The organized segment of the Indian mattress industry is trying out numerous methods to lure customers. The growing adoption of the omnichannel policy gives us the impression that mattress brands are making themselves accessible to customers across different channels. Based on some consumer surveys done by Comfort Times last year, it is clear that most consumers prefer buying mattresses through retail outlets, however, the number of online buyers, especially in tier 1 cities, is on the rise. To meet customers’ varied demands across different parts of the country, mattress companies are exploring all possible and pathbreaking ways to lure customers. Mattress firms, not only have to focus on the production of mattresses and sleep products but also need to keep a performance track of all sales activities happening through their exclusive retail outlets, retail partners and online channels. Besides that, there are other functions in every mattress firm and getting an idea about the developments at their end is quintessential. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are crucial in leveraging technology to optimize operations, understand customer behaviour, and boost sales.
A Chief Information Officer (CIO) is like a tech-wielding sleep sorcerer in the mattress industry, constantly innovating and optimizing the mattress business landscape. They don’t just tinker with spreadsheets! CIOs are the strategic partners who translate customer dreams (and the data behind them) into reality.
With the increase in demand for mattresses among Indian consumers brands need to match up to their customers’ expectations and most importantly remain available at the right place and at the right time. To ensure efficiency in the entire process of mattress production, warehousing, transportation, sales, after-sales activities and prompt response to customer queries and issues, a lot of internal processes need to be streamlined to give maximum visibility to all employees and partners in any mattress company.
In our last issue, we extensively covered the need for automation in the Indian mattress industry to drive growth. We discussed the holistic approach that mattress firms must adopt towards automating their organization and having better control over their entire business operations. That article focussed on the importance of automation to optimally utilize all the resources and what approach organizations should adopt towards automation. Automation is a vast area and implementing it within large organizations requires strong technical and business acumen. Therefore, organizations hire Chief Information Officers (CIOs) who are deft in adopting a comprehensive process of intersecting the right set of technologies with the overall business operations.
The Indian mattress industry is getting highly competitive with new players bringing in more innovation and established players rolling out new product offerings, the need to streamline the short-term and long-term processes is becoming quintessential. The involvement of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in ensuring the growth of the mattress industry is more important than before. Ensuring smooth information flow across the organization and making information easily available for employees based in different locations and manufacturing facilities is an uphill task. CIOs need to evaluate every step involved in mattress production businesses and propose an ideal approach to streamlining all processes that would help mattress businesses in areas like inventory management, sales forecast and analysis, demand forecast etc.
To meet the varied demands of customers across different parts of the country, mattress companies are exploring all possible and pathbreaking ways to lure customers.
Role of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in mattress firms
Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are involved in understanding every level of business and figuring out the scope to make the processes efficient by leveraging the right tools and technologies. We reached out to some industry experts who are actively involved in integrating information systems with daily business operations. The role of CIOs in every sector broadly remains the same. The main agenda of every CIO is to ‘simplify the business operations.’ According to Mohan M R, Associate Vice President of CyberMedia India Limited, “In a manufacturing industry, CIO plays a crucial role. In any manufacturing industry, technology and information systems are integral to operations, efficiency and competitiveness. The role of a Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in manufacturing involves a range of responsibilities that contribute to the overall success of the organization.” According to him, some key aspects of the CIO’s role in the manufacturing industry include strategic planning, digital transformation, data management and analytics, information security, ERP, collaboration and communication, supply chain integration, infrastructure management, cost management and risk management. Besides following the processes, a CIO needs to have a kind of business continuity plan.
As explained by Mohan of Cybermedia, the role of a Chief Information Officers (CIOs) starts with strategic planning, wherein, the job entails collaborating with executive leadership to align IT strategies with overall business objectives. It has now become mandatory to initiate digital transformation to modernize manufacturing processes and leverage emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, and automation. CIO also must ensure that industry standards are followed. They also have to work on implementing industry 4.0 concepts to create smart factories and improve supply chain visibility. The next process involves data management and analytics, wherein, the CIO supervises the data governance and ensures data accuracy, security and compliance. Then comes, the implementation of Information Security which focuses on developing and implementing robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive manufacturing data and intellectual property (IP). He or she then moves towards the implementation and optimization of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to streamline business processes including inventory management, order fulfilment, and resource planning. Then comes the collaboration and communication stage, wherein, a CIO facilitates communication and collaboration between IT and other departments to ensure the technology solutions meet the needs of manufacturing operations. The next step involves supply chain integration, wherein, the IT systems are integrated with supply chain processes. These processes involve enhancing visibility, reducing lead time and improving overall efficiency. The subsequent task is infrastructure management, where a Chief Information Officers (CIOs) manages the IT infrastructure to ensure the reliability, scalability and performance of manufacturing systems. After establishing the technical processes, the CIOs move on to cost management, where they optimize IT budgets and expenditures and ensure cost effectiveness while delivering value to the organization. After having every process in place, they implement risk management measures, wherein, CIOs assess and mitigate IT-related risks including cyber security and threats.
Organizations hire Chief Information Officers (CIOs) who are deft in adopting a comprehensive process of intersecting the right set of technologies with the overall business operations.
As the Indian mattress industry is on a growth spree, the role of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in mattress firms is getting more complex. They not only have to focus on the current goals of the organization but they should also have certain processes established beforehand that would help mattress manufacturing companies cater to the futuristic goals of the company. The IT infrastructure should be able to meet the work demands of the employees, partners, vendors, and customers and should meet their implicit requirements, as well. The systems in the entire organization should seamlessly facilitate the regular business requirements.
To implement and execute such facilities, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) must have the required skill set to help mattress firms navigate through the increasingly complex nature of any business. As explained by Sreedhar Kadambi, Managing Director of Skill
Global Business Solutions, every Chief Information Officers (CIOs) should possess these top three skill sets:
1. Transformation – It’s crucial to recognize that the rapid evolution of digital technologies is reshaping customer behaviour and disrupting industries far more swiftly than organizations can adapt their cultures, processes, and behaviours. Survival hinges on the ability of today’s companies to undergo profound transformations. While technology implementation is undeniably vital, the type of transformation the organizations are interested in involves reshaping the IT landscape and the company’s culture. This entails breaking down legacy silos to establish end-to-end processes, cultivating a data-driven mindset, or placing the customer at the core of business operations.
2. Strategic thinking and execution – The strategy encompasses the articulation and translation of the company’s vision and mission into measurable goals and objectives that the company must clearly define, monitor, and enhance. Defining a great strategy is just a part of the narrative, the other part of the narrative revolves around how effectively the strategy is executed. A brilliant strategy can falter due to subpar execution, just as exceptional execution can flounder in the absence of a stellar strategy. Both elements— a superior strategy and even more proficient strategic execution—are imperative to realize the company’s vision and mission.
3. Business Acumen – Transforming the IT landscape isn’t the ultimate objective; rather, it serves as a pathway to achieve a goal. The pivotal inquiry is: how can a Chief Information Officers (CIOs) take charge of the transformation that revolutionizes the utilization of the pivotal four-letter word, ‘data,’ as a currency to navigate the company’s trajectory from its current state (‘here’) to the desired state (‘there’)? The perspective a CIO adopts in approaching business transformation, particularly when compared to a CEO, is a subject under consideration.
Mattress manufacturing companies deal with hundreds of suppliers and have thousands of retailers spread across various parts of the country. Such organizations cannot function without a good IT infrastructure that can handle procurement, inventory, manufacturing, quality, warehousing, sales and financials of the entire process.
Venkat Iyer, Managing Partner, Tranquility Advisory LLP says the role of a Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in mattress manufacturing firm is no different than CIOs of any other business vertical. “Definitely there will be unique areas that are specific to the product will need to be addressed separately. It also depends on the extent of manufacturing (what percentage is manufactured in-house and what is outsourced). Also with companies going directly to end customers will add another layer of IT system to get the demand and payments directly from the customer, working with third party logistics companies and delivering it on the promised time lines,” explains Iyer.
Streamlining the processes in a mattress firm could be different because of the nature of this category, which is quite different from other categories of products. Discussing the nature of this industry and consumer buying behaviour pattern, Pertisth Mankotia, CIO of Sleepwell explains, “The Mattress segment is still not a ‘top of the mind’ product and a low-involvement segment. This is also reflected in the buying patterns. They are different from what other household products entail. The repeat purchase cycle is around 5-7 yrs – something that can be leveraged positively if we have the right mechanisms in place. All these factors translate into a unique mandate for our IT teams. A Chief Information Officers (CIOs) has to leverage technology Streamlining the processes in a mattress firm could be different because of the nature of this category, which is quite different from another category of products. Discussing the nature of this industry and consumer buying behaviour pattern, Pertisth Mankotia, CIO of Sleepwell explains, “The Mattress segment is still not a ‘top of the mind’ product and a low-involvement segment. This is also reflected in the buying patterns. They are different from what other household products entail. The repeat purchase cycle is around 5-7 yrs – something that can be leveraged positively if we have the right mechanisms in place. All these factors translate into a unique mandate for our IT teams. A CIO has to leverage technology in a strategic way to drive heightened and high-involvement awareness in the mind of a customer. We have to emphasize having the right mattress. This ‘awareness’, then, has to be supplemented well with a highly engaging, experiential and uniform buying experience”.
“Technology has to jump in it the right time and places to help the customer select a right product based on his / her sleeping patterns and choices. Innovations and tools have to be built for involving customers in the complete buying process. The customisation part here involves smart and rich use of data, data science and analytics. The challenge just starts there. These unique needs have to be translated into products. IT teams have to work upstream also – in converting customers expectations into production. This is supported by managing product-replenishment and improving supply chain for real-time demand agility. Going further upstream, we can also see that mattress manufacturing is a very process-oriented and qualitycentric space. The USPs that we promise to our customers are generated, solidified and shaped meticulously in our design departments, factory floors, assembly lines and quality-control teams. Since these areas underline the role of plant equipment for timeliness, demand-supply alignment and high productivityIT jumps in at every stage. We use technology and data for realtime rigour, predictive maintenance, defect control, equipment control, plant safety, and inventory management in a very multifaceted way”
“I can foresee the role of a Chief Information Officers (CIOs) expanding to deeper levels – both in upstream and downstream stages of a mattress’s life cycle. As a mattress customer evolves in expectations, digital maturity and health awareness – so does the IT behind, inside and outside a mattress. Who knows a mattress may get the spotlight at a CES shortly! It is always busy with making ‘sleep’ better”, adds Pertisth Mankotia.
The involvement of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in ensuring growth of the mattress industry is more important than before. To support business initiatives, CIOs have to leverage tools like big data analytics and artificial intelligence that will propel innovation in mattress companies.
Growing challenges for Chief Information Officers (CIOs)
The mattress industry in India is increasingly moving towards new and innovative concepts like customization and personalization of mattresses, 100-day free trial policies, roll pack technologies and the ‘bed-in-a-box’ concept. To support business initiatives, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) have to leverage tools like big data analytics and artificial intelligence that will propel innovation in mattress companies. “The mattress industry is undergoing rapid evolution as innovations strive to keep pace with swiftly changing consumer behaviours. It’s a challenge stemming from abundance. The role of a CIO has rapidly transformed from overseeing a superior IT landscape for business management to harnessing the wealth of consumer data available. This data is then utilized in the research to innovate and provide consumers with a customized solution that perfectly aligns with their unique needs. Given the individuality of consumer preferences, companies now expect CIOs not only to excel in managing information but also to contribute to innovation through tools like big data analytics and artificial intelligence. The forward-thinking approach involves the CIO modelling data to create an ideal match for walk-in consumers at retail shops. Are the present CIOs not there yet? They better be,” says Sridhar Kadambi.
The job of a Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in mattress manufacturing firms has become more challenging than before as technology has become more integral to business operations and the job of a CIO is not only restricted to managing the IT infrastructure. They have to drive the company’s innovative goals, manage risks and leverage the right tools and technologies that will support the company’s current and long-term business goals. “It is like conducting an orchestra where the Piano, Violin, clarinets, vocalist etc, are all in different continents and different time zones and the output has to come out flawlessly without losing one beat. More and more the CIO has to prove what is the value he/she brings to the business. Today lot of new and brilliant ideas keep coming from the young startups. They are fast and nimble. Large organisations are bureaucratic and slow. A challenge to the Chief Information Officers (CIOs) is, that he/she can look for solutions that his/her company needs from these young startups and integrate them into their business. No longer makes sense to build it yourself,” explains Iyer.