Dealing With Disruption

Change is constant in today’s world. Disruption can come from unexpected quarters, and that too when you least expect it. While technology is driving most of the innovation and disruption, pricing wars and regulatory changes also often alter the landscape of a business posing a serious challenge. To get a perspective about how companies are tackling the uncertainty, Kripa Mahalingam, deputy editor, Outlook Business engages in a conversation with [L-R] TR Ramachandran, group country manager, India and South Asia, Visa; Rajiv Kaul, executive vice chairman, CEO and whole time director, CMS Infosystems; Seshagiri Rao MVS, joint MD and group CFO, JSW Steel; Umang Vohra, MD and global CEO, Cipla; and Vasanth Kumar, executive director, Max Fashion India, at Outlook Business Leading Edge 2018.

Mr Kaul, you manage the largest cash management system in the country today. Cash has possibly seen the biggest disruption in India. During demonetisation, about 75% of your business got affected overnight. How did you get through the phase?

It was a national crisis. We said, it had to be done for the country so we will go through it. Soon, it became something that attacked our entire business model. We didn’t have any opportunity to prepare for it. For about three to four weeks, it affected 75% of our operations. We had just ramped up and overnight we had to figure out how to roll back our investments and resources. There were many lessons learnt, the primary one was to think about the larger picture. We spent a lot of time helping customers, keeping in mind the long-term view and managed to sail through the turbulence. In three to four months, we went back from no business to 70-80%. For us, it helped that we didn’t freeze or stop, but just walked a tightrope, trying to figure out a strategy. The other learning was it was time to make bigger, bolder bets.

Mr Ramachandran you are possibly causing some of the disruption in Mr Kaul’s business. I wanted to understand the whole digital drive and the move to cashless economy. Paytm is disrupting your business too to a certain extent. What’s your strategy to combat it?