need of the quality mall management becomes evident. A major challenge for mall developers these days is attracting and winning over the hearts of increased number of customers and retailers, although it brings ample opportunity in disguise to serve the lifestyles of the shoppers through deliberation of mall experience. Since shoppers today are quite informative and value their time and money, the priorities on which they evaluate the services of the malls generate a lot of challenges and opportunities for mall developers and retailers to study shoppers’ preferences while selecting a shopping destination. Against the backdrop of shoppers’ choice of the shopping malls, it is necessary to have a look at the determinants of mall management which shoppers assess before gathering an enjoyable experience. Mall management implies positioning a mall, attracting the best tenants, formulating tenant mix policies, promotions and facility management. The influx of malls in India as cynosure of social activity becomes instrumental for the retailers to acquire space in shopping centres. Malls’ ambience and facilities become the competitive advantage for retailers as these attract and induce more foot-fall in the region.

The initial work starts with the location analysis. An important dimension of mall management is its location as in India nearly majority of the visitors depends upon public transport facilities. People who frequently visit the mall are those who stay nearby, so proximity to home or work place is an essential criterion of any shopping centre. Other factor which comes under consideration while formulating the strategy is the anchor tenants. Anchors in the malls are chosen very carefully since they are the footfall generators for the entire mall. For example, apart from multiple luxury brands available in the malls, almost all malls do accommodate multiplexes and departmental stores/super markets – the latter being the footfall generators. The promotions and the other activities constitute to the differentiating factor of any mall. Promotions such as monsoon bonanza, winter offer, festival arrivals, etc. are few which we often come across. Other activities such as contests, celebrities’ appearances, musical events, etc. are few things through which malls try to allure more footfall. Brand positioning of the mall is also very critical. While national and international retailers set the brand positioning of a mall, regional tenants add uniqueness to it, which help them stand out of the crowd. Stressing that there should be a fine balance of national, international and regional retailers in any particular mall. Localising the mall in tune with the local needs and preferences of the catchment thus becomes very important. This becomes all the more important as today’s consumer owes no loyalty for a shopping centre unless it meets her high expectations and has something unique to offer.

Road Ahead for the Global Banks

Four years after the genesis of the global financial crisis, the global banking sector is still struggling to come to grips with the fact that regulators around the world have set out to fundamentally change the way banking operations are conducted. Here are few of the challenging fronts and how the road ahead for the global banks lies:

• Regulatory environment. In the wake of the financial crisis, numerous regulatory changes have been implemented or proposed, but the regulatory future remains unclear. Two scenarios envision a regulatory environment much like that in place today or likely under laws and rules in the pipeline. Two others imagine worlds in which regulations are much more onerous.
• Economic shift. BRICS nations such as China, India, Brazil, and other growth markets are likely to account for a larger share of the world’s economic activity, providing opportunities and challenges for banking. Two of the scenarios assume that the role of emerging markets will evolve at a relatively slow, incremental pace, while the other two assume that a shift in economic power will make this factor more significant in determining banks’ prospects over the next decade.

• Globalization. In many industries, companies now compete in a global market. While a global strategy can boost revenues, it can also put pressure on earnings and draw criticism from locals concerned about lost jobs and unfair competition. Two of the scenarios imagine worlds with an ever-growing degree of globalization and market integration. One envisions pockets of protectionism, and one anticipates a turn toward protectionism around the world.
• Type and degree of competition. Banks are facing new competitors, including institutions in emerging markets and nonbank companies such as utilities, retailers, and mobile services providers. One scenario anticipates limited impact from new competitors; one assumes non-traditional competitors will move into some of the most attractive market niches; another assumes such competition will be significant mainly in emerging markets; and one envisions a surge of competition from nontraditional banking providers around the world.
• Financial crises. Two crises have occurred in the past decade. Will these so-called black swan events be common in the future? One scenario anticipates no financial crises during the next 10 years; another envisions massive crises with worldwide impact; a third calls for smaller crises with limited impact; and the fourth envisions massive crises affecting mainly the developed world.
• Lender of last resort. Central banks have stepped in to shore up the financial system in several recent crises, most recently the credit crisis that began with the mortgage market and home-price collapse in the United States and the debt crisis in Europe. Two scenarios assume lenders of last resort will continue to provide safety nets, while two assume this source of back-up funding will no longer be available.
• Debt situation. Mushrooming government debt is a serious issue in the United States and in Europe, where in many cases governments have shouldered private sector—including bank—liabilities. Two scenarios assume this debt will be contained to manageable levels; a third envisions a moderate worsening of the situation; and the fourth assumes the situation will dramatically worsen.
• Securitization market. In the wake of the global financial crisis, production of private-label, mortgage-backed securities has all but ceased in the United States, leaving most of this market to government-sponsored entities. New regulations are designed to encourage more standardization of these and other asset-backed securities while driving trading from OTC markets to exchanges. Some experts expect this to make the securitization business less profitable. One scenario assumes the private securitization market will recover; a second assumes it will continue to be limited in scope; and the third and fourth assume it will find equilibrium somewhere in between.
• Retirement environment. Populations are aging in many developed countries, putting stress on government programs while also raising demand for retirement-oriented products and services. Two scenarios assume government-funded services for senior citizens will be financially stretched, but capable of delivering most of the services promised, while two scenarios assume many of these systems will collapse.
• Role of technology. Technological advancement is inevitable, but unpredictable. Advances in front- and back-office technology may make banking operations more efficient and improve real-time understanding of opportunities and risks. One scenario assumes advances in both front and back offices will be only incremental, while a second assumes significant advances will center on risk assessment and improving back-office operations. A third assumes technological advances will transform operations throughout the business, and the fourth assumes transformation will mainly take place in the front office.
• Customer empowerment and posture. The Internet has made it easier for consumers to shop around for financial services. It has improved price transparency, and provided easy dissemination of reviews and critiques of products and services by experts and other customers. At the same time, recent regulations are forcing credit card issuers, mortgage lenders, and other providers of financial services and products to disclose fees and contract terms more clearly. One scenario assumes a low-pressure environment for increased consumer power. Two assume the pressure will be high and that consumers will adopt an adversarial attitude toward financial providers. The fourth assumes consumers will gain power, but not feel adversarial when dealing with their banks.
• Credit protection rights. During the financial crisis, government bailouts tended to protect creditors’ rights, often making owners of bonds and debt-related securities whole while leaving equity holders with deep losses. Critics argue that in the future, creditors should share such losses. Two scenarios assume that creditors’ rights will be relatively low or diminished from current levels, and two assume they will be relatively high or as strong as or stronger than they are today.