| |MAY 20219fordability enhanced. Micro segmentation and positioning of products and services became important to satisfy this new generation.Traditional industries, though are drivers of economy, became driven by IT, leveraging of which brought in better control of Business and Management. Tools like ERP through BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) eliminated many NVAs (Nonvalue adding activities). It is important to realise VA-VE the essence of BPR is a continuous process as market and technology evolve. TQM & TPM were introduced and became differentiators. Productivity and consumption per capita grew manifold times in this era. Even Agro economy started leveraging IT for its advantages.INNOVATION ERA Further leveraging IT, using tools like concurrent engineer-ing and PLM (product life cycle management) time to market duration reduced to one fourth. As aspirations of consumers with affordability grew alongside, product and service offer-ings were quick and different. Feature based differentiation gave way to solution-based differentiations. Tastes and pref-erences changed, and sustaining change became eminent.Speed of change determined the success rates. Volumes gave way to varieties.Product and services premiums depended on individualisation. Inducing change became the best option to overcome changes.Traditional 4Ps (Product, Price, Place & Promotion) got refined to SAVE (Solution, Accessibility, Value for Money and Engagement). PLCs (Product life cycles) got shortened, re-plenishment becoming the core of consumerism. Ideas mat-tered more than money, newcomers challenging established players through technological, product and services innova-tions. Thanks to data analytics, it is possible to create better niches and acute segmentation with specific and targeted product / services offerings. Terminologies like Mass Custo-misation came into vogue. Such developments and strategies did not spare political strategists too.IOT AND INDUSTRY 4.O Further advancements in technology paved way for integrat-ed communication. Hand phones becoming a tool for manage-ment than mere communications. To begin with, choices and preferences of society in developed economies accelerated adoption of IOT and Industry 4.0. For industries which are hazardous in nature, IOT was a boon, which helped eliminate human interventions in hazardous work. Appropriate adoptions ensured IOT supplementing Hu-man efforts. Usual errors due to fatigue and concentration were eliminated, improving product and services consisten-cy. Collaborative commerce induced e-commerce made cus-tomers and supply chain partners part of business process-es. Mutually beneficial long-term, continuous engagements came into existence. Cost containment through near accurate data capturing at points of consumption is a reality today, helping eliminate process wastes.SOCIAL SHIFTSSociety evolved into an inverted triangle ­ education patterns becoming skewed. Thanks to liberal availability of higher ed-ucation, work force became educated ­ both at entry levels and post entry through on-line and part time courses. Traditional supervisory model and ratios of staff to work-men were un-necessitated, paving way for emergence of self-managed work force, containing overheads. Management of People shifted from Industrial Disputes (era of conflicts) to Human Capital Management (participatory era). Intra-preneurship and employee shareholding practices became common. Liberal HR practices like flexi hours, part time/ as-signment specific engagements and working from home op-tions favoured dual career families, bringing in further social upheavals. Parent ­ Adult ­ Child relationships assumed new dimensions and continue to evolve. Social Branding of organisations in the interest of pub-lic through CSRs complimented product/ services branding. Funding new businesses are at higher risks, defying logics ­ good money chasing bad businesses. Definition of wealth creation is more euphoric than reality. World over Financial scams surfaced. Line between Greed and Business is yet to be recognised.Real wealth accumulators like Manufacturing are given secondary preference ­ at all levels. Despite knowing well that Manufacturing GDP is key to Nation Building, its yet to attract the desired attention from across. However, given the technology upgrades in Manufacturing, distinction between blue collar and white collar diminished.SAVE TO PACE With education and financial safety of dual incomes, risk tak-ing ability of significant sections of society enhanced. Busi-nesses took notice of this change.Modern Business adopted cannibalisation strategies strongly. Rapid Innovation is the new normal, aided by tech-nologies like 3D printing and Laser Manufacturing. Prod-uct life cycles further shortened, as consumer preferences changed fast. Disruptive era emerged.Future belongs to Businesses those are able to PACE (Pre-dict ­ Act ­ Consolidate ­ Establish) more than SAVE (Solu-tions ­ Accessibility ­ Value for Money ­ Engagement). Exit strategies are as important as entry strategies, given the pace of business evolutions.
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