Raghu Vokuda, Head Technology & Digital, JSW Cement, in an interaction with CIOTech- Outlook, shares his thoughts on how digitalization is enabling Field Force Automation in the Cement Industry.

The global field force automation market attained a valuation of USD 1,196.9 million in 2019 and is predicted to reach USD 9,033.0 million in revenue by 2030. How do you see this market evolving in India? What are the major factors driving the growth of this market?

The strongest growth drivers for this market include the increasing smartphone and mobile internet penetration, surging focus on leveraging advanced technologies, such as cloud computing, the internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) in field force automation solutions, and soaring requirement for automating repetitive activities.

The integration of field force automation (FFA) software with upcoming technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data is set to enhance and improve the capabilities of the FFA software. As per the industry estimate, more than 40 per cent of the sales tasks in the organization can now be automated. With the advancements in IT technology especially in Natural Language Processing (NLP), automation is likely to rise to 50 per cent in the coming years. Moreover, key players such as Salesforce.com, Inc.; Microsoft Corporation; and SAP SE are launching SFA solutions powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Considering the high industry competitiveness and complexity across industries, organizations are expected to adopt cloud-based automation software as they offer better customization options. The shift toward automation solutions is aimed to streamline the sales process and to frame out the strategy to capitalize on the new growth opportunities. The occurrence of data thefts and privacy issues are hampering the adoption of SFA solutions. However, government rules and regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are expected to strengthen the regulatory framework.

How important is the adoption of Sales Force applications for organizations to improve efficiency?

JSW Group has been a front runner in adapting to the changing times & is investing in technologies of the future. JSW Group has adopted Sales Force applications for its front-end Sales team for quicker access to customer profiles & transactional data.

In addition, JSW Cement has adopted various customer engagement platforms which are tightly integrated with the backend systems & also the Field force applications giving single window access to data building trust with its customers & enhanced user experience.

JSW also has various other field force applications adopted at the shop floor for predictive maintenance activities to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing units & also at various touch points across operations in various verticals in steel, cement, energy, infra & ports etc.

Shed light on the Technology adoption trends in the Field force industry in India.

As the penetration of connected devices is increasing and connectivity technologies are evolving, the adoption of field force automation is largely increasing and leading to the growth seen in IT and Telecom, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Transportation and Logistics, Construction and Real Estate, Energy and Utilities and other industries. In addition, these automation systems are offering its users with enhanced workforce productivity and saving the loss of time while at field work & ready to consume information to enhance efficiency & experience.

The features of field force automation solutions such as advanced analytics, cost-effective, mobile-based sales force automation and others are some of the major factors that are expected to propel the growth of the market, during the forecast period. The rising application of automation technologies in the industrial setup is estimated to improve the efficiency of the workforce, which is anticipated to drive the demand of field force automation.

Solution providers are increasingly offering advanced capabilities to effectively cater to the field force management requirement of various industry verticals, which is likely to drive the growth of the field force automation solutions, globally. Furthermore, the growing demand to maximize the efficiency of field workforces across departments is expected to propel the solution demand.