How can FMCG companies in India revive after coronavirus?

The year 2020 has been a shocker for many of us, as no one could have imagined that within a couple of months the entire world would come to a halt, lives and jobs of millions would be affected so harshly. 

But as human beings, all that we know and have learnt in life is that whenever life hits you hard, all you can do is get up again and gather your strength to stand again on your feet with more intensity and grip for the times to come ahead. Taking inspiration from this life lesson, FMCG companies in India are revamping their business and vision in alignment to the fact that they need to gear up for the post Coronavirus world, where consumers would not accept anything that doesn’t fit their heightened consciousness for quality and healthy products for their consumption. 

Therefore, it gets important to understand the new structure of the FMCG companies’ business model that shall enable them to cater to the new demands of the consumer along with the vision of expanding their business chains and layouts that shall withstand any kind of challenges, so that the Indian FMCG companies can stand the test of times.  

Following are some points that can give us a better understanding to know how Indian FMCG companies can revive themselves post Coronavirus- 

1. STRATEGIZE THE SUPPLY CHAIN

The first blow of the coronavirus was felt by the FMCG companies when their supply chains took the major hit during coronavirus outbreak, therefore, now to revive themselves the FMCG companies would have to restructure their supply chains with new strategies that are based on the concept of, “just-in-time supply to cater the unforeseeable circumstances”.To make their supply chains efficient, post the coronavirus,they would have to establish supply channels that are able to sustain jolts and run smoothly if in future there is any kind of catastrophic situation.

2. REVAMPING RETAIL AND DISTRIBUTION

We need to realize that shopping like the old times by going to retail stores easily and at any time will take time to become a habit again as the pandemic has now changed the way consumers shopped. The shopping habit has now shifted to heavy online shopping, therefore, the FMCG companies would have to indulge their investments in other channels of retail such as digital platforms that shall be easily accessible by the customers along with convenient delivery procedures. 

3. REDESIGN COST STRUCTURES

There is no doubt that many industries had to lay off several employees while shelving off many projects during the pandemic but now it’s time that the businesses pick themselves again by redesigning the cost structures that shall enable them to build their employee capacities along with relations with customers that are for long term benefits. Thus, they must structure their operations and services that shall differentiate their core business from the non-value adding operations so that their cost structures can sustain any kind of unforeseeable circumstances.

4. KEEP OPERATIONS SIMPLE WITH DIGITALIZATION TECHNOLOGY

This is the most appropriate time for businesses to entangle their over complex business structures as to reboot the businesses in a new order that aligns with the changed consumer behavior and economic dynamics. FMCG companies would have to cut down on complex operation structures by integrating functions, simplify and keep transparency in the expenditure data of procurement and order data in the supply chain. In a nutshell, businesses would have to now infuse digital transformation tools for keeping a track and maintenance of their businesses. 

Furthermore, companies would require to invest and develop the analytics capabilities that shall give them better insight about their suppliers and geographical factors that should be supported by cognitive tools that shall predict detailed demand patterns, a confluence of skilled labour, high aptitude and robust technological channels that shall enable the business to rebuild themselves with a better footing for the future.  

5. RE-EVALUATE MASTER DATA 

The core focus of the Indian FMCG business should now include investment in thorough research and development of product information for which they should customize their R&D departments with digitalization as this will give them abundance of information and interaction with consumers giving them opportunity to understand the consumers closely. 

Thus, as the world heads towards getting accustomed to the changed behaviour and environment because of the coronavirus, FMCG companies need to be careful in catering to heightened hygiene demand of the consumers while strategizing every aspect of their business model by taking lessons from their mistakes and loopholes that existed during the pre-coronavirus times so that they can efficiently align their strategies that shall enable the FMCG industry to be prepared robustly to handle all kinds of unprecedented jolts in the future. 

Keeping in mind the new dynamics of the consumers and the market, Pansari Group has been determined to revamp their business models; post coronavirus it has been observed that consumers have shifted towards budget friendly and robust hygiene products which is why now the consumers are only choosing edible products that are thoroughly sealed and budget friendly. Thus, keeping in mind the new behaviour of the consumers, we too have revamped our products in an affordable range such as Small Rice packet at Rs. 20 and Dalia at Rs 10 with special attention towards the packaging of products, ensuring that they  are robustly sealed and safe. 

Furthermore, to enhance more interaction with our customers we have also expanded on various digital platforms. Pansari group’s vision is to accumulate digital channels and digital tools that shall enable us to build our business that is aligned with the new demands of the market as well as have an expansive and deep-rooted consumer base, so that consumers can get the best of made in India organic and healthy products without any hindrances of being dependent on cheap imports.