CXO Voices for Building a Customer-First Enterprise

The language of customer-first has moved beyond rhetoric into strategy. Yet, its translation differs across industries and boardrooms. For a retail leader, it may manifest as velocity and accuracy in fulfillment; for a manufacturer, it could mean precision, resilience, and quality; while for technology and procurement leaders, it takes shape in data-driven insights, transparency, and responsible sourcing. Each vantage point reveals not just the diversity of challenges, but also the shared recognition that customer value must be the organizing principle of enterprise leadership. In this cover story, we bring together voices from across sectors to explore how CXOs are aligning their functions—whether supply chain, finance, operations, or talent—with the singular goal of designing organizations that think and act customer-first.

The real test of customer centricity lies in intent. Organizations that prioritize experience over cost build supply chains capable of delivering speed, accuracy, and trust. When investment and processes are aligned with this intent, the supply chain shifts from a back-end function to a true differentiator.

In a highly retail-oriented supply chain, how does a ‘Customer-first’ approach translate into speed, accuracy, and satisfaction—and how do these elements reinforce each other?

SuryaKanta Dash, VP – Supply Chain Head – PBG, Reliance Retail: After three decades in supply chain, I often simplify it to a single truth: everything is supply chain. Wherever demand and supply exist, there is a supply chain. Unfortunately, we tend to compartmentalize it—warehousing, customer service, sourcing/purchasing, finance, transport, sales, rest all other functions—when in reality all are part of one ecosystem.

Now, when we speak of being ‘Customer-Centric’, the real test is whether organizations put the customer before cost. Too often, companies optimize for cost first and only later worry about whether the customer is satisfied. My experience at Nokia offers a powerful lesson. In 2007, when Nokia held nearly 70% market share, customer service emerged as the biggest pain point. Mobile phones had become indispensable to daily life, and any breakdown created panic. Customers would spend hours waiting in service centers.

Recognizing this, Nokia invested nearly ?35 crore to build a supply chain model that offered visibility and speed in repair and return processes—even in an era without today’s advanced logistics or courier systems. The result was that a customer in Guwahati could see their phone move seamlessly through repair centers in Delhi and receive it back within a committed timeline. That intent—investing in customer service—drove speed, accuracy, and satisfaction simultaneously.

Today, with technology, big data, and real-time visibility tools, companies have even more powerful levers. Customers expect transparency: they want to track their order, see its status, and be reassured about delivery accuracy. The key point is this—speed, accuracy, and satisfaction don’t happen in isolation. They flow directly from the company’s intent to prioritize the customer experience, and when that intent is backed by disciplined processes and investment, the supply chain truly becomes a competitive differentiator.

From your experience in retail, how does a customer-first approach shape network strategy—especially when balancing demand diversity, seasonality, and cost efficiency?

SuryaKanta Dash: At its core, network strategy begins with understanding the customer. Every expansion decision must start by mapping the type of customer in that locality—their segment, purchasing power, and behavior. A metro city, a Tier-2 town, or a seasonal market like Kerala during Onam all demand very different distribution approaches. Unless you segment correctly, your network risks being either overbuilt or under-serving.

Second, today’s retail environment is defined by multi-channel and omni-channel dynamics. Customers may buy through B2B, B2C, distributors, or e-commerce platforms—but they expect seamless availability regardless of channel. That means network planning must ensure stock can be replenished quickly and efficiently, minimizing lead time and maximizing fill rates.

Technology becomes the backbone here. Without integration—both internal systems and external partner platforms—the data flow breaks, and you lose the ability to make accurate, timely decisions. Integrated technology also allows scalability, which is crucial during peak seasons. For example, around Independence Day sales, festive periods like Diwali, or big events like Big Billion Days, demand often spikes beyond forecasts. The real test is whether your warehousing and last-mile partners can scale up throughput at short notice.

Finally, seasonality requires judicious planning of inventory—placing the right stock at the right place, at the right time. Building flexibility into the network, supported by predictive data and reliable partnerships, ensures that when demand surges, customers see availability, not stockouts. And when customers consistently find what they want, loyalty strengthens, and cost efficiency naturally follows.

As environmental sustainability becomes increasingly important to customers, how are retail industries planning to handle electronics, fast moving and other products from an environmentally conscious perspective, particularly regarding recycling?

SuryaKanta Dash: Sustainability is becoming a key focus for our customers, and it is increasingly shaping how we manage products across our retail ecosystem. Currently, India’s recycling processes comply with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines and other environmental standards, ensuring that we all should handle waste in a responsible and regulated manner. For more complex categories like electronics, compliance and recycling are managed through outsourced vendors, but always under strict internal systems and controls to ensure regulatory adherence.

Looking to the future, we all should be committed to enhancing both environmental management and customer education. One example one can take initiatives around electronic waste: instead of customers discarding old products casually, we can run structured campaigns where consumer can deposit items such as old mobile phones at our stores and receive incentives in return. This approach allows principal/manufacturers to collect waste in a controlled manner, ensuring it is recycled or disposed of correctly while also engaging customers in responsible consumption practices.

Ultimately, for all of us, strategy should be to integrate sustainability into the core retail experience—combining regulatory compliance, operational rigor, and consumer awareness—so that environmental responsibility becomes a shared goal of retail and its customers.

As a financial leader, how do you strike the balance between driving financial efficiency and enabling customer growth—essentially managing costs while maximizing external value?

Narendrra Arora, Head of Finance – AMEA, CMR Surgical: The role of finance today is not about being a gatekeeper of cost but about being deliberate in deciding where to invest. Sustainable businesses are built when finance leaders bring discipline to capital allocation, while ensuring investments are directed toward what truly matters to customers. One important shift is to involve finance much earlier in the planning cycle. When finance comes in only at the end, decisions tend to reduce to a “yes or no.” But if they are engaged at the outset—leveraging their data-driven insights—organizations can make sharper, more customer-focused choices.

Another lever is to rethink the KPIs we track. Not all investments yield immediate financial returns. Metrics such as customer stickiness, Net Promoter Score, and product utilization are strong indicators of long-term value. These should be treated as leading signals of growth, not secondary considerations.

Finance can also play a transformative role by solving real-world challenges for customers. For example, in my current industry, the products we sell—surgical robots—are capital-intensive purchases for hospitals. By enabling financing options or ownership models that reduce upfront burden, we make adoption easier and create win–win outcomes. Similarly, investments in training surgeons—onboarding, retraining, refresher sessions—must be viewed not as overhead but as growth capital that directly enhances customer experience and loyalty.

Ultimately, it is about shifting the mindset: financial prudence is not about cost-cutting alone, but about channeling resources deliberately into areas that strengthen customer success. When the customer grows, the business inevitably grows too.

Are we truly factoring customer inputs when shaping business plans, or are we simply pushing products to the market?

Narendrra Arora: Let me share a real-life example from my own industry that illustrates the power of truly listening to the customer. When we set out to build our first surgical robot, we were entering a market already dominated by a global leader who had launched their system more than two decades earlier. Their technology was remarkable for its time, but it had inherent limitations. The machine was a monolithic, single-tower system, weighing upwards of 2 tons. Once installed in an operating theater, it was virtually immovable. Hospitals had to dedicate an entire space to the system, which restricted flexibility and demanded significant capital outlay.

Our founders chose not to replicate but to reimagine. They began with an exercise in humility—listening. Nearly a hundred surgeons across diverse specialties were interviewed, not with generic questions but with a focus on pain points: What about the current system doesn’t work for you? What would you change if you could? The responses were candid and consistent: surgeons wanted modularity, mobility between operating theatres, and seamless integration into the existing hospital workflow.

Those insights became our design compass. Instead of one immovable tower, we built a modular system comprising four robotic arms and a separate console. The entire setup weighs around 900 kilograms—less than a third of the incumbent model—and can be moved from one theater to another with ease. Suddenly, a hospital didn’t need to dedicate a single OR; the same system could be leveraged across multiple departments, dramatically enhancing utilization and return on investment.

And this is the larger takeaway: innovation wasn’t driven by engineering brilliance alone. It was shaped by an unwavering commitment to the voice of the customer. By putting their needs at the center, we transformed the product from being just an alternative to becoming a disruptive force. That, to me, is the real power of customer-centricity—it doesn’t just refine a product, it reshapes an entire industry.

In a fast-moving, cost-sensitive category, how do you balance velocity, precision, and cost-efficiency to consistently meet customer expectations and build brand loyalty?

Kapil Pathare, Deputy Managing Director, VIP Clothing: The balance begins with culture, not process. At our company, we have institutionalized a simple yet powerful practice: every boardroom has one chair kept empty to represent the customer. That chair reminds us that every strategic discussion must be anchored in customer value, not just operational convenience.

Now, if we look at innerwear as a category, the complexity is immense. We deal with countless SKUs across sizes, colors, and styles, yet sales ultimately happen in assortments. A single missing color in a pack can disrupt the entire supply chain. To manage this, we run on a 90-day cycle from procurement to market, and demand forecasting becomes the backbone. For replenishment, fast-moving SKUs—which typically account for 80% of volume—are placed on a continuous manufacturing model. This ensures consistency on the shelf, while allowing agility to manage the remaining 20% with more precision.

Technology has been a game-changer. With automation embedded across production, every piece—from the very first to the thousandth—is cut and finished with equal precision. This not only enhances speed but also optimizes costs, giving us scale without compromising quality.

When it comes to flexibility, postponement strategies in our category are limited, as working capital is already locked into the 90-day cycle. Instead, our lever lies in vendor consolidation and prioritization. By creating a tiered supply base, we ensure quick responsiveness when shifts in demand occur. Here, data plays a critical role. Ahead of Onam, for example, we analyze retail, e-commerce, and modern trade data to pinpoint which colors, styles, and sizes will surge in Kerala. That predictive insight allows us to reallocate resources swiftly, ensuring the product the customer wants is always available at the right place and time.

So, whether it’s through customer-first governance, disciplined forecasting, automation-driven execution, or data-led agility, the philosophy remains the same: keep the customer at the center. Because if the customer finds what they want, at the right time and price, loyalty follows—and cost efficiency becomes a natural outcome rather than a trade-off.

How do you integrate customer insights into business planning?

Kapil Pathare: In many organizations, business plans are often developed in closed rooms by a few decision-makers and then simply cascaded down the hierarchy. This approach tends to leave the supply chain as the most visible execution arm, often bearing the brunt when sales don’t match forecasts, leading to rising inventory and working capital pressures. The key question is whether customer inputs are genuinely embedded in the planning process, or if the focus remains solely on pushing products to the market.

In our category, customer input is non-negotiable. And when I say "customer," it extends beyond the end-consumer to include our distributors and retailers as well. We operate on two distinct but complementary fronts. First, we actively engage with our trade partners—especially our top distributors—who not only contribute significant volumes but also offer strategic insights on market trends, demand shifts, and competitive dynamics. Our team is engaged in dialogue with top distributors pan India, ensuring their feedback for any new product to launch as a part of our strategic thinking to get better pulse of market.

Second, we gather direct consumer insights through rigorous market research, including mystery shopping and product appeal studies conducted by our marketing team. These initiatives help us understand not just how products perform on shelf, but also how packaging, positioning, and messaging resonate with consumers.

Together, these dual inputs—trade and consumer—provide a balanced, data-driven perspective. They inform our business strategy, help shape new product development, and serve as benchmarks to align our plans with real market needs, rather than assumptions. This approach keeps us sharply focused on delivering value to the market, ensuring we build solutions that truly meet customer expectations.

As entrepreneurs and CXOs, how do you approach technology adoption so that it enhances the consumer experience, potentially making price a secondary consideration?

Kapil Pathare: Technology adoption is always a strategic decision, but it comes with costs, so as entrepreneurs we constantly evaluate both the financial ROI and the value it adds to operations. For example, in my factory, we implemented an automatic cutting machine imported from Italy at a cost of around 2 crore rupees. Previously, the cutting process was manual and relied on 45 unskilled workers, which led to inconsistencies in product quality.

Importantly, introducing the machine did not eliminate jobs. Instead, those 45 workers were upskilled and trained, taking on more critical roles within the operation. The technology improved consistency, reduced errors, and enhanced overall efficiency, while simultaneously transforming the workforce into a skilled team capable of handling higher-value operations.

From an entrepreneurial perspective, technology should not be viewed purely through a monetary lens. Its true impact lies in value creation—improving product quality, operational efficiency, and workforce capability. When implemented thoughtfully, technology not only strengthens the business internally but also enhances the consumer experience, allowing companies to differentiate on quality and service, rather than competing solely on price. Ultimately, technology adoption becomes a tool for strategic transformation rather than just an operational upgrade.

Manoj Kumar, Chief Integrated Supply Chain Officer, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd.:  At Crompton Greaves, we are already navigating this transition. Consider the example of induction-based fans, which have been a standard technology for decades. We are not only working to further enhance capabilities of induction platform, while also adopting and experimenting with newer technologies. In current form, BLDC (Brushless DC) fans technology is moving towards stabilization phase and enhancing energy efficiency. While consumers are gradually recognizing the benefits, manufacturers play a critical role in building awareness and educating the market about the value proposition of these new technologies.

The adoption patterns are telling… induction fans are growing at about 6–7%, whereas BLDC fans are seeing much higher growth, around 25–30%. One of the reasons new technologies initially cost more is that economies of scale have not yet been established. However, once consumers perceive the value and understand the benefits—be it energy savings, efficiency, or longevity—adoption accelerates significantly.

This trend is not limited to fans. We see similar patterns across other categories, such as lead-acid versus lithium-ion batteries or LED versus CFL lighting. The role of CXOs and management is crucial in these scenarios: they must anticipate technology shifts, understand the evolving value perception for consumers, and drive educational initiatives that facilitate rapid adoption. By doing so, companies can stay ahead in the market, create meaningful value for consumers, and manage technology transitions strategically, balancing cost, innovation, and market readiness.

Manpreet Kaur, Founder & CEO, Vivantaa Capital: In a D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) model, technology is integral to both pricing strategy and customer engagement. Unlike traditional retail, consumer behavior in D2C is predominantly online, which means that costs related to Customer Acquisition (CAC) and digital marketing—such as meta spend on social media campaigns—are built directly into the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of the product. This ensures that every unit sold accounts for the investment in reaching and acquiring the customer.

For startups and emerging D2C brands, this model is critical because it allows the business to align technology adoption with marketing strategy and operational costs from the outset. The digital-first approach not only drives visibility and engagement but also ensures that pricing reflects the true cost of acquiring and retaining customers. By integrating technology, marketing spend, and pricing strategy into a single framework, entrepreneurs can optimize customer reach, manage profitability, and scale sustainably in a highly competitive online market.

In a cost-sensitive market like India, how do you balance the intensity of execution with sustainability mandates—especially when speed is critical, working capital is tight, and customer expectations are rising?

Manoj Kumar: In the past, cost and sustainability were often treated as separate priorities, but today, the two are deeply intertwined and cannot be considered in isolation. At Crompton Greaves, we focus on delivering reliable products to our customers. There is a common perception that only virgin materials can ensure product reliability. However, raw material costs, such as copper, have increased dramatically—from around $4,500–$5,000 per ton in 2005–2006 to about $9,000 today—making it increasingly critical to identify functional alternatives that maintain product reliability while optimizing costs.

Cost management is no longer solely the responsibility of procurement or sourcing. It is built into the organization across all functions, requiring collaboration and breaking of silos. We recognize that 80–90% of the cost is determined at the design stage, with only 10% left for optimization downstream. This means that strategic design decisions, aligned with sustainability and cost considerations, are crucial for delivering competitive products.

Sustainability initiatives, such as recycling and adherence to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, illustrate both challenges and opportunities. Currently, sustainable recycling in the electronics industry remains limited. The opportunity lies in building robust reverse supply chains, ensuring raw materials are collected and recycled sustainably, and integrating these materials into product design from the outset.

Ultimately, the key is to view sustainability as a strategic enabler rather than a compliance burden. By aligning product design, cost optimization, and sustainable material use, companies can deliver reliable, environmentally responsible products while managing working capital effectively. This approach transforms current challenges into long-term opportunities for both business and industry-wide impact.

Where do you strike a balance between expecting customer centricity and paying the cost for it, especially in a competitive environment where margins are under pressure?

Manoj Kumar: I’d like to highlight a concept I learned during my stint at LG: the critical distinction between price and cost. Price is often seen as the number negotiated between a buyer and a supplier, while cost reflects the value embedded in the solution. Unfortunately, many procurement professionals focus solely on negotiating the lowest price and miss the bigger picture of true value addition.

The challenge is educating the buyer within the organization to recognize the supplier’s value proposition. If a supplier can clearly articulate the unique value they provide—whether it’s enhanced reliability, innovative solutions, or long-term support—it helps shift the conversation away from price alone. However, when suppliers offer run-of-the-mill solutions, they are forced to compete purely on price. The real opportunity lies in differentiating the service or solution. Convincing buyers of this is difficulty, but every time a new value proposition emerges, suppliers have the chance to step out of the commodity mindset.

From both a customer perspective and a boardroom lens, how can one truly evaluate whether an organization has the right talent, strategy, and culture to embody a “customer-first” mindset?

Aparna Sharma, Independent Director & HR Advisor: hat’s a very relevant question. Evaluating whether an organization is genuinely wired around customer satisfaction requires looking beyond what leaders say and focusing on what stakeholders actually experience.

First, I always listen closely to employees—both current and former. What they share verbally is important, but what they don’t say often reveals even more. Non-verbal cues, disengagement in meetings, or a lack of openness can expose cultural gaps, even when management claims transparency. Platforms like Glassdoor, where former employees feel free to speak candidly, provide unfiltered insights into the real culture once the fear of reprisal is gone.

Second, I look at customers’ voices. How do they describe their experience when interacting with the company’s employees? Do they feel heard, understood, and supported? Are employees proactive in offering solutions, or do they simply acknowledge issues without follow-through? Customers, like employees, are crucial stakeholders, and their feedback often reflects whether the organization is truly living its stated values.

Third, observation is critical. For instance, if leadership emphasizes openness but team members remain reticent in discussions, that contradiction signals a cultural misalignment. Culture is not what’s written in the value statement—it’s what people practice daily. Ultimately, customer-centricity cannot be a slogan; it has to be visible in behaviors, decisions, and everyday interactions. If employees and customers consistently report experiences that reflect empathy, accountability, and solution-orientation, then the organization is likely aligned with its customer-first promise. If not, it suggests a serious disconnect between stated intent and "LIVE" reality.

How are companies moving towards enhancing their sustainable footprints?

Aparna Sharma: Let me share an example of Lafarge, which used to operate in cement and building materials. I saw firsthand how fly ash, a byproduct of cement manufacturing that was once considered waste, has found significant value in construction applications. Today, fly ash is incorporated into various types of concrete, including temperature-controlled mixes, as well as into aggregates used in pavers and other construction materials. What is remarkable is that this practice has evolved organically over the past decade. Initially, it wasn’t pursued explicitly as a sustainability initiative, but over time, it has proven to be a highly effective way to reduce carbon emissions and the environmental impact of construction materials. By turning a waste product into a usable resource, companies not only minimize landfill usage but also contribute to a circular economy within the building materials sector. This example highlights how innovative approaches to byproduct management can deliver both environmental and operational benefits, making sustainability an integral part of business strategy rather than just a compliance exercise.

In such a cost-sensitive and fast-moving space, how do you strike the right balance between velocity, accuracy, and affordability so that customers always find what they want on the shelf, without drifting to another brand?

From the standpoint of an Independent Director, I see the challenge of balancing velocity, accuracy, and affordability as fundamentally linked to how well the organization aligns its strategy with its people and culture. As Boards, our role is to ensure that leadership doesn’t just focus on short-term operational metrics, but also builds a sustainable, people-centered approach that enables long-term resilience. In my experience, it’s the people on the ground – empowered, engaged, and equipped with the right capabilities – who make the difference between a product simply being available and the customer feeling genuinely valued. I emphasize the importance of cultivating a culture where employees are encouraged to take ownership of the customer experience, rather than merely executing tasks.

At the same time, as part of governance, we encourage investments in digital tools and data-driven processes that provide accurate, real-time insights, enabling the business to respond quickly and cost-effectively to changing demand. But technology alone doesn’t solve the puzzle; it’s the combination of human judgment, a clear purpose, and strong leadership that drives disciplined decisions. Ultimately, from a Board perspective, the sustainable balance lies in nurturing an ecosystem where strategic foresight meets human empathy – ensuring that customers always find what they need on the shelf and feel confident in the brand they trust.

How does a customer-first approach shape network strategy—especially when balancing demand diversity, seasonality, and cost efficiency?

Aparna Sharma: A customer-first approach fundamentally reshapes how we think about network strategy, especially in a complex environment of diverse demand patterns, seasonality, and cost pressures. From a Board and Independent Director standpoint, I see it as a responsibility to guide organizations to design their networks not just for operational efficiency, but with the customer’s evolving needs at the center. It starts with understanding that every decision in the network – from warehouse locations to inventory allocation and logistics – must ultimately serve the customer’s expectation of choice, availability, and convenience. This requires robust data systems that provide real-time visibility into demand trends, coupled with a culture where teams are encouraged to interpret these insights through a customer lens.

What I often emphasize at the Board level is that balancing cost efficiency should not lead to a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, it should drive thoughtful investments in flexibility and agility—whether through scalable infrastructure, dynamic routing, or innovative last-mile solutions. And these can only succeed when people across functions are aligned on a shared purpose: delivering the right product, at the right time, in the right place.

From an HR and governance perspective, enabling cross-functional collaboration and empowering teams to make customer-centric decisions creates an ecosystem where seasonality and demand diversity are seen as opportunities to innovate, rather than as challenges to contain. This people-led, purpose-driven approach ensures the network doesn’t just function efficiently but evolves in step with customer expectations, reinforcing trust in the brand over time.

What role can employees play in aligning customer goals with the long-term value an organization seeks to build?

Manpreet Kaur: While customers are often seen as the ultimate external stakeholders, it is the employees who serve as the true frontline warriors of any organization. They are the internal stakeholders, and their alignment is critical. Unless individual KPIs are directly connected to the organization’s vision and mission, sustainable growth cannot be achieved.

Research shows that engaged employees who are aligned with organizational goals deliver 17% higher productivity, which translates into a 21% boost in profitability. This underlines the powerful link between employee motivation, customer satisfaction, and business performance.

To illustrate, let me share a personal example from my early career at American Express, a Fortune 500 company known for its “zero defect” Kaizen philosophy. Just two years into the system, I identified a defect in a critical process. Beyond merely reporting it, I dedicated hours outside my mandate to correct it, ensuring a seamless outcome for the customer. This act not only resolved the issue but also earned recognition at a global level—I was invited to New York to receive an award from then Global CEO Kenneth Chenault. Importantly, this individual effort contributed to American Express India’s overall rating being elevated.

The lesson here is clear: when employees are inducted well, coached effectively, and see their KPIs linked with the organization’s customer-first ethos, even a single individual can create transformational impact—shaping customer outcomes, business performance, and even the organization’s global standing.

How can procurement strategies go beyond focusing solely on price?

Manpreet Kaur: While price remains an important lever in procurement, a purely transactional focus can limit the strategic potential of the function. Procurement is not just about managing costs—it’s about creating value through supplier relationships. Organizations that cultivate long-term, trust-based partnerships can transform suppliers into strategic collaborators, and in some cases, even financiers.

Through supply chain finance, suppliers can provide funding directly to buyers, reducing reliance on external financial institutions while generating additional trading margin for the company. This approach allows organizations to optimize working capital, strengthen the supply chain, and create mutually beneficial arrangements. Leading companies such as Nokia, Siemens Networks, and Cargill have institutionalized this strategy with dedicated trade and structured finance divisions, enabling them to support customers internally and enhance both operational and financial performance.

The key takeaway is that strategic procurement extends beyond price negotiations. By leveraging supplier relationships, structured financing, and innovative collaboration, organizations can build a sustainable competitive moat, enhancing resilience, profitability, and long-term value creation across the supply chain.

How do you balance customer-centricity with cost pressures in today’s competitive environment?

Sanjay Desai, Advisor and Independent Director at multiple companies: If you look at some of the best Supply Chain models (Apple, Schneider, GE) they don’t view procurement the way most companies do. Apple, for example, sells at a premium (iPhone at ~$2,200 vs. others at ~$180-1800) because it runs an ecosystem of quality and reliability. When I was running a $250 million Revenue P&L, cost was rarely the main point of discussion. The focus was always on value: strong warranties, dependable service, and a product that won’t fail in the market. The principle is simple, Quality In, Quality Out. Invest in quality inputs, and you secure long-term customer trust. Apple, for instance, sells a high ASP (average selling price) product, so the cost doesn’t impose the same pressure as in low-priced segments. In contrast, service providers in the low-price range constantly face the challenge of cost reduction.

Cost should never be viewed in isolation as just a financial burden. It must be assessed in relation to the value it adds to the product, the experience it creates for the customer, and the efficiency it brings to the overall supply chain. Some costs are unique as they enable a more sustainable investment in customer-centric services. We cannot treat cost ONLY as top focus at the cost of Customer satisfaction.

What practical steps are companies taking to embed sustainability in their operations?

Sanjay Desai: Two notable supply chain models to study are Xerox and Dell, though similar practices are also followed by companies like HP. These organizations have developed highly structured programs for collecting and recycling used cartridges and toners. Their recycling programs ensure that close to ~65% of the materials / parts used in printers/ cartridges and toners are “scavenged” and reused to make “refurbished” products with only ~35% of raw materials go to landfills. This isn’t new, these companies have built it into their product life cycle for decades.

The message here is that sustainability isn’t an afterthought. It starts at the product design stage, with end-of-life considerations planned in. That means lower environmental impact, more efficient operations, and a stronger supply chain. The lesson is clear: sustainability isn’t just a “green” choice, it’s a business advantage.

From both a customer perspective and a boardroom view, how can we truly evaluate if an organization has the right talent, strategy, and culture to live a “customer-first” mindset?

Sanjay Desai: The easiest way to test this is to look at decisions during moments of pressure. Does the company still put the customer first when margins are squeezed, or do they cut corners? Talent plays a big role here, like, if your leaders and frontline teams have been nurtured in a culture where customer success is non-negotiable, that will show. I’ve seen organizations with excellent strategies on paper, but they fail because there was no human touch or planning in final execution.

From the boardroom, the direction is simple, repeat customers, long-term supplier partnerships, and employee retention. These are outcomes of a strong culture. If customers keep coming back and employees are proud to represent the brand, then customer-first does not remain as strategy, it’s embedded in the execution DNA of the company!!!

In a cost-sensitive and fast-moving environment, how do you balance speed, accuracy, and affordability so that customers find what they need, without shifting to another brand?

This is the essence of a good supply chain design. Speed without accuracy is chaos. Accuracy without speed frustrates customers. And affordability without either doesn’t help the business to sustain. The trick is to integrate the three, not treat them as trade-offs. In my work across MedTech/ IT /Consumer Tech industrial products, the companies that got it right invested in visibility, clear demand signals, data-backed planning, and agile logistics. That allowed them to run lean, avoid overstocking, and still deliver on time. If customers trust that they’ll always find what they want on your shelf, loyalty grows, even in cost-sensitive markets. Example Dell’s Enterprise Gaming products.

How does a customer-first approach influence network strategy, especially when balancing demand diversity, seasonality, and cost efficiency?

Sanjay Desai: Network design strategy is where the rubber meets the road. You can’t claim to be customer-first if your distribution footprint doesn’t align with your supply planning strategy. In markets with seasonal demands, like festivals in India, back-to-school in the West, or Chinese New Year period in SEA, your network needs built-in flexibility to expand as required. A customer-first supply chain invests in multi-node networks, regional hubs, and sometimes even temporary capacity increase to absorb peaks. Yes, it costs more upfront, but it prevents stockouts and lost sales. I often remind leaders that a lost sale during a peak season is not just revenue missed, its reputation lost. The customer remembers who failed them and rebuilding that trust is 8 to 10 times harder than investing in a smarter network upfront.

How should entrepreneurs and CXOs approach technology adoption so that it truly enhances customer experience, making price less of a factor?

Sanjay Desai: Technology is not the ‘Mother of all solutions’ as it is usually made to sound. Too often, companies chase the latest tool without aligning it to the customer journey. The right approach is to ask: how does this tech make life easier for my customer? If the answer is clear, faster service, more transparency, seamless interaction, then adoption makes sense.

In my advisory work, I’ve seen price become secondary when customers feel valued. Think of how Amazon invested in one-click buying or how Tesla uses OTA updates. Customers are willing to pay more because the experience is frictionless. For entrepreneurs and CXOs, the lesson is simple: let technology amplify your customer-first strategy, not replace it. If it enhances trust, convenience, and reliability, price naturally takes a back seat over right investment in technology.