You should write code till late in life: Wayfair India's Rohit Kaila

Rohit Kaila talks about the centre's journey, how the lifecycle of a software developer is changing, and why an engineer must not stop coding

Boston-based ecommerce company Wayfair sells furniture and home goods online. It started operations in its India technology development centre (TDC) two years ago and, unlike many other global capability centres (GCCs), it is not in any hurry to scale up its headcount dramatically. In a conversation with Business Standard, Rohit Kaila, head of technology and site leader, Wayfair India TDC, talks about the centre’s journey, how the lifecycle of a software developer is changing, and why an engineer must not stop coding. Edited excerpts:

 

What were the main reasons for setting up the technology centre in India?

 

We were looking to set up a centre besides the ones we have in Toronto and the Bay Area. But we wanted a scaled location where we had good talent as we were doing a lot of tech transformation. We wanted talent of a certain bar and at a scale. That is how we centred on India when we started operating two years ago. The expectation was to build a TDC that is on a par with any other and it is now the largest for us outside of our Boston headquarters.

 

What are some of the critical functional areas of this technology centre?

 

There are primarily four functions around which we operate: Customer, supplier, supply chain, and the platform, which drive everything. On supply chains, a lot of work happens on tracking goods, and, on the supplier side, it is about cataloguing. And then we have the data team. It is one of the critical areas that help our customers find the right products. 

 

We have to work with suppliers closely. All aspects, including returns, are predictive in nature and functions like these take place at this centre.

 

You have a lot of suppliers in China and Vietnam. What are some of the impacts due to the tariff dispute between the United States and China?

 

Our business is dependent on multiple different conditions like interest rates and inflation. The business has been interesting and challenging for the past many years, which of course has got us an opportunity to build a strong company. Having said that, so far as tariffs are concerned, I think everybody in one form or fashion is affected. There is no way that our business will not be.

 

How is the life of a software developer changing because of AI?

 

The way software is being written, the way it is being tested, the way it is being deployed -- all are changing. People who will adjust to it will be doing great. People who do not will lose jobs. It is a pivotal moment for us from a GCC perspective to change the way we do things. We started by first equipping every single person with  “code assist ”  tools. Second, we have senior leaders looking at the life of a developer. We are not just providing tools, which are a tick mark, but fundamentally looking at the measurement by saying what is being done in 20 days can be done in 15 or 10 days.

 

Is it a challenge for mid-level managers to adapt to new tools? How do you overcome that?

 

I advise them to get into the shoes of the developer. I insist you should always write code till late in life. A lot of people stop writing it. I see requests every day from all my management team members to get access to  “code generate” because they are writing. They are also doing code reviews. We focus strongly on tech skills before we hire anybody, including at senior management. The senior-most people in this organisation spend a reasonable amount of time writing code.

 

Do you have any plans to operate in India?

 

No. Apart from the tech centre, we have no business interest here. And the reason is that our opportunity base in North America is high. If you look at the home market, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. A lot of it is still offline and a lot of consolidation is happening. We are a $12 billion business. We believe that the opportunity space for us is so large in North America that every single dollar that we generate, it is much better to invest there for a better return. Once we are established at a certain level, we can look at expansion.