Dr Bala V. Balachandran spoke on achieving Strategic profitability through Customer Centricity. The 4th Industrial revolution has brought in AIMLA (A Combination of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Analytics). The new revolution is morphing t
DOHA: Doha Bank hosted knowledge sharing session on “Strategic Customer Profitability” through “Customer Centricity” at the Doha Bank Auditorium on Saturday. The event was attended by Dr. Bala V. Balachandran (pictured), J.L. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Accounting & Information Management, Northwestern University, USA, who is also Founder, Dean & Chairman, Great Lakes Institute of Management, India.
Dr R. Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer of Doha Bank introduced Dr. Bala V Balanchandran. The session was also attended by prominent professionals and top corporates.
Dr Bala V. Balachandran spoke on achieving Strategic profitability through Customer Centricity. The 4th Industrial revolution has brought in AIMLA (A Combination of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Analytics). The new revolution is morphing the business environment, resulting in changing workforce, new competitors, decreasing margins, global competition, changing technology, demanding customers and manufacturing/service excellence, he said.
It’s not just start-ups that are leading this technology revolution. Several companies are going mainstream and gung-ho into new technology. In fact, AI is so common, even the biggest online giant Google uses it, which you can see while performing a search on the latest cricket score or even any country’s election results online. The catboats in several customer service calls are AI based and several companies are now dedicating wings for developing AI based catboats. Alexa, speaking robot advertised on TV, is an amazing example of AI in the palm of our hands. So companies are already making great strides in AI and the space is actually getting quite crowded.
Dr. Balanchandran spoke on the business models of the mega size corporation across the globe. These multinationals focus on Activity based management, the technique requires focus on core process & Quality as a ticket to entry. He mentioned on Fed-Ex, Wal-Mart and CostCo focusing on operational excellence, whereas Airborne, Home Depot and Nordstrom focusing on customer intimacy and Nike, Merck and Sony focusing on Product Innovation/ Leadership.
Today, the market is replete with options from both financial institutions and other unorthodox investors eager to fund ideas with any potential. The entrepreneurial landscape today therefore, is vastly different. It is certainly more challenging but for different reasons. The biggest challenge lies in conceiving that great idea that has the potential to make profits. Digital adoption is key to changing business dynamics, Dr Balachandran said.
Dr. R. Seetharaman spoke on the fourth industrial revolution and emerging digital trends. “The fourth industrial revolution combines technologies in innovative ways, reshaping the way people live, work and relate to one another. Industries are being redefined, the work space is undergoing changes, robotics and artificial intelligence are going to play important roles and the customer will be more empowered in the digital environment,”Banks need to manage the change by redefining their business models to deal with stake holders such as customers, regulators and shareholders. Customers are information-centric and not location-centric. To adopt to the digital changes you need to be quick. Realignment of resources will happen because of technological developments,” Digital eco system is significantly more than digital banking, it takes a holistic view of the customer.
Dr Seetharaman noted the connectivity between various service providers is lot more in a “digital eco system” than in a digital banking environment. Qatar offers an e-commerce market worth almost $1.5bn in 2019. The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is projected to record e-commerce sales growth of 21.4 percent to reach $28.5bn in 2019, he said.
