Naveen Tahilyani, who took charge in February as Tata Digital‘s new CEO, is believed to have put a tight control on spends in the ecommerce business and has introduced greater accountability and sharper data-focused approach to operations, according to Tata group officials. Mandated to give momentum and executional heft to the digital ecommerce entity, Tahilyani is taking on a more hands-on approach, the officials said.
Tahilyani, handpicked by Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran from the group’s insurance business Tata AIA Life Insurance, is also bringing in a collaborative mindset to smoothen operational glitches and boost participation from group companies, company sources said.
Since taking up the new role in February, Tahilyani is being guided closely by Chandrasekaran, who is keen to see the consumer app gain a stronger foothold before seeking any external investor interest.
Simultaneously, Tata Digital’s online pharmacy 1mg is expected to embark on a major offline expansion by opening retail stores where it will sell medicines and offer medical lab testing facilities, people aware of the matter said. The company has approved the plan in a recent board meeting.
“The plan is in place and Naveen has interacted with both 1mg and BigBasket leadership on the way forward. There is work being done on Tata Neu‘s loyalty pass-NeuPass-,” said one of the persons cited above. The budget allocation for 1mg for offline expansion will be finalised later this month, another person said.
“The consumer industry acumen is really coming through in our interactions so far and plans are quite sharp. In general, the mandate has been to grow sustainably-whether for private investments or individual IPO plans of digital assets like BigBasket,” said a third person aware of the matter.
Tata Digital did not comment on ET’s queries.
Earlier, there was angst within Tata Digital that separate businesses were not allowed to take independent operational decisions, which led to friction and operational delays, Tata group officials said. “Tahilyani is focusing on organisational cohesion and a more collaborative approach of offering Tata Neu as a digital platform on which businesses can take informed decisions on what works best for their individual businesses,” said an official close to the matter.
“The earlier CEO-Pratik Pal- has been credited for laying the foundation of the businesses and getting it off the ground. The next phase now needed good execution to bring in consumers through effective execution for which Tahilyani has been brought in,” the official said.
Top officials close to the development said all strategies are being implemented backed by information and analytics. This includes deferring a plan to integrate operational structures of key group assets such as BigBasket, 1mg, and Tata Cliq to enhance consumer responsiveness to Tata Neu superapp.
“The view taken is that until the Tata Neu app becomes efficient and a consumer’s first choice in ease of usage, the other separate apps cannot be killed,” said people familiar with the matter.
“There have been meetings across team and Cliq CEO Gopal Asthana with the commerce team of Neu as fashion has to be scaled. Earlier, integrating Croma took much longer to get them on Neu. These are being changed now,” one of the persons cited above said.
The flagship digital asset, BigBasket, is also looking to raise up to $100 million in funding from parent Tata Sons. BigBasket is continuing to burn cash in its quick commerce business BB Now, while the core grocery business has stabilised in terms of cash spends to grow.
