With 20 million customers and 30 million monthly visitors, online supermarket BigBasket processes around 5 lakh orders per day. Earlier, these critical workflows ran through software for approval, and Excel sheets were used to prepare purchase orders and to send POS (point of sale) by email to suppliers. Thereafter, Chennai-based technology firm Zoho helped BigBasket with a cloud-based customer ERP to remove the need for manual intervention and enhance its operational efficiency leading to savings of almost `3 crore in just six months.

McDonald’s India (West & South), in its aim to bring a seamless online checkout experience to its customers, has integrated Simpl’s 1-tap pay technology into the McDelivery platform. Similarly, Burger King India has elevated user experience and network resilience by modernising its digital infrastructure with SD-WAN technology from cybersecurity firm Fortinet.

More on the finer details of their tech deployments later, here’s the moot point: In today’s digital world, businesses must innovate to survive. With an increasing number of customers ordering online, it becomes imperative to offer a smooth and hassle-free experience in order to build a relationship with the customer and create brand loyalty.

IT under one umbrella

Managing IT operations is a complex process. Said Vinayaka Gangavati, head of procurement at BigBasket, “One of the biggest challenges was that we were using multiple software for the CapEx management process that needed a lot of manual intervention. We automated everything with various modules obtainable with Zoho Creator, including PO creation, vendor management, invoice processing, real-time dashboards, etc. The custom-built solution drove significant process improvements and assisted us in creating scalable modern ERP software for the company.”
With the Zoho solution, BigBasket has reduced the time taken to complete tasks by 50%.

“We want to utilise Zoho Creator’s AI capabilities that the platform offers for the larger digital transformation of BigBasket, creating an impact on all our business operational areas,” he revealed.

Customer is king

Arvind RP, chief marketing officer, McDonald’s India, said, “By integrating Simpl’s technology into our McDelivery platform, we are enabling millions of customers to enjoy the 1-tap checkout experience and their favourite McDonald’s meals in no time.”
Currently, over 26,000 merchants across the country use Simpl’s 1-tap pay to increase conversions and build trust with new customers. Nitya Sharma, founder and CEO, Simpl said, “We are increasingly partnering with small, medium, and large enterprise merchants to offer millions of their customers our 1-tap payment experience. This assumes significance as the checkout network plays a crucial role in onboarding customers and increasing their engagement with the platform.”

Need for deep insights

As companies strive for digital innovation, they are looking for ways to enhance their computer networks and provide customers with a good user experience, all while ensuring that their networks remain secure from cyber threats. The key takeaway: organisations must prioritise security in any network deployment.

Burger King India is a case in point. “Restaurants require reliable connectivity to overcome latency or failure as a digital business enabler, improve application availability for both in-store or online orders to enhance the customer experience, and provide visibility across the stores and network to monitor threats and upgrade the restaurants’ security posture,” said Manoj Gupta, associate VP – IT, Burger King India. “Fortinet Secure SD-WAN enables integrated security and simpler management to allow us to evaluate existing risks and gain better visibility into the applications and types of attacks in our data centres.”