Retail GCCs Thriving in the Indian Business Ecosystem

India is embracing modernization at a faster rate. According to NASSCOM's recent report, India is home to the GCCs of roughly 25 per cent of global Retail/ CPG companies and employs over 50,000 people in India. Retail / CPG GCCs are emerging as a strategic driver for innovation and building new capabilities in digital and core functions. They are leveraging strategic partnerships to enable niche initiatives as well as bring scale. 

The report states that Bengaluru is the preferred GCC location hosting over 70 per cent of Retail/CPG GCCs. Around 25 Retail/CPG enterprises are looking to establish new GCCs in 2021/22 tapping into the mature ecosystem of talent and global operating models.

In the last five years, an increased surge in the number of GCCs have been witnessed. The country is the home for big Retail/CPG GCC brands globally and majority of infusions are in the digital and innovation space. 

Retail Becoming a Part of Enterprise

Retail/CPG GCCs are now becoming an important part of the enterprise – driving value, supporting transformation and significantly impacting business. Here are what reports state about retail GCCs presence in the prevalent Indian business ecosystem.  

1. According to Tesco Case Study, Key rationale to establish a GCC in India is to build distributed, collaborative teams leveraging global talent and building new business capabilities 
2. According to Walmart Global Tech India case study, Retail / CPG GCCs are making significant investments in building capabilities in digital, data analytics and automation/RPA
3. As per Target in India Case’s study, Depth and maturity in core retail functions have helped drive value and impact,merchandising is a key function supported from India, followed by supply chain, store operations and marketing 
4. Global leadership teams are operating from GCC and are leading strategic transformational initiatives such as digital
5. As per Falabella case’s study, Hybrid models (working with service providers, contractors) has become a norm now, with GCC managing the partnership 
6. Lowe's India and Advanced AutoParts case study states that robust employee growth and retention programs help develop enterprise talent
7. Retail/CPG GCCs are posed to make significant investments in areas including digital and enterprise transformation

How Retail GCCs are Reforming

According to the report, a key rationale to set up a GCC in India is to build global distributed engineering capabilities. Other reasons include access to the global talent pool and building new business capabilities. Secondly, expense management remains a key driver for setting up a GCC in India.

The retail GCCs primarily help to transform the business. The recent report states that more than 70 per cent retail GCCs affirmed that their host companies are benefiting from the IT and business transformation efforts underway at their GCCs. Through their ability to hire top-talent, GCCs are supporting innovation and growth programs of global retail / CPG companies. Other additional benefits comprises of building new business capabilities and strategic capacity in support of the enterprise growth agenda.