Dhaval Mankad, Vice-President – IT, Vadilal Industries
Digital transformation has become the defining force reshaping the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) sector. From rethinking processes and deploying automation to embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability, companies in the sector are navigating a journey that is as complex as it is necessary. In August 2025, tele.net organised a webinar on the “Digital Transformation Journey of CPG Enterprises”, which brought together industry leaders to share their perspectives on this shift. The experts discussed digital maturity, smart factories, IT-OT integration, sustainability and the future roadmap for technology-driven growth. Key takeaways from their insights…
Digital transformation is not a project – it is a journey. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. The context, culture and vision for the coming years define the path. Technology is evolving so fast that if I spend too much time evaluating a solution, it may already be outdated by the time I implement it. This requires organisations to adopt a fail-fast and agile approach.
At the same time, digital transformation is not just about putting new tools in place. A top-down approach is critical for driving change management. Organisations need to re-examine their processes, rethink how they work and only then apply technology. Otherwise, digitisation can compromise efficiency rather than improve it.
In terms of maturity, I believe most sectors, including CPG, are already on this journey. Larger organisations have more resources and can afford to experiment more. In CPG, most companies have already undertaken ERP transformation through systems like SAP and Microsoft D365. The areas where they often lag are data analytics, smart factory initiatives, automation, internet of things (IoT) adoption and advanced AI tools. AI is still evolving beyond generative AI – there is a lot of noise, but a sustainable ecosystem that can genuinely solve business problems is yet to emerge. Cloud, however, has gained wider acceptance. The benefits are clear: faster go-to-market, greater agility and access to new technologies through the cloud ecosystem.
At the Vadilal Group, we have been moving forward in our digital journey. At the beginning of 2025, we migrated to SAP RISE Cloud from a private cloud setup. This provides us with a future-ready SAP ERP system and opens the door to exploring over 100 services on the business technology platform, spanning SAP and other innovations.
Alongside this, we are transforming our sales and distribution systems by adopting DMS and Salesforce, replacing legacy solutions. Meanwhile, inside our plants, we are digitising processes to eliminate paper log sheets. Last year, we introduced mobile Fiori applications for a few functionalities that previously relied on paper and manual work. We are now implementing digitised workflows, checklists and log sheets for our quality and production teams. We have opened up multiple fronts towards digitising many other processes, and work is in progress.
At the same time, cybersecurity remains a top priority. As our digital footprint expands, we are establishing a more resilient and stronger security posture to protect the organisation.
Moreover, when we think about infrastructure, one should always emphasise the importance of using industry-grade hardware. When installing infrastructure in a plant – whether wireless systems, network switches, cabling or desktops – it must be robust and reliable. Using industry-grade hardware reduces failures and ensures continuous operations.
One question I often face is about how we measure the effectiveness of these projects. My view is: these are not IT projects. They are operations and manufacturing projects because they directly involve the shop floor. Success is not just about technology cost and ROI, but also about moving from people-driven approaches to process-driven ones. When processes become systems-driven, errors are eliminated, data becomes reliable and insights become actionable.
The ROI comes from monitoring systems that track machine uptime, finished goods counts, wrapping machine performance or raw material losses. Today, many of these are done manually, leaving room for error and manipulation. Automation eliminates that. By tracking unplanned and planned downtime, and converting downtime into equivalent productivity, we can clearly see the financial returns. Importantly, these projects must be owned by manufacturing teams, not IT. This is why one must try to quantify every gain. In one smart factory pilot across five to seven lines during my earlier tenure, machine efficiency improved from 85 per cent to 88 per cent. That small increase was enough to recover ROI in less than a year. Smart factory automation belongs to the business and manufacturing domains, not IT.
Currently, we do not have full plant automation solutions, but we do have systems in place for specific areas. For example, we run energy management solutions and pilots for machine efficiency and uptime. Recently, we completed a digital maturity assessment using the Smart Industry Readiness Index. The assessment involved plant visits, discussions with various functions and benchmarking against 12,000-15,000 companies worldwide. This exercise is ongoing and will guide our next steps.
The Vadilal Group has taken the bold step of moving from a family board-driven organisation to a professional board-driven one. This technology-led business transformation journey, which began earlier, is gaining momentum, with much more to come in the next 12 months. The focus is on business growth, driving data-driven decisions, enhancing productivity, and continually improving with fewer resources to optimise costs. Success lies in the right mix of people, process and technology, as well as discovering newer ways of working.
Looking forward to building a greater Vadilal 2.0.
