HCL Peripherals becomes Pan-Indian : By - GR. Srinivasan CG.M. - Marketing & Support ,HCL Peripherals

The season was festive and the occasion was the announcement of HCL Peripherals’ entry into the northern channel market. Chennai- based HCL Peripherals, the HCL Group Company, had never seen such a warm reception from the northern region resellers before as this time at the Hotel Crowne Plaza Surya, New Delhi. It was very much part of their growth strategy that after consolidation in South, they will move to north and other parts of the country, aggressively.

Mr. R. Srinivasan, GM – Marketing & Support, HCL Peripherals, said,–“HCL Peripherals has been the Market leader in the OEM, Corporate and Public sectors. Gearing up further on other business avenues, the Company has devised its strategic plan to go aggressive in the Retail and Distribution segments also by penetrating into B- and C-class cities. Simultaneously, the company is strengthening its channel army and expansion across India.”

Mr. V. R. Kirubakaran, National Manager – Display Products, HCL Peripherals, said, “Right now we are keen and much focussed in intensifying our presence and product’s reach in the North. With Delhi as its base, the distribution network is going to be stretched far and wide. The company has set the ball rolling and is all set to conquer the potential markets like Jaipur, Udaipur, Lucknow, Agra, Dehradun, Bhopal, Jhansi, Jammu, Punjab, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kanpur and other areas, streamlining the North belt and making the market vibrant with HCL Peripherals Display Products sales.”

“The process of Channel-chain-management is streamlined. The National Distributor (ND) to Regional Distributor Partners (RDPs) to Dealer Partners (DPs) has been aligned. The ND will ensure the prompt availability of full range of HCL Display products (LCD & CRT Monitors/TVs, Plasmas and HCL Mechanical – Keyboards) their reach – inventory and logistics handling across India for supporting the RDP and DP sales,” he added.

Taking this opportunity and to boost the channel sales, Mr. Srinivasan declared the Business Year 2005-06 as “The Bonanza Year of Channels” and assured initiating necessary steps to see that all HCL Peripherals’ products are maintained at higher standards of quality and at affordable prices too.

From the Inception

This strategic business unit of HCL Infosystems was established in 1984. Since then, HCL Peripherals has endeavoured to enrich its product basket.

The company’s core competencies are: Technology-centric domain knowledge expertise, IT Products/IT-enabled Services, aided by state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing facilities at Pondicherry and Chennai. The company’s product-width encompasses: Display Products (CRT Monitors, LCD Monitors, LCD TV & Plasma Monitors/TVs); Network Products & solutions (Switches, Routers, Structured Cabling Products, Fiber/UTP & Wireless Products & Solutions, N/W Racks), Technology Products (Thin Client, KIOSK, RAS, Console Server, Touch-Screen Solutions and Unix Terminal solutions).

Distribution

To distribute these products, which are of heterogeneous nature, HCL Peripherals has adopted a hybrid model of distribution. To deal with the networking projects and technology products, the company has deployed its own manpower, whereas for Networking and display products, the company has engaged specialist channels. The company understands the niceties of various channels so the partners for Networking products are quite knowledge intensive and well-trained, whereas the partners for the displays range of products are the traditional IT channel. The pyramid of IT channel is first HCL Peripherals authorized regional distributors, then the dealers and sub-dealers or retail. The sub-dealers and retailers are the final fulfilling agents for the SIs and end-users.

Channel Sensitivity

As the company is pretty sensitive towards the channel partners , it understands the role played by the bottom-end of the pyramid. The dealers and the sub-dealers are being given more encouragement and rewards in various ways than the chain at the top. Mr. R. Srinivasan says, “The lower-end acts as the interface between the company and its customers and helps in the liquidation of the stocks.”

Moving with the industry trend, HCL Peripherals also offers various lucrative schemes for the channel partners. Along with this, the company also provides promotional tools and kits to the channel partners and supports them for organizing road shows, events and other sales programmes.

As the channel margin tops the priority of the company, it imparts requisite knowledge of a few technology products so that some of the high-value products can be routed through them at various opportune moments.

Being a Chennai-based company, the southern region is the stronghold of the company. HCL Peripherals has also chalked out a strategy to strengthen its foothold in the North and East, part of which the Channel Meet at Delhi was conducted. In the western region too, the company is in the process of implementing its strategy. Apart from this, the company too is outstretching its resources to B-, C- and D-class cities across the nation.

Being a HCL group company, it is very difficult to keep itself content with the success that it has achieved. Like the parent company, HCL Peripherals is also very ambitious. Mr. R. Srinivasan maintains, “We have plans of stretching our product line and extending our products width too. Thus, by bringing new products and increasing the product portfolio, we are confidently working ahead to achieve Rs.360-crore turnover for this financial year. We are also in the process of restructuring certain aspects of the company for achieving better profitability.”

After-sales support and warranty

HCL Peripherals provides three years warranty on display products (with the exception of a few). For networking products, it provides one-year warranty. But for networking projects, the company gives 15 years guarantee. Besides, within 25 km of the city, it offers onsite support and beyond 25-km radius follows return to bench or in-house support policy.

Finally…

HCL Peripherals is a market leader and a pioneer manufacturer of IT Products/Solutions and Computer Peripherals in India. Right now, it enjoys a market share of 18 per cent in the monitors business and is trying to garner 25-per cent market share by mid-2006 with Rs.250 crore turnover from display products business alone. And, the company as a whole including other divisions is aiming at Rs.360-crore turnover for the financial year July 2005 to June 2006. Another feather in its cap is that HCL Peripherals recently has been conferred with the certification of ISO 13485:2003 by TUV Germany for the manufacturing of medical and electronic products.