A Conversation on LEAP, Innovation, and AI with Balki Subramanian and Casper Rasmussen.
In an age where technological advancements are paramount to success, companies are constantly trying to redefine and simplify their core strategies. Balki Subramanian, Vice President of Digital Experiences at Mars, and Casper Rasmussen, Global SVP of Technology at Valtech, have teamed up to bring the multinational manufacturer of food products into a sustainable environment.
The Direct-to-Consumer-Challenge
At a time when offline and online commerce are colliding, the question is whether manufacturers need to catch up in Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) as well as data and consumer insights. For many brands, D2C is an alluring proposition. It offers the opportunity to control the brand narrative without dilution from retailers and create tailored experiences for consumers. “However, building the right teams, understanding the costs, and estimating the time to success requires deep insight and patience,” Balki notes. Moreover, the D2C journey doesn’t end with building a digital footprint either. Brands struggle with ensuring an accurate and engaging representation of their products over time and across multiple e-retail platforms.
While the D2C model comes with various pros and cons, Casper and Balki agree on the importance of data and consumer insights. In recent years, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies have sharpened their focus on data analytics, leading to improved operations in areas such as revenue management and pricing. By leveraging AI and machine learning and forming specialized internal teams, they’ve improved responses to challenges like Covid and supply chain issues. The focus now is on expanding data and consumer insights and AI capabilities.
The IT Landscape of 2024
As businesses worldwide adjust to the changing landscape, the focus on efficient operations and sustainability remains a priority. Both Casper and Balki highlight the importance of cost optimization and commercial excellence. “In light of the economy’s downturn, the emphasis on being as efficient as possible cannot be overlooked,” Casper points out.
Sustainability continues to be a significant blue-sky topic. However, the crux remains simplifying core processes and ensuring businesses are future-ready. Balki says, “It’s not only about embracing the new, like digital commerce. It’s about taking a step back, simplifying and transforming core operations.”
The Road Ahead: AI and Simplification
Looking towards 2024, both partners identify core transformation and AI as the predominant themes. Balki states, “AI will make a massive difference. But the real challenge lies in understanding its practical application and value.”
He further elaborates on the need to adopt architecture principles focused on composability to serve all channels effectively. “In doing so, we must consider how AI and large language models can improve productivity and speed, aiding associates to work more efficiently,” Balki adds. His insights offer a roadmap for FMCG companies navigating the digital age. At its core, the message is clear: while digital strategies evolve, product innovation remains at the heart of success.
Building LEAP
At the center of the Valtech-Mars collaboration is LEAP, a composable commerce accelerator for multi-brand companies that aims to create a sustainable environment for Mars’ brands. Balki reminisces on the initial goals: a system that would remain relevant and durable, negating the need for frequent reimagining. “We aimed to build an ecosystem where we wouldn’t need to constantly redefine our capabilities,” he shares.
“We have built a ‘commerce launcher’ that provides reliability across the stack at scale. It aims to have 60% of the usual D2C capabilities which everyone has come to expect, allowing our brands to focus on thinking and building differentiation,” Balki says. Originally created for Mars, LEAP is delivered by Valtech with long-time technology partner, commercetools, like Valtech one of the founding members of MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, Headless) architecture.
Despite external challenges such as the war in Ukraine and several Covid waves, the collaboration has kept its schedule. Balki emphasizes how the partnership led to the idea of creating something useful for the broader market. Casper echoes this sentiment, explaining the significance of making MACH architecture available to businesses, which is often complex and hard to achieve. LEAP, in his words, “is a testament to democratizing the knowledge and experiences, making the intelligence we’ve built up over time accessible to the wider market.”
3 Theses to Discuss @ CIOmove – by Balki Subramanian
- Simplifying the core so that it works much more efficiently and is ready for any model in the future is more important than introducing something new to the business.
- A step back can actually be a step forward to be ready for what the future holds.
- It’s all about integrating automation, processes, intelligence and robotics, both in factories and internal systems, to really simplify and be ready for the next wave.
