They told the conference, organised by SAP, that demand for consumer experiences is increasing, heralding the age of the experience economy.

Economic success would be forged by the experience that organisations provide, and technology is making it easier than ever for them to manage the experiences of their customers, they said.

The customer experience matters in South-east Asia where over 641 million consumers are in the drivers’ seat, they said, quoting the fifth Quadrant Study as saying 76 of them switch brands after just one bad experience.

Scott Russell, president of SAP Asia Pacific and Japan, told the conference, “There is an experience gap in which 80 per cent of CEOs believe they are delivering a superior experience to customers, but only 8 per cent of customers agree.”

To narrow this gap, the use of technologies is indispensable.

This was obvious from the stories narrated at the conference by leading business leaders from Southeast Asia about how they are investing in technology and taking the lead in their respective industries in becoming intelligent enterprises.

Claus Andresen, president and managing director of SAP Southeast Asia, said: “These companies are frontrunners in their respective industries and understand how having a better and unified experience for customers, employees and decision makers is crucial for long-term sustainable growth.”

One of the stories was from City Mart Holdings Company Ltd, a major Myanmarese retailer with over 200 stores and 8,500 employees.

Ronald Lee, project director of City Mart, said: “Our 2025 vision and mission are to be an innovative company that strives to enhance our customers’ experience through the use of innovative technology.”

He said the solution provides his company with a robust platform enabling them to serve customers more efficiently and seamlessly across online and physical formats.

Zuellig Pharma, one of the largest healthcare services groups in Asia and which serves more than 350,000 medical facilities in 13 markets, highlighted how it is making healthcare more accessible by harnessing blockchain technology to address counterfeit medicine, cross-border trading and product recalls.

Thai property company Ananda Development has invested in technological solutions for its procurement and employee management.

JustCo, a co-working space provider, said technology has helped it empower a dynamic workforce for employee experience management.

SAP executives said” “They key to success in the experience economy is having an intelligent suite of core applications, experience management solutions and a secure digital platform that unites experience and operational data and processes.”

Andresen said his company is pleased to work to transform businesses in Southeast Asia into intelligent enterprises to drive economic growth and master the experience economy. — VNS