Technology and adaption the way forward for businesses

The biggest challenge of running any business is facing uncertainty. Success of the business depends on how effectively the business can cope up with the changing situation and incorporate innovative ideas to sustain during challenging times.For the past 3 years the world is living in such an uncertain statedue to theglobal pandemic andrestrictions. During the initial period when the world got hit by COVID, businesses of all sorts were disrupted heavily.

But over the time the businesses and organizations alike adapted to the uncertainty and started to implement innovative ways to survive through these challenging times. Many had taken technological support to survive and improve their business during this time. And as we are living in a digital era, most of the businesses survived for making the right transition at the right time.

An Australian startup named Ignito built a digital enrichment platform as the consumer's shopping behavior changed due to pandemic. The platform leverages AI to bring retail operations and customer experiences together. Through this platform retailers were able to understand consumer shopping behavior. The platform enabled the retailers to pin point peak shopping tie and perform real-time analysis, which later they used to better their business performance.

The Bangladesh market with all the local companies and businesses are a prime example of how technological adaptation helped them see through the difficult times. Major organizations were seen taking technological support and adapt to the difficult times. Many had started their own e-commerce platform to reach their consumers. One key example of such an adaption was the initiatives taken by Coca‑Cola Bangladesh. The company had launched a Whatsapp based ordering solution for their retailers so that the consumers don't miss out on their favorite beverages. Through this system, retailers were able to place their orders directly to distributers and get their products accordingly.

Mr Mizanur Rahman working as a retailer in Kazir Dewri, Chattogram Metroarea believes that the Whatsapp solution helped with communications during the difficult time in the city. "During the lockdown situation, it was difficult for our distributors to do regular visits while maintain safety protocols and we would often worry about restocking in time.  The Whatsapp solution benefited us greatly as we were able to keep stocks available at all times while not having to wait for the specific delivery dates and maintain Covid specific safety measures.  

Mr Mishu, owner of a very famous café, Mad Meals, inCumilla City Corporationarea thinks that the Whatsapp solution brought about a change in business. According to the information by Coca‑Cola Bangla-desh, there has been a positive growth in terms of sales in CumillaCity due to implementation of Whatsapp retailer solution.  There has been 36% more sales due to the new solution as compared to before.

Bangladesh isn't the only market where the Coca‑Cola Company introduced the Whatsapp retailer solution. In fact, this move has seen a huge success in neighboring markets such as Nepal and Sri Lanka. By comparison, Bangladesh has done quite well and its quite evident how the people are more open to technological adaption.

The people of Bangladesh have relied heavily on technology during the early days of the pandemic. Now it has become a norm for ordering clothes, food, groceries, daily necessities and other things online. Adding beverage to it is just one more step towards attaining a digital Bangladesh.

We could say at time like this technology had become blessing for all businesses. Considering ongoing pandemic and uncertainty, it's high time businesses should think more digitally and technologically. We should remember prevention is always better than cure.