Local is Already Vocal and Demand is Back

Let’s Get Loud

India’s Prime Minister might wax eloquent about making local brands more vocal, but our local brands are already killing it in the market.

In fact, in the first two weeks of the lockdown, it was local brands like Unibic, Chings, Jyothy Laboratories Limited (JLL) and Fena that saved the day for consumers. They ensured continuous supply even when the supply chains of the top FMCG brands faltered. At the heart of the success of these brands is their use of real-time insights, including identifying outlets that were operational and ensuring continuous supply to such stores. 

Many of the consumer brands that bucked the trend of slow growth are also the ones that are connecting with retailers directly. They are using Bizom’s Retailer App and encouraging retailers to order directly from the app. They are also making it easier for consumers to find their products through Bizom’s StoreFinder. The solution helps consumers to search for the store nearest to them that stocks the brand’s products.

If you’re interested in learning about how JLL grew its market share in the lockdown days, then don’t miss our webinar on “Digital Supply Chains for the New Normal”. Our CEO Lalit Bhise will discuss JLL’s growth story with its leaders Ravi Razdan, Head of IT & HR and K Anil Sarma, Vice President – Sales.

Soaring with Digital Supply Chains

For locals to become more vocal, India’s retail ecosystem has to recognize the new normal and go digital. What that means is that supply chain leaders need to harness the power of retail intelligence platforms to increase efficiency in their day-to-day operations. They have to start relying on real-time insights to be customer-centric and to power their retail execution.

For that to happen, every single touchpoint in the supply chain has to be digitized. It needs to be coded in both upstream and backstream supply chains and connected to all touchpoints in the supply chain. It includes people behind these touchpoints such as the distributors, wholesalers, super stockists, stockists, retailers and pop-and-mom stores. We have to drive complete transparency in the distribution network and visibility at every stage of the supply chain. Data has to become king.

The biggest fallout of the pandemic was the shortage of labour. Research shows the pandemic is unlikely to flatten soon. Until there’s a vaccine to contain the virus, the retail industry must use digital technology to be lean and agile or run the risk of being left behind by competitors. 

Already kirana tech is targeting owners of pop-and-mom stores to solve the last-mile delivery bottlenecks. WhatsApp-based transactions are connecting retailers and consumers directly to the warehouses of consumer brands.

Demand Has Found Its Wings

Still, it’s not all gloom and doom. There’s some good news: demand for most categories will soon come back to pre-lockdown days. Home Care is already there.

Following closely on the heels of Home Care are the categories of Beverages and Packaged Foods. More than 55% of India’s outlets have started transacting with the Northern ones leading the pack at 60% of the total outlets and followed by Southern and Eastern outlets at 58% respectively. Only 38% of the outlets in the Western regions are transacting, which is proportional to their COVID-19 infection rates; it’s the highest in India currently. 

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