Energy costs are climbing, margins are tightening, and most multi-site operators are losing 25-35% of their energy spend to invisible leakage. In this practitioner-led session, The Knowledge Company sought to explore how India’s retail, QSR, and multi-site leaders are shifting from reactive firefighting to predictive, technology-driven operations.
What We Discussed:
🔹 Energy as a Risk, Not a Fixed Cost – Why energy is as volatile as gold prices and how 25-35% is often wasted on idle equipment
🔹 The Real Cost of Firefighting – How reactive operations drain morale, shorten customer dwell time, and hurt conversions
🔹 AI & IoT as Operational Levers – Real-time data as a “glucose monitor” for store health; predictive maintenance over breakdown management
🔹 Scaling with Centralized Control – Moving from manual sign-offs to unified visibility across 50-500+ locations
🔹 Sustainability Beyond Compliance – Why ESG is shifting from tick-box exercise to auditable, science-based targets
🔹 Freeing Store Managers – Letting them focus on customers, not equipment failures
Speakers:
Arvind Singhal – Chairman & Founder, The Knowledge Company (Moderator)
Shankar Ramachandran – CEO, Marrie Retail
HAPS Dhillon – Business Head (APAC & EMEA), Carrier Abound
Key Takeaway:
With energy costs climbing and margins under pressure in Indian retail, predictability has become as important as cost reduction. This session shows how real-time data, AI, IoT, and autonomous controls help retailers move from reactive firefighting to prevention—delivering stronger margins and ESG progress through smarter execution.
Who Should Watch:
CXOs, Operations Heads, Facility Managers, Sustainability Leaders, and decision-makers managing retail chains, QSRs, grocery networks, BFSI branches, and distributed operations.
