B Swaminathan
Kumbakonam: Chennai based ACDC, one of the leading distributors for printers and copiers had recently, along with Chola Mandalam IT Association (CMITA) had conducted a product awareness session for the partners in the region.
Kick-starting the session, Dilip Kumar, CEO, ACDC, said, “The industry is in a transformation and the buying patterns are changing. Earlier, customers enter a shop with a problem and ask for a solution. However, now they are educated in such a way they even know the model number and the partners are in the feeding business.” Stating that the decision makers are from the world of millennials (aged less than 40), he said the channel community should get in a phase where they have to meet the expectations of those procurement managers in organizations who, in most cases, are even advanced than the channel.
Dhilip mentioned three key things every channel partner must do in the organization. “Primarily every channel partner should make a point to reach out to the customer. If premium car manufacturers can knock our door-steps, why can’t we?”, he questioned. He also pointed out that every partner should stop selling and start consulting. “If a customer calls you telling a brand and model, try to understand their requirements and give them a wide range of options in terms of brands and solutions.”, he said further said that every partner must spend minimum 10 minutes a day to have product update. “In the current scenario, every partner should have the details and data of both your customers and the details of the brand which you are selling.”, he concluded.
Comparing the printers to cars, he said that SUV models are over-taking the sedan, thanks to the latter’s cost efficiency with less space. “The same is happening with printers too. When you get the advantages of A3 printers in the size and cost of A4, why would we should not select the better one?”, he questioned.
The team from HP India explained the advantages of HP printers. Some of the HP printers with model numbers HP 436n, HP 436dn, HP Inda were explained and showcased in the event venue. The team also explained through a video, how important is security for printers matter and explained on the breaches an organization can witness through some issues in unsecured printers.
In his concluding speech, Ramesh Kumar, Secretary of the Kumbakonam IT association requested the members to get maximum knowledge out of such product sessions and provide maximum support for the OEMs partnering with the association. Sujay Vijayan, president of Confed ITA facilitated the OEMs and team ACDC.