2020: The Year When ‘Value-Add’ Transformed To necessity

As we enter 2021 after experiencing a one-of-a-kind year, it’s safe to say that everything has changed - from the way we work, to our approach to hygiene, to business models and emerging markets all around the globe.

While we will definitely go back to some elements of the world before Covid (I, for one, cannot wait to travel and head to my favourite restaurants again), while some others are here to stay. One of the lasting legacies of the pandemic is forcing digital transformation on a large scale, and the results of many such experiments are in. For example, there definitely will be some aspects of remote work even after the pandemic subsides.

As a result, many things that were once considered “good-to-have” have now become either a necessity or simply a better way of doing things. This is the case for common regular purchases (such as non-experiential grocery purchase), and even for unconventional and upcoming offerings (such as the increased acceptance of telemedicine). It’s hard to imagine some of these behavioural shifts reverting to “the way things were done”, as people belatedly realise benefits. We are going to witness this change in behaviour in individuals, communities, companies, industries and even governments.

We experienced this at 21North as well. It was a year when our services, once considered “value-add”, became a necessity for our partners ranging from automobile OEMs to insurance providers.

Take pick-up and drop, for instance. It was a service we were always banking on, but even we couldn’t have predicted the extraordinary rise in demand - we travelled a combined 1.4 million km for successful pick-ups and drops last year, adding new clients and services month on month. In fact, a poll we ran told us that this service was, by an overwhelming majority (74%), the most common problem auto retailers faced. In March, things were looking rough just like most businesses around us and for the first time in our history, there were days without a single pick-up or drop request, as the world came to terms with a ravaging virus and several unknowns. I am ecstatic to share that our team not just adapted, but kept adding new value-adds (which, of course, soon became necessities!).

We concluded 2020 having catered to over 900 auto retailers across India, executing to 600,000 digital transactions, servicing over 4000 PIN codes and adding 6 new cities to our network. We also ventured into global expansion with our first one in Indonesia. This success did not come easy. We constantly brainstormed, added new features to our technology stack, building in elements of AI/ML, adding new procedures and protocols to benefit our partners and their end customers. All this was made possible because we moved quickly and with focus. As my Director of operations, Lokesh Natoo, wrote in a blog post, “Two months of complete lockdown were invested in building numerous functional capabilities, skill development, client management, relationship building, and understanding the market in deeper ways.”

As proud as I am of what we at 21North have achieved in our most challenging year, I insist that we must not lose perspective. What is an innovative offering today will become industry standard and customer expectation in a few years, or maybe even months! It is hard to fathom that at one point, offices considered computers a luxury and that homes thought the same of an internet connection.

2020 has shown us that innovation can move from luxury to necessity quickly, and it’s important for us to keep raising the bar. Several exciting ideas in the pipeline are at work to make the world an even more convenient place. Our goal has always been to help players in the automobile ecosystem to digitise and maximise customer satisfaction so they can focus on their core functions of making better vehicles and providing great service.

I want to end this note by thanking our true heroes - our Ambassadors. All the innovations and technological advancements we made would have come to nought if it weren’t for their feet on the ground, and hands behind the wheel. Through the year, we have taken extraordinary measures to first ensure their safety, and then retrain and upskill them. They not only represent us but for all practical purposes represent our OEM and insurance partners as well. To keep up with the growing demand, we consistently onboarded over a 1000 highly trained Ambassadors every month to ensure our clients could be a QR scan away from their customers.

I look forward to 2021, with hope - for our company, our partners, our industry, and indeed, the world. From all of us here at 21North, we wish you a great year ahead!