About the Company:
Chogori India Retail Limited (CIRL) is a non-government trading company, incorporated in 2008. It mainly deals in Columbia Sportswear, which makes up 80 per cent of its portfolio. CIRL is the prime distributor of Columbia Sportswear in India, catering to the outdoor market and growing demand for hiking and trekking. Since its launch in 2015, Columbia Sportswear is now available at 32 retail stores, an e-commerce site and in other marketplaces such as Amazon, Myntra, Tata Cliq and through distribution model with third-party retailers. CIRL also trades in other outdoor brands such as Deuter, BUFF, BEAL, Julbo and Mountain Hardware. Its aim is to create an outdoor culture and impact people’s travel experiences.
‘No one size fits all’ solutions for Indian retailers
The challenges businesses face today include engaging custo mers, empowering employees, optimising operations and reinventing the value offered to customers. To address these challenges, retailers in particular need to evolve with digitalisation that makes every human interaction impactful and drives optimal business outcomes.
There is no doubt that e-commerce is becoming a norm in the retail industry and customers are looking for a unified experience across all channels. By leveraging data, retailers anticipate trends, personalise the shopping experience and empower their employees to drive meaningful customer interactions.
CIRL has also recognised the importance of leveraging technology to deliver products to the market and customers. Digital transformation is about automation, which helps build transparency and trust between businesses and customers. Standardised automation that increases reliability is critical and the transformation must be cost-effective to achieve the desired result. Businesses must spend time when their customers spend time and find ways to establish a connection.
| The Indian retail landscape is changing with the usage of AI, AR, IoT, thereby adapting to evolving consumer behaviour and challenges. |
Where does the digital transformation journey begin for retail?
Digital transformation for retail does not begin and end with a specific function, like a shopping cart website, but involves significant challenges to operations, supply chains, inventory management and customer relationship processes. Despite these challenges, several retailers have embraced the changing landscape and made advancements in digital initiatives using AI, augmented reality (AR) and IoT to transform their businesses and attract new customers.
As a forward-thinking company, Chogori India recognises the dynamic landscape of the retail industry, where the pace of digitalisation and evolving consumer behaviour are transforming retail sales on a global scale. To stay ahead in this ever-changing environment, we constantly adapt and rethink our strategies, keeping a keen eye on the shifting needs and preferences of consumers.
We are committed to understanding the nuances of this new reality and navigating it with agility and innovation, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the simulation game.
If you need to be convinced that digital transformation is fundamental, retail has evolved drastically. Since the retail apocalypse began more than a decade ago, digitalisation, cost savings and automation have been high on retailers’ agendas. However, apart from cost savings and automation efforts, we have also seen that a digital transformation strategy tracks the journey’s stages and other needs to improve the shopping experience and empower retailers to reinvent themselves.
Maximising efficiency and productivity: A technological approach to CIRL’s workflow
Centralised inventory management is a critical aspect of the automation strategy as it enables the company to have a clear view of its inventory levels across all its locations, helping to avoid stockouts and overstocking.
One of the significant milestones in this automation strategy was achieved in August 2020 when the company migrated from Shoppers ERP to Ginesys cloud version.
The overall application landscape of CIRL is as below:
The migration to Ginesys in the cloud version helps to stabilise store operations with Ginesys POS which means that the company efficiently manages its point-of-sale operations, ensuring that customers can make purchases without any delays or issues. Additionally, the migration to Ginesys in the cloud version has helped to manage inventory across warehouses, stores and marketplaces using Unicommerce for centralised inventory management, as it streamlines inventory by making it easier to track stock levels, reorder products and manage returns.
| With centralised inventory management as a critical part of their automation strategy, CIRL migrated to Ginesys cloud version, streamlining inventory across locations and ensuring smooth point-of-sale operations. Automation boosts transparency and trust, driving business efficiency and productivity. |
Automation is a crucial aspect of our digital transformation and it builds transparency in business processes, which establishes trust between businesses and our customers.
Companies should therefore evaluate their goals and objectives to achieve their end goal and must invest in unique transformational strategies which leverage their vision to enhance the efficiency and productivity of their business.
