Global reach, local touch: The AI-driven future of GCCs

Combination of machine & human intelligence key to delivering customer solutions.

How can global capability centres (GCCs) mushrooming across the country leverage AI and ML to create truly customer-centric solutions for a global market? At our webinar last week, experts argued that success in this area requires a multifaceted approach that blends technological prowess and an ironclad understanding of data, with a deep appreciation of human needs and cultural nuances.

Rakesh Rajkumar, executive VP of solutions engineering at IT consultancy v4c.ai , said the first thing organisations must do is get their data quality act together, ensure clean, well-structured data. “Garbage in, garbage out is pretty much the synopsis,” he said. His advice to companies is to adopt a “crawl, walk, run” approach, focusing first on data quality and understanding before leaping into complex AI implementations.

Vinodh Ramachandran, director of data science & analytics at luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group’s GCC in Bengaluru, outlined several trends he believes will define customer experience in the coming years, and which in turn GCCs will try and create solutions for. These include hyper-personalisation , where offerings are tailored in real-time based on customer behaviour; dynamic content delivery; virtual try-on experiences for products; multimodal customer interactions combining text, speech, and video; and seamless integration across different retail channels (like mobile and PC). All of these will require AI/ML.


To fully leverage these technologies, Vinodh said, GCCs need to adopt a product mindset, embrace a “fail fast” approach to innovation, and reorganise around product teams.

Another crucial and often overlooked factor, Vinodh said, is the idea of data democracy. “Data should be available to everybody in the company – of course with rolebased access. And everyone should be trained with some basic querying language (like SQL),” he said. That will help democratise innovation and generation of insights.

Adopting agile frameworks
GCCs are increasingly relying on data analytics to analyse customer behaviour, understand market trends, and operational data. This helps them make proactive decisions and tailor products or services aligning with changes. Gartner predicts AI-driven businesses will outperform non-AI competitors by 25% in customer satisfaction, cost efficiency and overall performance. GCCs must focus on digital transformation to improve efficiency and customer experience, and leverage machine learning , IoT, and blockchain to innovate and provide real-time personalised solutions.
Rakesh Rajkumar | EVP, Solutions Engineering, V4C.AI

GCCs are at the forefront of driving cutting edge technology and digital transformation for parent companies across industries. Modern advancements have enabled GCCs to work on futuristic problems, anticipating challenges rather than just reacting. We can handle older problems on a much larger scale now, thanks to the modern tech stack, zettabytes of data, and compute capacity. In retail, every decision keeps the customer at the centre. Personalisation through recommender systems, email marketing, customer care, inventory optimisation, and virtual trial rooms powered by AI have had significant impact.
Vinodh Ramachandran | Director, Data Science & Analytics, Neiman Marcus

GCCs are adopting agile frameworks to react swiftly to dynamic market changes and evolving consumer needs. Agile emphasises shorter development cycles and continuous iterations to adapt to challenges and customer feedback. Cloud platforms with automated technologies provide scalable operations, enabling GCCs to optimise workflows, reduce inefficiencies and meet fluctuating demands. Data-driven decision making and AI integration help analyse customer behaviour, market trends and operational data for proactive decisions and tailored products/services. Digital transformation improves efficiency and customer experience through machine learning, IoT and blockchain innovations.
Anurag Goswami | VP Delivery, INORG


Global-local balancing act
Navigating the complexities of serving a global customer base requires a delicate balance between standardised global practices and localised adaptations, and is a critical capability that GCCs will have to master, said Anurag Goswami, VP of delivery at InOrg, a company that specialises in GCC setup and operations. “It’s a crucial aspect of global business strategies, and how much of it is globalised versus local depends on the industry type, the product, as well as the customer base,” he said.

While core product functionalities and brand values often remain consistent globally, Anurag said elements like language, payment preferences, design aesthetics, marketing messages, customer support, and regulatory compliance require tailoring to specific markets. He said a typical ratio would be 60% globalisation and 40% localisation.

Achieving this balance necessitates a multi-pronged approach, including content translation and customised feature development for specific markets, adapting customer support to regional needs, and leveraging the insights of cross-cultural teams to ensure a deep understanding of local market nuances.

While AI and ML can play a significant role in automating all of this content localisation and personalising experiences, Anurag cautioned against relying solely on technology. Understanding cultural subtleties, navigating ethical considerations, and adapting to rapidly evolving trends require human judgment and intervention. As he described it, the only way to get it right is to go for a blend of “natural intelligence” with AI, where human expertise complements and guides the application of AI solutions.