16th April, 2019: Bizom, a leading provider of SaaS-based technology solutions for consumer companies, has launched AI/ML-based products that will disrupt retail distribution in India. The products, launched at Bizom’s Annual Conclave 2019 in Bangalore, enable smarter retail execution by converting the traditional push-based distribution to a pull-based one.

The Indian consumer goods industry is a complex ecosystem with its multi-tier distribution system. Which means consumer brands have limited or no interaction with their retail outlets. Such unfavourable conditions create an ecosystem that does not support transparency of data or formulation of clear insights. Expectedly, consumer brands are unable to measure the performance of their products or the effectiveness of various schemes and loyalty programs.

Bizom’s Perfect Store products focus on simplifying the complex distribution system and bringing about greater clarity. They empower brands to reach and communicate with best-performing retail outlets directly.

An important outcome for brands is the capacity to plug scheme leakages by directly transferring benefits to retailers. Additionally, brands can measure and analyze the effectiveness of their marketing spend and improve their reach to the end-consumer.

Lalit Bhise, Bizom’s CEO and Founder said, “Consumer goods brands in India are at an inflection point where their growth is guaranteed only through technological transformation. However, unlike the rest of the world, brands here grapple with the lack of data or insights thanks to the country’s complex distribution ecosystem. Our Perfect Store products place the controls of their retail performance directly into the hands of the brands and bring greater transparency in the ecosystem.”

Ashok Dhingra, former Director of SAB Miller, Perfetti Van Melle and Hindustan Unilever, gave the keynote address at Bizom’s Annual Conclave. He remarked, “The conclave has made it possible for both consumer brands and technologists to meet on common ground. Such collaborations only bode well for India’s consumer industry. Bizom’s products help brands address the systemic inefficiencies brought on by the multi-layered distribution mechanism. Such innovations are a step in the right direction - of growth not only for consumer brands but also for the 12 million kirana stores in India.” 

Marquee consumer brands including Reckitt Benckiser, Hershey’s, JK Helene Curtis, iD Fresh, Gemini Edibles & Fats, Kraft Heinz, Mahindra Agri, Deepak Fertilisers, Kores, Stovekraft and others attended Bizom’s Annual Conclave 2019.

Bizom’s other new solutions as part of the innovation showcase included:

1. Smart distribution planning helps brands identify their outlet reach vis-a-vis the entire outlet universe, identify gap areas in the distribution network (optimize outlet coverage) and identify and reach the right outlets.
2. Insights-driven DIY analytics provides not just data & reports but fast, accurate and actionable insights that allow brands to improve the velocity of their businesses daily.
3. Suggested orders application helps brands drive several outcomes - optimise sales at outlets, enable dynamic sales forecasting for sales managers and representatives. Further, users can reduce the time spent at outlets and hence, cover more outlets per beat, improving reach all this while driving more depth of their products.
4. Machine learning-based beat and route planning feature replace the unscientific manual beat planning that is the bane of sales managers. The feature turns around the efficiency of the brand’s sales force in the market by ensuring outlet coverage without sacrificing prioritization of the top-performing outlets.