VisionPlus India

advanced diagnostics and potentially acting as local centres for skill development and clinical excellence. We envision a connected ecosystem, where these centres not only deliver personalised eye care but also promote knowledge sharing, upskilling, and innovation across India’s optical community. VP: Sustainability is a ZEISS priority. How are you enabling Indian optical retailers to adopt small but meaningful green practices? RP: Sustainability is central to ZEISS, especially as a foundation-owned company. ESG principles are deeply embedded in our global operations— whether it’s reducing emissions, promoting circular economies, or contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Some examples: our lenses now require significantly less water to produce, and many of our facilities are green- certified with energy-efficient infrastructure. In India, we’re observing growing interest from retailers wanting to go green. While ZEISS currently leads with sustainability at the manufacturing level, we are actively exploring ways to help partners adopt greener practices—like energy-efficient instruments, biodegradable packaging, and even recycling programs. By sharing best practices and building awareness, we aim to support the optical community in taking actionable steps toward a more sustainable future. VP: As ZEISS expands in India and other emerging markets, how do local innovations influence global product strategies? Any example where a local idea was scaled globally? Boris Dejonckheere: Local insights increasingly shape global strategy. Emerging markets like India offer unique challenges— accessibility, affordability, user behaviour—that inspire scalable solutions. For example, a solution developed for high-volume optical practices in India or a digital tool for independent opticians in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns often has global relevance. Such innovations provide credible data and insights that influence our global roadmap. This two-way innovation— from local to global and vice versa- ensures ZEISS stays relevant and responsive across diverse markets. VP: Are ZEISS sales operations adopting new KPIs—like clinical outcomes, myopia care conversions, or sustainability metrics— beyond just unit sales? BD: Yes, absolutely. While unit sales are still important, we’re seeing a clear shift in how success is measured. At ZEISS, qualitative engagement is gaining importance. Using platforms like Showpad integrated with Salesforce, we track the kind of information opticians and EMERGING MARKETS LIKE INDIA OFFER UNIQUE CHALLENGES— ACCESSIBILITY, AFFORDABILITY, USER BEHAVIOUR— THAT INSPIRE SCALABLE SOLUTIONS 28 VISION PLUS INDIA EDITION