Bata India’s CIO on rebuilding retail tech for an AI-first future

For Bata India, digital transformation has not been about replacing legacy systems overnight, but about methodically rebuilding the core to support scale, speed and intelligence in a volatile retail environment. As one of India’s largest and most widely distributed footwear retailers—with a vast network of company-owned and franchise stores spanning metros and smaller towns—the ability to run consistently at scale is a business imperative.

Over the last 5-6 years, the footwear major has undertaken a phased technology modernisation programme—consolidating fragmented systems, migrating mission-critical workloads to the cloud, and laying the groundwork for AI-led decision-making. In an exclusive chat with TechCircle, Varun Bansal, CIO, Bata India, explains that the brand’s focus has always been clear: build a resilient digital backbone that can serve stores, supply chains and customers with equal efficiency.

Modernising the retail core

The transformation began with a shift from offline to online point-of-sale systems—arguably the most critical platform for a large-format retailer. Bata also standardised enterprise platforms across functions, adopting modern systems for finance, HR, e-commerce, merchandising and supply chain operations.

A key part of this phase involved moving core retail and supply chain workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which Bata adopted early for high-performance, transaction-heavy applications. The POS system now runs on OCI Exadata, while warehouse and fulfilment operations are supported by Oracle Warehouse Management and cloud-based supply chain applications.

“Standardisation and automation across operations were essential for scale and consistency,” Bansal says. “Visibility into inventory and execution directly impacts store performance and customer experience.”

Cloud elasticity for seasonal retail peaks

India’s retail business is defined by sharp demand spikes—festive seasons, sales events and regional surges. Bata has used cloud elasticity to balance peak performance with cost efficiency.

Mission-critical applications such as POS scale dynamically during high-traffic periods and contract during lean cycles, allowing the IT team to optimise infrastructure costs without compromising reliability or security. The pay-per-use cloud model has enabled Bata to maintain high availability while exercising tight cost control.  “As CIO, cost governance is as important as uptime,” Bansal notes. “Cloud gives us both.”

Strengthening supply chains, preparing for AI

While Bata does not disclose specific performance metrics, Bansal says Oracle WMS has significantly improved warehouse visibility, auditability and operational efficiency. More importantly, it has created a platform ready for the next wave of AI-driven capabilities.

“With AI embedded into supply chain platforms, insights move from static reports to predictive actions,” he says. “That reduces manual intervention and shortens lead times.”

Data-led merchandising and simpler stores

Beyond core IT systems, Bata has applied analytics to reshape merchandising and store operations. A zero-based merchandising strategy, driven by local demand insights, has helped the company expand tailored assortments from about 400 to nearly 800 stores—improving relevance while controlling inventory.

At the store level, multiple applications have been consolidated into a single platform, Bata Hub, enabling functions such as customer feedback, audits and merchandising execution through one interface. The move has simplified operations and delivered a more consistent in-store experience across the retail network.

Building an AI-ready organisation

Technology change at Bata is matched by a strong focus on people. The company has launched AI awareness programmes, conducted workshops with partners, and initiated proof-of-concepts across sales, supply chain, marketing and HR.
While selective external expertise has been brought in for data and AI, the primary emphasis remains on upskilling internal teams and driving adoption.

“Technology is easy to buy,” Bansal says. “The real challenge is change management and adoption.”

What’s next: AI-led insights at scale

Looking ahead, Bata’s technology roadmap centres on becoming faster, more consumer-centric and data-driven. Cloud, AI and analytics will play a central role in strengthening omni-channel experiences and personalisation across physical and digital touchpoints.

The company is also working with Oracle on deeper integration through Oracle Integration Cloud and piloting AI-driven analytics on cloud databases—enabling business users to extract insights using natural language prompts rather than complex queries.

“Our aim is to democratise analytics,” Bansal says. “When business teams can ask questions directly of the data, decision-making becomes faster and more effective.”

For Bata India, the transformation is less about chasing technology trends and more about building a scalable, AI-ready retail core—one that can support growth today and adapt to what comes next.