Post Unlock 1.0, REBOOT-RESTART-RESURGE has become the prime focus of businesses as they prepare to resume operations. Lockdown has brought to the forefront the hitherto unknown challenge of revival of business affected not due to fiscal or market demands but a scenario where the disruption has happened due to natural force. Even the best of the businesses would not have anticipated such a situation and it has caught almost everyone unaware. The need of the hour is how to adapt to the NEW NORMAL and keep the business afloat in the coming months as survival takes precedent over everything else.
It is now recognised that only by creatively repositioning business will lead to resurgence in the current scenario. The owners/decision makers have to be the at the centre of all stress points vis a vis Finance –Marketing – HR to navigate the situation. A lot of factors will need to be taken into consideration while re-imagining business like what will be the characteristics of the industry now in relation to the rising costs, changing technology, excess capacity, increase in digitization etc. Then there are the external factors to be considered like corporate debt crisis, increase in unemployment, high cost of finance etc. Another moot point to be taken care of is the fallout of Covid 19 resulting in disruption of demand/supply, changed habits of consumers, importance of health & hygiene etc.
With this as the backdrop, DIGC which has tirelessly been in the forefront of knowledge dissemination during lockdown had invited panellists who are experts in the areas of Finance, Marketing, HR for a discussion on ‘Reimagining Current Business Model’ in the New Normal. The webinar in Q&A format was moderated by CA Uday Dhote, Director – DOT Institute of Graphic Communication. The panellists included Mr. Yogesh Kamath (Director-Fundviser), a Chartered Accountant & Cost Accountant with more than 23 years of experience and an astute Business Analyst proficient in Complex Financial models. With his vast experience in debt restructuring and forex management, he was an apt choice for Finance. Complementing Yogesh was his partner Mr. Sivasubramaniam (Siva) (Co Director – Fundviser), an MBA with more than 27 years of experience specializing in long term finance and trade finance, and an expert in the area of Marketing. The third panellist was Mrs. Radha Ramesh (GM-HR) of Dhote Offset Technokrafts Pvt. Ltd. Having more than 20 years of experience in developing and managing best practices in the entire gamut of HR processes she spoke on the challenges in terms of managing resources in these difficult times. The last panellist, Mr. Tushar Dhote (Managing Director- Dhote Offset Technokrafts Pvt. Ltd.) needs no introduction being a well-known figure in the print industry and someone who has been at the forefront of Technology innovation in Print. He shared his insights on the role of technology and the way it will shape business in the near future.
The webinar started with a presentation by Mr. Uday Dhote followed by the Q& A session. The questions to Yogesh ranged from how to balance finances, what should be the approach to collections, impact of high power and interest affecting exports etc. Siva dwelled on strategies in the face of reduced demand and means to resurge. He also elucidated on which business model – customer centric or product centric is best. Yogesh and Siva also dwelled on the possibilities of mergers, amalgamations, buyouts becoming more prevalent in the near future. Radha touched upon the topic of management of human resources in the future, hygiene factors playing a crucial role in availability of manpower and thereby impacting costs and customer demands, rising unemployment the economy, importance of training in reskilling and upskilling the work force etc. Tushar Dhote expounded on ways to neutralise excess capacity, need for innovative products, and why businessmen should still attend exhibitions like DRUPA.
The relevance of the topic can be gauged by the fact that it attracted stalwarts from the industry like Mr. Pranav Parikh, Mr. Ramesh Kejriwal, Mr. Manoj Mehta, Mr. Dayaker Reddy, Mr. Ashutosh Tripathi, Mr. Narendra Kalapi, Mr. Sangam Khanna, Mr. Vinay Kaushal, Mr. Ramakrishnan just to name a few and many other giants of the industry. It also saw attendees from across India with many of them being business owners and promoters as well as HR functionaries and many teaching staff. It was also a webinar which though conducted for print industry also saw attendees from other industries proving that the dilemma is the same for all. All in all the webinar showcased the never say die spirit of Industry.
