The company is working on an artificial intelligence (AI) solution that will give it an edge over rivals by helping it make smarter decisions in ordering, distribution and pricing products on its platform. Ultimately, the AI system will allow Flipkart to boost efficiency and reduce the cost of products for customers. “We are trying to predict how many units of what we will sell. This is a very complex thing that is dependent on a variety of inputs such as price, discount or if an event, such as Diwali or Christmas is coming up,” said KrishnenduChaudhury, principal scientist and head of image sciences at Flipkart.

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E-commerce Banks On Artificial Intelligence
For Better Decision Ability
As India’s largest e-commerce marketplace Flipkart closes in on completing a decade in the
business, it is looking to put in use its mammoth pile of data to predict sales of products months
in advance.
#DigitalErra Thought Corner
The company is working on an artificial intelligence (AI) solution that will give it an edge over
rivals by helping it make smarter decisions in ordering, distribution and pricing products on its
platform. Ultimately, the AI system will allow Flipkart to boost efficiency and reduce the cost of
products for customers.
“We are trying to predict how many units of what we will sell. This is a very complex thing that
is dependent on a variety of inputs such as price, discount or if an event, such as Diwali or
Christmas is coming up,” said KrishnenduChaudhury, principal scientist and head of image
sciences at Flipkart.
AIa key differentiator in e-commerce space
MNCs such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft have all focused on investing more in deep
learning. And, particularly in e-commerce, there is a tremendous scope of application for AI.

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These days, Amazon’s AI assistant Alexa is one the most talked product. Amazon has added
shopping capabilities to the platform so the consumers can add items to the cart just by a voice
command. This step would open up more avenues for the company to pitch its shopping services
as well.
Besides, Amazon is giving away some of its most sophisticated technology such as an open
source artificial intelligence framework that the company developed to power its product
recommendation system. Now any company, researcher, or curious person can use it for their
own AI applications.
Similarly, Snapdealuses artificial intelligence, real-time data and other tools to deliver
advertising strategies for consumers across platforms and services. Also, e-wallet major Paytm
uses AI and data science tools for fraud detection, advertising and merchant analytics.
In the fashion retail space, players like Myntra and Abof has an integrated AI-based system using
visual imagery to personalize the experience for customers, enabling them to view products they
are more likely to purchase.
Consumer Experience is what really matters?
In a fiercely fought e-commerce market, etailers are betting on the metric of consumer
experience. A better decision capability in the hands of online marketplaces can prove decisive
in winning and retaining customers. Over the years, companies have had a lot of data to figure
out from but not the expertise to leverage it. AI and other deep learning technologies fill that
void in a maturing e-commerce industry of India. That is why, globally, even the brick-n-mortar
retailers are fast catching up with their online peers in incorporating AI and other tools to offer
the best experience.
Artificial intelligence is a key differentiator in the fiercely competitive e-commerce business. It
will have a direct impact on the way transactions are done, besides, changing the in-store
purchasing behavior.
Welcome to our 8th Part of Customer Experience Series and today we will learn about the
importance of Governance is running a successful customer experience management.
Customer experience governance is about helping drive accountability by assigning specific
customer experience management tasks to specific people within an organization. It helpsto
monitor customer experience quality, improve it on a continuous basis, and keep bad experiences
from getting out the door in the first place.
The Business Dictionary clarifies governance as “establishment of policies, and continuous
monitoring of their proper implementation, by the members of the governing body of an
organization. To summarize as it applies to Customer Experience (CX) management:
 The company leaders establish and monitor CX policies.
 People are empowered and accountable to drive CX success.

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 Mechanisms are put in place to drive CX contribution to the company’s validity and
prosperity.
Building a blueprint
Creating a governance blueprint is important both to set up a mechanism to take decisions on
cross-cutting initiatives and to align objectives in each function with the defined aims of
customer experience.It serves as a portfolio of actions to deliver on the vision.
Addressing the CX challenge is a tough task
The business imperative to improve customer experience puts new demands on company
management. A financial times article says Chief Information Officers have a demanding task to
deliver on CX metric. Increasingly, the technology projects that get backing cluster around
digital interactions with customers through web and mobile channels, engagement that requires
deep links into content and transaction systems of record.
Perspective matters
The best customer experience drive begins with a perspective driven by the customer’s wants,
not the firm’s organizational structure. That makes the task of governing customer-experience
efforts even more unique.
Customers form their impression of a product or service through multiple interactions with an
organization. The overall impression over the course of an end-to-end journey makes up the
whole customer experience.
It tellshow different parts of the organization are responsible for delivering the ultimate customer
experience. Providing a seamless customer experience thus begins with the customer’s
perspective at the center of the organizational structure and requires all parts of the organization
to work together in tandem.
Here are 6 ways to getting it right:
 A customer-oriented top level management that reports to chief executive and that can
play a cross-departmental activity and collaboration.
 Leaders must serve as role models to deliver CX goals to frontline employees by
polishing and reinforcing those goals whenever required.
 It is absolutely essential to put in place the correct metrics and incentives that are critical
for aligning typically siloed units into effective cross-functional teams.
 Organization design must support and not stand in the way of CX goals.
 Localized ownership of CX success, deeply and broadly across employees, is key to
making customer experience excellence a way of life in your company.
 Keep executives and employees motivated to see their jobs in a customer-centered
context.

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Some examples from top companies steering governance
Companies like Zappos, Adobe FedEx, among many others all point to their customer-centric
cultures as key to their success.
FedEx has a customer experience steering committee that meets regularly. The committee
reviews customer experience improvement projects and, in a process that’s described as “very
disciplined,” makes decisions about where to move forward.
Similarly, Adobe has a customer advocacy council that includes senior leaders from product
development, customer support, finance, marketing and business process management. The
council meets regularly to review the latest customer insights and metrics. This helps gauge,
scope, and priorities issues that they believe will make the biggest improvement to the customer
experience.
Conclusion
Customer experience governance is one of the first things to accomplish in setting up an
organization where CX is one of its disciples of working. It’s an exciting component of CX
management that requires prudent and creative thinking.