By K R Nambiar
As part of a global directive for emerging countries, Dell India will soon unify its SMB and consumer sales teams.
Confirmed Mahesh Bhalla, Director, Consumers, Dell India, “The unification of our internal SMB and consumer operations is part of our larger global initiatives for emerging markets. However, this will have no impact on our channel policy, and we shall continue to operate with our separate distribution strategy.” The restructuring is likely to be completed by March.
Dell presently has two separate teams driving the SMB and consumer business, and has different distributors for both. While the consumer brands are sold through regional distributors which Dell calls Master Sales Affiliates (MSAs), its SMB range under the Vostro brand is sold through two national distributors, Supertron Electronics and Global Infotech.
Asked if consumer MSAs will now distribute the SMB range as well, Bhalla said, “MSAs are allowed to sell Vostro but they will have to buy from one of the existing Vostro distributors. We will not cater to them directly.”
Dell is contemplating of setting up service stations. At present, the company offers next-business-day onsite warranty for all its products through a number of national support partners such as Wipro and TVS-E. “Several of our retail partners and their customers have recommended that we set up service centers which will provide immediate service by rushing the laptop or desktop for repair. We are closely reviewing the recommendation but have made no final decision,” Bhalla added. |