Today, consumer brands are navigating a high-stakes market unlike any before. As the bar rises, they must deliver top-tier products and quickly create personalised experiences, effortlessly integrated across channels. With the direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector set to surpass the $300 Bn mark by 2030, at a 24% CAGR, new-age, retail-first brands have little room for error. They need to re-engineer their backends and rework their strategies to stay relevant and competitive.

Unsurprisingly, customer interest revolves around how well products and services work. Real-time inventory access, seamless domestic and cross-border ordering and frictionless post-purchase services are in high demand at every touchpoint. As customer expectations continue to rise, the roles of operations, logistics, tech stacks and support systems have evolved beyond routine functions. They have become integral to an organisation’s strategic success.

To explore the evolving roles of business functions, Inc42 partnered with Vinculum, a leader in omnichannel retail solutions for brands, to host a roundtable discussion titled Building The Next Consumer Engine.

Held in Bengaluru, the roundtable brought together a curated group of D2C founders and consumer brand leaders to decode how businesses are driving operational agility, unlocking growth and enhancing customer retention in a market where customer-facing innovations are only as good as the systems supporting them.

The event explored the power of AI and data analytics, reimagining post-purchase experiences and fulfilment strategies used across geographies. It also highlighted what it would take to build a resilient and future-ready consumer brand.

The roundtable was moderated by Abhijit Bharatkumar, Director, PwC India, and featured a panel of industry leaders. The participants included:

• Santosh Kumar, CBO (retail), FreshToHome
• Ankit Singhal, VP (sales) & founding team member, Shadowfax
• Aman Jha, head of operations, RentoMojo
• Vimal SV, founder & CEO, ReadyAssist
• Dikshant Dave, founder & CEO, Zigment
• Vachana Shetty, head of marketing, Akshayakalpa
• Shilpa Gupta, chief supply chain officer & head of customer experience, HomeLane
• Smitha Jacob, cofounder, Jolger
• Ravi Teja Palla, CBO, Urban Ladder
• Sai Deo, VP (strategy), Myntra
• Suresh Narasimha, chairman, Indulge Beverages
• Venkat Nott, founder & CEO, Vinculum Group

Bridging Operational Gaps With AI Integration & Fulfilment Innovations

In a fast-paced world where time........

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