Executive Summary
The ASTRA program aims to transform wheat procurement through the use of digital and analyticsdriven solutions for improved efficiency. Integrates advanced analytics and digital tools into decisionmaking to enhance accuracy and agility. Combining expert judgment with data-driven insights improves procurement strategies and operational outcomes and innovation into a single, integrated operating model.
Business Challenge
- A dynamic and diverse agri-commodity market with significant price volatility throughout the year
- Multiple economic, climatic, and market factors influence price trends
- Regional variations leading to distinct market behaviors
- Complex network and buying process involving procurement from numerous suppliers and markets, followed by distribution across multiple locations
- Consistently growing purchase volumes require agile planning
- Daily decentralized buying within tight timelines and limited visibility into consolidated data
Business Challenge
- A dynamic and diverse agri-commodity market with significant price volatility throughout the year
- Multiple economic, climatic, and market factors influence price trends
- Regional variations leading to distinct market behaviors
- Complex network and buying process involving procurement from numerous suppliers and markets, followed by distribution across multiple locations
- Consistently growing purchase volumes require agile planning
- Daily decentralized buying within tight timelines and limited visibility into consolidated data
Our Solution
- Designed, validated, deployed, and implemented ongoing monitoring and maintenance of advanced data science models to ensure sustained accuracy and performance
- Developed a suite of models at annual, monthly, weekly, and daily levels to address diverse business challenges and enable proactive decision-making
- Built temporal (“When to Buy”) and spatial (“Where to Buy”) optimization models to enhance procurement efficiency and cost-effectiveness
- Applied smart feature selection techniques leveraging machine learning algorithms and statistical
- Utilized linear regression, unobserved component models, and other advanced machine learning techniques to deliver accurate price forecasts
- Designed and developed a comprehensive digital platform to capture market data, present modeldriven recommendations, and facilitate planning and approval of buying decisions
Key Results and Benefits
- Enhanced Procurement Accuracy: The ASTRA program improved procurement decisions, reducing risks of overpayment and stock shortages effectively
- Operational Efficiency: Automation and digital tools minimized manual errors and boosted operational efficiency across processes
- Cost Optimization: Predictive analytics and reverse auctions helped optimize costs and achieve better
negotiation results - Improved Strategic Planning: Integrated dashboards and real-time insights enabled proactive decision-making and better resource allocation
About ITC Infotech
ITC Infotech is a leading global technology services and solutions provider, led by Business and Technology Consulting. ITC Infotech provides business-friendly solutions to help clients succeed and be future-ready, by seamlessly bringing together digital expertise, strong industry specific alliances and the unique ability to leverage deep domain expertise from ITC Group businesses. ITC Infotech is a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd., a 100-plus-year-old diversified conglomerate with businesses spanning Hotels, Consumer Goods, Paperboards & Packaging, Agri Business, and Information Technology. ITC Ltd. has been in the hospitality business for over 4 decades. It has over 100 properties across 70+ destinations. The hospitality practice at ITC Infotech is 800+ people strong and most have experience in the hospitality domain leading to a high-quality IT service experience for its hospitality customers.
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