ITC has constituted a ‘Young Digital Innovators Lab’ to drive digital transformation in the conglomerate. This will comprise digital specialists drawn from across ITC’s businesses to crowdsource transformative digital strategies.

The company has also formed a dedicated digital council of senior ITC managers called ‘DigiNext’ which will ideate and sponsor high impact digital interventions.

In a media release issued on Sunday, the company said these digital initiatives were announced by ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri to employees recently. It said the empowered team of innovators, free to set their agenda and seek the necessary resources, will access ITC’s digital assets, evaluate the digital initiatives, identify best-in-class digital technologies and spot opportunities across value-chains.

ITC said digital innovations are increasingly being harnessed to enhance competitive advantage in business efficiencies, consumer engagements and logistics. New technologies such as Industry 4.0, smart robotics, artificial intelligence, big data, industrial internet of things (IoT) and machine learning are being deployed by all businesses, including ITC’s supply chain and distribution ecosystem to enhance operational effectiveness.

The company said substantial investments have been made in the creation of a digital eco-system to drive smart manufacturing, product quality, traceability and supply chain agility. It said the pandemic further reinforced the efficacy of digitalization.

“As digitalisation penetrates deeper, it is expected to become a source of significant disruption creating new profit pools and revenue streams, offering novel ways of interacting with consumers and reconfiguring value chains, with the power to bring transformative changes in industries,” the company said.