flipkart innovation
Indian E-Commerce Portal -Success Story : Flipkart Drives Innovation Through Intelligent use of IT
Amod Malviya
VP Engineering, Flipkart
We started streaming metrics on large screens on the engineering floor so that engineers could track performance in real time—unlike most websites that review their performance only once in a week.
Executive summary
By using a system that allows Flipkart’s engineers to launch multiple versions of its website in real time, IT drives a new level of innovation.
The Organization: Despite a slow start, e-commerce in India has grown by 70 percent year-on-year, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India. Leading the pack of e-retailers is Flipkart. The brain child of ex-Amazon employees Flipkart has today become one of the most trusted avenues for e-commerce in India.
The Business case: In 2010, thanks to the new-found confidence of the Indian online shopper, Flipkart’s numbers peaked.
But for Amod Malviya, VP engineering, Flipkart, that came with a caveat. “We had to be careful to not let our rapid growth kill the innovative spirit of the company,” he says. That’s a valid fear. In the business of innovation, complacency holds no ground.
Case Study Highlights
Malviya knew he would have to empower users with new tools to innovate and stay ahead of the pack.
Flipkart uses an A/B framework (used to test the success of web marketing campaigns), allows multiple versions of the site to be live simultaneously.
Malviya knew he would have to empower users with new tools to innovate and stay ahead of the pack. But creating a new process wasn’t the solution. “Processes force people to do things in a certain way, killing their creativity. If you remove the bureaucratic headache, people are encouraged to think freely," says Malviya.
While he admits that this approach opens new doors to risk, he knows that it also encourages a fearless culture of innovation—a must-have in the e-commerce business.
The Project:
Amod Malviya
VP Engineering, Flipkart
We started streaming metrics on large screens on the engineering floor so that engineers could track performance in real time—unlike most websites that review their performance only once in a week.
Executive summary
By using a system that allows Flipkart’s engineers to launch multiple versions of its website in real time, IT drives a new level of innovation.
The Organization: Despite a slow start, e-commerce in India has grown by 70 percent year-on-year, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India. Leading the pack of e-retailers is Flipkart. The brain child of ex-Amazon employees Flipkart has today become one of the most trusted avenues for e-commerce in India.
The Business case: In 2010, thanks to the new-found confidence of the Indian online shopper, Flipkart’s numbers peaked.
But for Amod Malviya, VP engineering, Flipkart, that came with a caveat. “We had to be careful to not let our rapid growth kill the innovative spirit of the company,” he says. That’s a valid fear. In the business of innovation, complacency holds no ground.
Case Study Highlights
Malviya knew he would have to empower users with new tools to innovate and stay ahead of the pack.
Flipkart uses an A/B framework (used to test the success of web marketing campaigns), allows multiple versions of the site to be live simultaneously.
Malviya knew he would have to empower users with new tools to innovate and stay ahead of the pack. But creating a new process wasn’t the solution. “Processes force people to do things in a certain way, killing their creativity. If you remove the bureaucratic headache, people are encouraged to think freely," says Malviya.
While he admits that this approach opens new doors to risk, he knows that it also encourages a fearless culture of innovation—a must-have in the e-commerce business.
The Project: