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By:

Rashmi Kulkarni

23 March 2025 at 2:58:52 pm

Minimum Viable Digitisation

In MSMEs, digitisation fails when it asks for faith. Start where it offers relief. This is the point where many leaders make the costliest mistake: They treat digitisation like a “big bang”. ERP rollout. Full automation. Everything at once. And then they act surprised when the company rejects it. Let me say it plainly: Most MSMEs don’t fail at digitization because of technology. They fail because of adoption. Which Seat? Inherited seat: you’re under pressure to “make it modern” fast. That...

Minimum Viable Digitisation

In MSMEs, digitisation fails when it asks for faith. Start where it offers relief. This is the point where many leaders make the costliest mistake: They treat digitisation like a “big bang”. ERP rollout. Full automation. Everything at once. And then they act surprised when the company rejects it. Let me say it plainly: Most MSMEs don’t fail at digitization because of technology. They fail because of adoption. Which Seat? Inherited seat: you’re under pressure to “make it modern” fast. That pressure pushes you into big moves. Hired seat: you want to justify your hiring with visible transformation. That pushes you into big moves. Promoted seat: you want to prove you can lead beyond operations. That pushes you into big moves. Different seats. Same trap: overreach. UPI vs core banking Think about how India adopted UPI. Most people didn’t wake up one day and say, “I want to digitize my financial life”. They adopted UPI because it was easier  than what they were doing. It reduced pain: no change needed, no long forms, no bank visits, no waiting, instant confirmation. If you compare that to “core banking software”, you’ll see the difference. Core banking is heavy. UPI is light. Core banking asks for trust and patience. UPI offers relief on day one. That’s your lesson for MSMEs: Digitisation should feel like relief, not religion. Right Target Incoming leaders often say: “We need data.” “We need transparency.” “We need ERP.” All of that may be true. But it’s not the starting point. The starting point is: interfaces. Interfaces are the places where work crosses a boundary and things get messy. In MSMEs, disputes usually begin at interfaces: purchase request → approval → PO production completion → dispatch → delivery invoice → follow-up → collection customer promise → production plan → commitment These are the places where: money moves, blame travels, delays hide, exceptions grow WhatsApp becomes the system. So don’t digitise “everything.” Digitise one interface where money moves and disputes begin. Why Interface-First Two well-known ideas explain adoption clearly. Everett Rogers wrote about how innovations spread: people adopt when they see advantage, low risk, and others like them succeeding. They don’t adopt because you announced it. The Technology Acceptance Model (Davis) is even simpler: adoption happens when people feel the tool is useful and easy. In MSME terms: “Will this make my life easier?” “Will this create trouble for me?” “Will I get blamed if it fails?” “Will it slow me down?” If you can answer these questions well, adoption happens. If you can’t, people will smile and bypass. Viable digitisation Minimum viable digitisation means: small scope, clear benefit, low risk, quick proof, easy rollback. It’s not “small thinking”. It’s smart sequencing. The goal of the first digitization is not perfection. The goal is trust. Once the system sees that digitization reduces pain without creating danger, the next step becomes easier. What to digitise If you want a safe starting point, pick one of these interfaces: PO approvals Why it works: delays, confusion, and “who approved what” disputes are common. A simple approval queue reduces follow-ups fast. Dispatch confirmation Why it works: dispatch is where customers start shouting. A simple dispatch status board reduces panic. Collections follow-up Why it works: cash flow stress is universal. A simple overdue list with follow-up notes reduces chaos. Notice these are not “ERP modules”. They are pain points that people already feel. The one thing you must add: rollback safety This is important: in MSMEs, people avoid new systems because they fear getting trapped. So your pilot must include a rollback rule. Not as a threat. As reassurance. Example: “We will run this for 2 weeks. If it increases cycle time, we will roll back.” “We will keep a backup format for emergencies only.” “We will not punish anyone for mistakes during the pilot.” This reduces fear and increases honest participation. (The author is Co-founder at PPS Consulting and a business operations advisor. She helps businesses across sectors and geographies improve execution through global best practices. She could be reached at rashmi@ppsconsulting.biz)

BMC auctioning three land parcels to raise funds, says Aaditya

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Aaditya

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday alleged Mumbai’s civic body had decided to auction three land parcels to raise funds and make up for the “loot” of the metropolis by the Eknath Shinde government.


The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which is being run by an administrator now, has decided to auction the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Mandi (Market), the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Malabar Hill Receiving Station and the Worli Asphalt Plant, Thackeray pointed out.


“The sale of Mumbai is being done by the Eknath Shinde regime to benefit its favourite builders and contractors,” he alleged.


A criminal investigation will be conducted into the matter after the Maha Vikas Aghadi government comes to power, Thackeray added.


“So on one end, they looted the BMC and Mumbai and gave the money to their favourite contractors. Now, by auctioning these iconic and important land parcels, the BMC will be left without both funds and plots,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former state minister claimed.


When Shiv Sena started controlling the BMC in 1997, its finances were in deficit but by 2022 his party turned around the fiscal health of the civic body, Thackeray said.


Alleging that the Shinde government wants to drive Kolis and fisherfolk out of Mumbai, he said, “We will oppose this. It has to remain and be made into a fish market, and (should be) in the ownership of the BMC.”


Aaditya puppet for urban naxals: Shelar

Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar has called Uddhav Thackeray’s son and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray as a puppet for urban naxals after former’s comments on the Dharavi Redevelopment project and has also challenged him for a debate.

Ashish Shelar said that the project is a necessity and a priority project, adding that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Congressleader Varsha Gaikwad are peddling lies.

Aaditya Thackeray seems to have become the spokesperson of urban Naxals. Without studying the subject (Dharavi) in detail, Aaditya Thackeray is speaking like an ignorant. I have seen that these people have been trying to set a narrative regarding Dharavi and the re-development work,” Ashish Shelar said.

He challenged Aaditya Thackeray and Varsha Gaikwad in a debate on the Dharavi Redevelopment Project.

“Uddhav ji and the people of his party – Aaditya Thackeray and Varsha Gaikwad have started this false narrative regarding Dharavi. I openly challenge Aaditya for a debate. I want to ask him that 70 per cent of the homes in the Dharavi Redevelopment Project will go to Marathi people, Muslims and Dalits. It is their rightful home, so why are they putting roadblocks by creating a false narrative?”

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