DISTYS’ BRANDS

On the other
hand, distributor-turned vendors feel that they introduce products only after
strictly scrutinizing the product quality and its value proposition.

Distributor’s focus will be diluted...

By having a brand of their own, distributors’ focus will get diluted and
they would not be able to do justice to their distribution business. Second,
their core competency has been in the field of distribution and it may prove
disadvantageous to their partners, if the distys put their major efforts on an
altogether new activity.

Also there is a great chance that a conflict of interest may arise as the
distributor may carry products under his brand, similar to those which he may be
already distributing.

Clear roadmap is not assured...

We feel more comfortable with the traditional vendors as they have been into
that business since day one and offer partners a clear roadmap on their
products. However, a distributor may introduce a new product under his brand
just to cash on the business opportunities at that point of time. Such
distributors would not have a far-sighted vision and in the absence of a clear
roadmap, partners can end up burning their fingers.

Support and service are major issues...

Most of the distributors import products from Taiwan and China and sell it
here under their own brands. In the process, quality gets compromised and
support becomes a major problem. RMA issues also become difficult to get
resolved. Also, since the distributors may not have an equally strong service
network across the nation, inefficiencies in post-sales service are bound to
creep in.

It is all right for distributors to sell self-branded low-value products
where spare parts do not play an important role.

However, in products where ready availability of spare products become very
crucial, such a business model adopted by distributors doesn’t promise to be
of any advantage.

Distributor’s stability is a big question mark...

While dealing with an altogether new brand promoted by the distributor, how
far that company will go with the brand is a big question mark. It’s not that
the distributor does not have enough credibility in the market. Its just that
the comfort level among partners would not be as high as in the case of vendors.

A good case in point here is that of IT Maple. When launched, the company and
its products seemed so full of promises that the market blindly went for it. And
then suddenly one day, there’s no trace of the company or the person. Now can
anyone do anything about it? No. The scenario would have been much more
different if a vendor would have attempted to do something of this sort.

We are doing justice to the brand...

While I admit that there has been a dilution in focus on our already
existing distribution business, we have the capability to do justice to products
that we offer under our own brands. Also, it is wrong to assume that
distributors’ core competency lies only in distribution of products.

With our expertise and resources, we can create new markets for the products
that are being offered under our own brand.

Also, we do not get paid anything extra to promote MNC brands. So, what’s
so wrong in putting all that effort in creating a position for our own brands?

Our brand offers value-for-money proposition...

It is easy for anyone to start a brand but to sustain it successfully is a
difficult task. Our approach towards business sustenance is to offer
value-for-money products to customers. As far as product roadmaps are concerned,
a regular feedback is received from our channels. This feedback, in turn, is
taken back to our OEM vendors to be incorporated into future product-lines.

Also, since we maintain a very select list of OEM vendors, a steady and
meaningful product evolution is automatically ensured.

Quality is never an issue...

We introduce a new product only after strictly scrutinizing its quality and
the value proposition that it has to offer. As a result, post-sales service is
not a major issue for us. In fact, for our range of products, the overall return
ratio is far lower than many other already established brands.

In case of a quality issue, we offer off-the-shelf replacement. Also RMA is
not an issue with our partners as we are the ones offering warranty and we
ourselves would take care of all warranty-related problems. We also have a
reasonably good network of branch offices to cater to all the service
requirements of customers.

Vendors and distributors are only technically different...

Just because we have been previously associated with distribution, it would
be wrong to get prejudiced against our own brand. Don’t many of the vendors
source their products from unknown OEMs and brand them under their name? So, how
does that make them any better than us?

I believe that there’s enough space and opportunity in IT business for
those who are very committed. And if there is a bad experience of IT Maple,
there are several success stories like i-series. I also must add that because of
our commitment and sincerity towards our business, our brand has been able to
earn a fair amount of channel acceptability.