Leadership and a strong business strategy are essential for the success of any global company. In today’s highly competitive world, having a capable leader and a solid business plan is the best way to stay ahead of the competition. Good leaders guide their teams and organizations to overcome challenges when operating globally and make the most of the opportunities.
Among the values and qualities a leader should have, effective management of organizational and market changes is crucial. A leader must also strike the right balance between stability, innovation, and adaptability.
One such leader who embodies these values and is leading the charge in technology while inspiring future entrepreneurs is Rajesh Saboo, featured in The Enterprise World’s this issue of Most Inspiring Business Leaders To Watch Out For 2023.
A Visionary Leadership of Rajesh Saboo
With an experience that spans over three decades, Mr. Rajesh Saboo has been working in the information technology industry, catering to the needs of its various fields.
He has worked with India’s most reputed companies at various capacities. Future Group, Raymond Limited, Ashok Parimal Group, Aditya Birla Group, & Wadia Group, just to name a few. His last successful venture before ideas 4 Transformation took shape, was when he served as the Senior Vice President- IT Services of Future Group.
His area of focus lay in working as a Change Agent for the rapid stride of the group in Retail & Supply chain.
Rajesh Saboo’s contributions in the growth and innovations in his previous organizations has garnered him with numerous awards and accolades.
Rajesh’s climb to the ladder of success lies in his deep-rooted values and strong work-ethics. Simplicity and speed are just two of the core values embedded in Rajesh’s leadership.
Having worked extensively in various corporates, Rajesh Saboo felt that the brands were not able to evaluate the usage of their network stores. These brands had no way to review if the store was offering the right mix that was attractive to the local demographics.
This led to the founding of ideas 4 Transformation, a company built to help SMART Retail and Managed IT Services for Retail & QSR.
ideas 4 Transformation – A Flexible Technology Partner
ideas 4 Transformation is a highly adaptable technology company that excels in assisting various types of businesses, including those in retail, malls, and restaurants. They specialize in providing tailor-made IT services and clever solutions for retailers.
With a focus on the ever-evolving Indian market, Ideas 4 Transformation has honed its expertise in IT services and retail solutions. The dedicated team employs a savvy approach to not only save money and accelerate processes but also to facilitate substantial growth for their clients.
The seasoned executive leadership team at i4T, with a wealth of experience in the retail sector, is deeply dedicated to ensuring the success of their client relationships.
“Working as an Executive sponsor in every relationship will fuel the growth story.”, adds Mr. Saboo.
“By combining i4T’s Retail, Technology & Services capabilities, and unparalleled understanding of the Indian consumer, we could create Retail Magic!”
Each service provided by the company is distinctive, primarily due to its customized approach, aimed at initiating, executing, and enabling the fulfillment of business requirements. This philosophy is ingrained in the entire team’s operations.
Their core belief is that in our constantly changing world, a basic set of services won’t suffice to meet your company’s requirements. This is what distinguishes them from the competition. i4T’s team ensures that their combined services result in cutting-edge solutions that cater to customer demands and foster the development of enduring businesses.
Since its inception in 2016, the i4T team has established valuable connections with clients across India, leveraging their profound domain expertise. The company’s services span across more than 1000 cities, and they maintain a local presence in over 70 cities. Additionally, the team has successfully provided training to over 500 individuals in India.
I4T’s Suite of Services
Customized IT Managed Services for Retailers
- Store, Office, Warehouse (Retail IT)
- Application Monitoring And Support
- Technical Service Desk & Remote Support
- Store & Warehouse Network Monitoring And Management
- Retail POS Application Migration & Roll Out
- New Store Opening : Procurement & Services
- Asset Life Cycle Management
Solutions and Services for Retails
- People Counting Solutions Using Footfall Device
- Retail POS Solutions
- Inventory Audit: Fixed Asset & Merchandise
- Self-Ordering Kiosks
- EAS Solutions: AM & RF
- In Store Video Analytics Using CCTV & AI Device
Challenging the Challenges
Every successful venture has its ups and downs.
“The road for i4T was also the one filled with hurdles and achievements, but one thing that remained consistent was our unwavering spirit and the aim to provide the best to our clients.”, says Rajesh Saboo.
Much like any other business, i4T encountered its fair share of challenges. Initially, they grappled with the task of not only attracting top-tier talent but also retaining them to deliver exceptional services. Another crucial hurdle was the meticulous management of cash flow. However, the adept executive team swiftly addressed these issues, aligning their growth strategy accordingly.
Furthermore, they faced the challenge of selectively declining potential customers from their initial peer group. As a retail solutions provider, i4T prioritizes depth over breadth, opting to focus on a select few clients rather than a multitude.
“This is nice problem to have but to be dealt with very carefully without offending; that’s a challenge because, with the exposure to the CXO Group in my previous tenure, I need to keep everybody happy but at the same time don’t serve everyone and spoil the quality of services.”, adds Mr. Saboo.
“We are typical not vendors who will come and sell what they want to sell. We try to understand the problem of CXO community. That’s our aim which we are trying to achieve.”
Milestones Along the Way
Starting small and growing to this extent takes a lot of bravery and sticking to the plan. Mr. Rajesh Saboo and his team have made it happen, even with many challenges to overcome. Such an impressive journey deserves to be celebrated at every important point. Here are a few key moments from the company’s history.
March 2023
- People Happiness Driven Culture
- Customer base consolidation and spread more Services
- Expanding & Strengthening New Services
- Partner Eco System Consolidation
- PMO driven New Services
- New Home for i4T Corporate
- Expansion to NCR & Bengaluru with principal Support Office
PAN India Presence
- Trained Team Members : 450+
- Local Presence Cities : 70+
- Serviceable Cities : 800+
- Multi Skilled Trained Engineers
- Service Management : Through i4T Mobile App
- 24*7 Support Window
April 2022
- Focus on Vision 2025
- Reorganization for Mission 2025
- Launch of Remote Support Services
- Consolidating the Solutions and Services
- Focus on Customer Driven Solutions
- Focus on Value added Services
- Increase City Presence: Own Created a leadership position in Retail – QSR (IT infrastructure & services)
March 2021
- Onboarded New Services with New Customers
- Partnered for POS Migration – LS Retail & Microsoft 365
- Project Services for Pantloon & SapphireFoods(KFC & Pizza Hut)
- New Solutions – In Store Video Analytics initiated
- Diversified IT Manged Services into Fashion Retailers – Shopper Stop
- Strengthened IMS support to 2000+ Stores
- Support Base in 100+ Cities
- Team expanded 100+ Dedicated engineers
April 2020
- Back end Process Improvements , launch of Mobile App- DISHA for Engineers
- On-boarded New Services Devyani International- NSO , Server Migration , KDS & CDS Installation
- Completed Metro Brands Footfall installation in 450 Stores
- People Counting Solutions extended to new Customers – Dalmia Bharat & Columbia Sportswear
March 2019
- Yearly Performance Awards at Engineer Level
October 2018
- Solution Expansion
- Burger King Extended IMS services to New Stores. Future Group added EAS & RFID Solutions.
- People Counting Solutions
July 2018
- On boarded Murugappa Group for Trace & Track (CUMI)
- On boarded Metro Brands for Smart Retail Solution – People Counting and deployed in 500 Stores
April 2018
- Addition of Global partner’s and solutions
- AIRSEC for EAS
- FotfallCam for People Counting
- HP for End Computing Solutions
March 2018
- Customers: 5+ Corporates having diversified Biz
- Prospects: Very healthy- 15+
- People: Team of 30+ Strong Experienced and Youth
- Global Partnership
- Solutions Portfolio Re-Defined
December 2017
- Launched Mobile app R-Live for Delivery, Sales Inventory
- Added New Customer for Projects
July 2017
- Signed Burger King for PAN India IMS.
- Future Group on boarded for Barcode solution.
- Added 15 new employees.
- Added 10 new partners
April 2017
Partnership alliance with
- Point Mobile
- Check Point
- Zebra
- On boarded “FUTURE GROUP” for IoT solution
March 2017
- Team of 10 employee’s part of i4T Family
- On boarded another customer as a Project.
- Soft Skills Training Session: Eminent Industry Speaker conducted a highly thought-provoking training session on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for the engineers of our team across PAN INDIA.
January 2017
- On boarded 1st customer Burger King for IMS
- On boarded our 1st partner.
- Retail Solutions Portfolio & Partners identified
- Team i4T welcomed the year 2017 with Team building games & celebrations
October 2016
- i4T Starts its operations from a SOHO – Happy Valley from 11th Oct.2016 on Dussera & 1st employee hired
- Roadmap Finalized
- Solutions Portfolio Designed
- Partners Eco system Identified
- Organisation Structure Designed
What the Future Holds?
i4T’s upcoming major initiative revolves around the enhancement of the technical support ecosystem, aiming to make it more efficient. Leveraging their extensive industry experience, one significant advantage is that the team has amassed a wealth of retail data over the years.
“We know what is happening across pan-India, across various formats, restaurants, retailers, etc. I want to create an ecosystem where we will have insights about this data and start focusing on what’s next for the industry,” says Rajesh Saboo.
Presently, most organizations opt for various paid services that typically involve a company conducting research, dispatching personnel to collect sample data, and subsequently, through data extrapolation and analysis, formulating predictive trends for the near future market outlook.
In contrast to this prevailing approach, Rajesh Saboo advocates for harnessing the existing data, analyses, and insights to assist the industry in fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making. For instance, utilizing demographic information and customer segmentation to determine the optimal location for a restaurant, ensuring it maximizes revenue generation.
“Data-driven decision making is an offshoot of this business, which is I am doing, that we will want to focus on. Our further focus is to create a tech-based service model for retailers like OLA, Uber’s, and book and pay services. Also, we want to reach the aspiring population of India, which is in smaller cities and towns,” concludes Rajesh Saboo.”
