Are Southeast Asia's retailers and brands customer #Ready2018?

Dubai, UAE, November 29, 2018:  Capillary Technologies, a leading cloud-based software solutions provider that enables retailers to intelligently engage with their customers, hosted #Ready2018 conference in Singapore recently. The #Ready2018 featured Prominent speakers including senior leaders from Google, Twitter, J&J, Nielsen, Valiram Group, Bain, Sequoia, Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic.

Southeast Asia’s leading retailers, investors and retail technology leaders converged at the #Ready2018, where over 200 CXOs discussed the future of commerce in the digital era, and gauged SEA’s readiness for disruption. 

The #Ready2018 aimed to empower business leaders with the latest business strategies to be consumer-ready and uncover how technology is fundamentally transforming the e-commerce, startup and retail ecosystem in Southeast Asia (SEA). 

With APAC’s 2 billion-strong internet users growing by 8 per cent year on year, the region’s digital economy is projected to be worth USD 1.12 trillion by 2021. Maya Hari, VP Asia Pacific at Twitter on her keynote, discussed about preferences of the millennial consumer, who would make up most of these users.

Recognising the ongoing trends, experts shared views on the impact of an evolving connected environment on businesses and suggest ways in which brands can become consumer ready.  

“As consumers, businesses and governments continually adapt to a digital world, the desire for tech-enabled solutions that improve traditional transaction methods, online business and financial services is proliferating,” said Aneesh Reddy, Co-Founder and CEO of Capillary Technologies. “At #Ready2018, we brought together speakers who have not only thrived in digital transformation but are also driving this change from the front. They were passionate about not just growth, but about building a better, easier, more vibrant future.”

Best-selling author and global investor, Dr. Jeffrey Towson from Peking University presented on new developments for China’s retail and e-commerce ecosystem, and the implications for businesses beyond its borders. Attendees got the opportunity to attend a uniquely curated Masterclass on digital CRM and loyalty, led by Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, COO of Capillary Technologies. Ganesh shared on Capillary's experience in working with 400 global retail brands and how to create an omnichannel strategy for ROI and profitability.

"Digital is impacting brands in many different ways and the pace of change is accelerating", said Rajan Anandan, VP India & SEA, Google "The discussions shared insights on how brands and retailers can shape the next phase of digital transformation."

Fellow speaker, Johan Vrancken, Managing Director at Singapore Nielsen added, “The speaker line-up brought expertise and perspectives on digital disruption, as well as emerging topics around blockchain for business and digital loyalty for consumers among others. We are honoured and excited to have the brightest minds joined us for a day knowledge-sharing, learning and engaging discussions in inspiring the businesses to take effective action.”  

The drive to enable consumer readiness among business is shared by technology partners, Mindtree, SpurTree and Cloudcherry who would add value to the event with innovative showcases, sessions and masterclasses.

Conor McNamara, Head of Business Development APAC, Amazon Web Services addressed the crowd with a session on Digital Transformation in Retail.
Other engaging points for discussion included integration of emerging technologies like blockchain into business and whether it’s just a buzzword or a disruption.

The event witnessed a panel discussion from experts on the latest trends and opportunities for businesses in an increasing volatile and uncertain ecosystem.