Team Opsession

December 2015

Tata group said to near debut of e-commerce unit

The Tata group is close to starting its e-commerce business, people familiar with the matter said, as India’s largest conglomer-
ate prepares to enter a burgeoning market that’s expected to grow 20-fold in the next decade. Tata, whose businesses range
from coffee to making cars, is in the final stages of preparation and other group units are being recruited to offer their prod-
ucts on the platform, the people said, asking not to be named as the information hasn’t been made public. One of the people
said the debut will be within weeks and that group’s internal deadline is by March 2016. Tata Industries Ltd, which typically is
in charge of handling start-ups within the group, is setting up the busi-
ness. Though the group had announced in July that it would set up an e-
commerce, digital health, consumer analytics and big data businesses, it
never specified when. Asked to comment, the group said in a statement
that Tata UniStore’s online mall will have more than 100 brand stores.
India’s e-commerce industry, currently dominated by the likes of Ama-
zon.com Inc. and Flipkart Online Services Pvt. Ltd, is so promising that
Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates $220 billion of merchandise
will be sold online there by 2025, compared with $11 billion this year.
Such prospects have not only attracted local tycoons into the business but global investors such as SoftBank Corp.’s Masayoshi
Son and Yuri Milner’s DST. Tata isn’t the only Indian conglomerate jumping into e-commerce. Reliance Industries Ltd, headed
by India’s richest man, is planning its own e-commerce business, while K.M. Birla’s Aditya Birla Group started its online fashion
portal abof.com in October.

No more app-only, Myntra brings back mobile website

Announced with fanfare in earlier this year, Flipkart's app-only push is beginning to fizzle out. Myntra, which is owned by
Flipkart, has now decided to bring back its mobile site, months after it moved to the app only model. In fact, Myntra's move
to the app was so through that the website had even decided to stop operations on the normal site, asking buyers to first
install the app before they could make any purchase. Though for
now that remains the case, chances are it is going to change soon.
Currently, the mobile site of Myntra allows consumers to browse
the catalogue, reported MediaNama. But to purchase something,
consumers still need to install the app. Myntra's decision to bring
back the mobile site comes just weeks after Flipkart returned to the
mobile web with its new website. Called Flipkart Lite, the site was
built in close collaboration with Google. It use some specific tools
provided by Google and offers an almost app-like experience in the
Chrome browser on Google's Android operating system. While Flip-
kart has defended its move of going app-only, it seems consumers haven't liked it much. Other e-commerce sites too, even
though they have promoted apps, have decided to continue with all platforms including apps, desktop web and mobile web.
In a statement few months ago, Snapdeal had said that in India many people were still using the mobile web. "Our data
shows there are still many customers who use PCs to shop online. We do not want to force our customers to use one spe-
cific medium to shop on Snapdeal," the spokesperson had said. Consumers, meanwhile, said that the app-only model was
cumbersome and restricted their choices. "Flipkart's app-only move is the stupidest decision ever in the history of eCom-
merce", a Twitter user had tweeted when the company decided to shut down its mobile site a few months ago.

MDI, Gurgaon 1
 Team Opsession

New system aims to make online banking more secure

A new system that uses images and a one-time numerical code may provide a secure, inexpensive and easy-to-use alternative
to current password systems used in online banking and other such services, a new study suggests. Researchers at the Plym-
outh University in UK believe their new multi-level authentication system GOTPass could be effective in protecting personal
online information from hackers. It could also be easier for users to remember, and be less expensive for providers to imple-
ment since it would not require the deployment of potentially costly hardware systems.
The system would be applicable for online banking and other such services, where users
with several accounts would struggle to carry around multiple devices, to gain access.
They also publish the results of a series of security tests, demonstrating that out of 690
hacking attempts -- using a range of guesswork and more targeted methods -- there were
just 23 successful break-ins. To set up the GOTPass system, users would have to choose a
unique username and draw any shape on a 4x4 unlock pattern, similar to that already
used on mobile devices. They will then be assigned four random themes, being prompted to select one image from 30 in each.
When they subsequently log in to their account, the user would enter their username and draw the pattern lock, with the next
screen containing a series of 16 images, among which are two of their selected images, six associated distractors and eight ran-
dom decoys. Correctly identifying the two images would lead to the generated eight-digit random code located on the top or
left edges of the login panel which the user would then need to type in to gain access to their information. Initial tests have
shown the system to be easy to remember for users, while security analysis showed just eight of the 690 attempted hackings
were genuinely successful, with a further 15 achieved through coincidence. "In order for online security to be strong it needs
to be difficult to hack, and we have demonstrated that using a combination of graphics and one-time password can achieve
that," said Dr Maria Papadaki, Lecturer in Network Security at Plymouth University and director of the PhD research study.

Indian IT: From outsourced computer services to global business partners

Last month, a few days before tennis pro Rafael Nadal took on world champion Novak Djokovic at the ATP World Tour Finals in
London, his uncle and Coach Toni Nadal happened across the work of some Indian computer experts. India’s second-largest
information technology company, Bengaluru-based Infosys Ltd., had recently
inked a deal with the Association of Tennis Professionals for a strategic tech-
nology partnership to “revolutionize engagement with tennis fans by provid-
ing unprecedented insights and predictions about every tournament, every
match and every point.” Companies such as Infosys inaugurated an IT revolu-
tion in India in the late 1990s by creating a successful model of software de-
velopment that catered to international markets. In addition to creating mil-
lions of jobs in India, Infosys, as well as HCL Technologies Ltd., Tata Consul-
tancy Services Ltd., Wipro Ltd. and others, were largely responsible for re-
branding India’s image from a land of ancient temples and snake charmers to
one of English-speaking programmers. The sector has increased its contribu-
tion to India’s GDP to 9.5 per cent in 2014 from 1.2 per cent in 1998. IT di-
rectly employs 3.5 million Indians and indirectly creates more than 10 million jobs in the country, according to the India Brand
Equity Foundation, a trust established by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The sector is forecast to more than
double, too, from $132-billion in 2015 to $350-billion by 2025, according to a recent joint report by consulting firm McKinsey &
Co. and the National Association of Software and Services Companies, an Indian trade association. Exports are expected to
reach about $280-billion in 2025, the report said. More than a million people join India’s workforce every month. Higher educa-
tion has not been able to meet the quality standards set by India’s IT Industry, however. But many young Indians are skilled and
ambitious enough to launch new companies. India’s startup ecosystem now ranks third globally, with more than 4,200 startups
now operating, according to the National Association of Software and Services Companies. Three to four startups form every
day. Almost $5-billion of venture capital has been allocated to the sector this year, the report said. That new generation of
companies is likely to change the character of information technology in India.

MDI, Gurgaon 2
 Team Opsession

Green Supply Chain—PARIS AGREEMENT UNDER UNFCCC

The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 (21st yearly session to 1992 United Nations Framework Con-
vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)) or CMP 11 (11th session to 1997 Kyoto Protocol) was held in Paris, France, from 30 No-
vember 2015 to 12 December 2015. Paris Agreement governing carbon dioxide reduction measures from 2020 was negotiat-
ed and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015, though not yet ratified by 195 countries. The main aim of the agreement
is holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to
limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The agreement will become legally binding if at least 55
countries that represent at least 55 percent of
global greenhouse emissions become a party to it
through signature followed by ratification, ac-
ceptance, approval or through accession in New
York between 22 April 2016 to 21 April 2017. The
heart of the deal requires countries to set increas-
ingly ambitious targets for cutting their national
emissions and to report on their progress. A 1.5°C
goal will require a zero level in emissions some-
times between 2030 and 2050 according to some
scientists. However, no detailed time-plan or country-specific goals for emissions were stated in the final version of the Paris
Agreement - as opposed to the previous Kyoto protocol. A zero level should be reached during the second half of the century
according to the agreement. The agreement also maintains the existing commitment to create fund that will provide $100 bil-
lion annually starting in 2020 to help poorer countries cut their carbon emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.
The member countries will be required to reconvene every five years starting in 2023 to publicly report on how they are doing
in cutting emissions compared to their plans. They will be legally required to monitor and report on their emissions levels and
reductions, using a universal accounting system.

5 TIPS FOR SURVIVING A SUDDEN SPIKE IN MANUFACTURING DEMAND

1. Enlist your top performers. Managing a spike in work is no small feat. Rally your top performers across the line to assess what
projects you have, what can be put aside, and what needs to get done right away in order to make room for the new project.
Take their input seriously and don't push for unreasonable deadlines. Instead, solicit ideas. Ask how they'd fit the work into the
current schedule. You might be surprised by their creativity.
2. Embrace your specialty. What if certain sectors of your industry are recov-
ering and your peers can't handle the work? Don't be quick to jump in. In-
stead, return to your specialties. Look at the numbers. What types of projects
are most profitable for you? What will cause the least disruption on the facto-
ry floor? Work isn't what you want; good work is. Hold out for it if you must.
3. Avoid the wrong kinds of projects. Sometimes, the right market and the
right client still can't offer the right kind of project. Don't book work for the
sake of filling the ledger. Instead, insist on work that's easily addressed by
your current team and current equipment. Avoiding stretch projects in which
you'll have to invest heavily in order to generate a return can mean the difference between cashing in on sudden demand and
over betting on unfulfilled promises.
4. Revisit your recognition practices. Once you've determined the type of projects your factory is best suited to stretch for, look
at your recognition practices. Are you putting in place systems for recognizing those who will put in the extra hours or learn the
new skills required to cash in on the new business? Even a simple "thank you" or a handwritten card can suffice; the important
thing to remember is that workers need to know you understand the extra effort they're putting in.
5. Develop one-off incentives. Workers also expect to share in the spoils. Let them. Develop one-off rewards that are tied to
achieving specific, tangible production goals. Then, make good when workers do. If it's incentive pay you're offering, add it to the
next paycheck. If it's a gift card, put it an envelope that night. Be as timely with rewards as you are with recognition and workers
will come to see themselves as more than members of the line; they'll see themselves as contributors to the business.

MDI, Gurgaon 3
 Team Opsession

Team Opsession
Management Development Institute
Reach out to us: Contact us:
http://opsession.wordpress.com/ opsession@mandevian.com
https://twitter.com/MdiOpsession Saumya Kumar +91-8373989057
https://www.facebook.com/MdiOpsession Ankur Shrimali +91-8092086458

Contributions From:
Antriksh Srivastava Abhinav Srivastava Aditi Wahi Ankur Shrimali
Vivek Sisodia

MDI, Gurgaon 4