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Bathinda, Punjab
Bathinda is one of the oldest and most famous cities of Punjab which is presently undergoing rapid industrialization. Home to major industries like the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP), Bathinda Chemicals, National Fertilizers and Birla Cement, the city also boasts of one of the largest food grain and cotton markets in North India. Bathinda has also earned the reputation as India’s prominent vineyard and also has India’s largest railway freight junction.
Channel Scenario
The channel community here comprises 65 active resellers, selling around 500 PCs per month. The Bathinda Professional IT Association, formed in 2004, has 50-odd members and actively conducts training programs and expos in the city.
Opportunities
The rapid rate of industrialization of the city has led to 40 percent growth in IT demand over the past two years. “With more industries setting up shop in the city, the corporate demand is on the high growth trajectory. New job creation due to industrialization has also contributed to increased consumer demand and mushrooming of several educational institutes further adding to the IT boom,” says Vinod Kumar, CEO, Avion Technology.
Around 70 percent of the IT demand in the city comes from the home and educational segment. Karamjit Singh Dhillon, CEO, Silicon Technologies adds, “The notebook market has seen rapid growth and continues to outpace the demand for desktops. The demand for mobile computers in educational institutes and homes is also driving the need for wireless networking with even schools like Delhi Public School setting up Wi-Fi hotspots.”
The SMB segment is another major IT spender and contributes 30 percent to the demand of technology products. “Some of the larger manufacturing units have already been using computers and now they are investing their IT budgets in deploying networking and connectivity solutions and business applications like ERP. Industries like GNDTP, Bathinda Chemicals and National Fertilisers have set-up Wi-Fi connectivity between their manufacturing facilities and offices to run business applications,” says Kumar.
Challenges
While a majority of resellers and dealers are happy that the market is growing, they have their grievances of lesser margins owing to severe competition. “The margins are meager due to the cut-throat competition in each segment. We have 10 shops selling same goods in the same area. This results in them undercutting each other to woo customers,” says Nimish Juneja, CEO, Computech Systems.
Service is also a major problem faced by channels. To sustain business profitability, resellers believe that after-sales service is the key. But the vendors often tend to ignore this vital element. “Despite a huge growth witnessed for IT products in the city, vendors have not scaled up their support infrastructure. This could prove to be a major bottleneck going forward as when customers mature they expect better service,” says Juneja.
Profile
Vinod Kumar
CEO,
Avion Technologies
Success follows dedication
Acommerce graduate, Vinod Kumar has been in the IT field for the last 14 years. In 1994, after his graduation Kumar began as a system builder. Kumar reminisces, “At that time, people in Bathinda were not aware about computers and we would get an order for one computer in a fortnight or so. The day we got the order, we would drive to Chandigarh to get the hardware. However, now, the situation is different; We assemble 100 computers in a month.”
Company Snapshot | | Company | Avion Technologies | | CEO | Vinod Kumar | | Year of Inception | 2001 | | Brands | HP, Lenovo, Techcom, Intel, Seagate, Moser Baer | Primary Business | Sub-distributor, retailer | | Employees | 6 | Turnover | Rs. 4 Crore |
In 2001, Kumar ventured into sub-distribution and that’s when Avion Technologies came into being. Kumar decided to expand the business as his brother joined him. “With the help of my brother it became easier to manage a bigger operation. He manages vendor relations, logistics and a bit of sales,” informs Kumar.
Avion today re-distributes HP, Canon and Seagate. It is an authorized supplies partner for HP; Power Partner for Canon and has recently signed up with Moser Baer and Lenovo.
Almost 70 percent of Avion’s revenues come from sub-distribution while the remaining comes from corporate reselling and retailing. Kumar says that he plans to reduce the corporate reselling business and focus more on retailing as payment delays by companies is becoming a big issue.
To boost its retail business, it plans to open an HP World showroom in Bathinda. “We see retail as a big opportunity. We will first open the HP World store in Bathinda and later open two more multi-brand stores in Chandigarh and Ludhiana.
Sharing his mantra for success, he says, “We believe in giving our 100 percent in whatever we do and this has helped us to succeed. We value our customers and provide them with the best service possible.”
In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and friends. |