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Zebra Aims at Wider Channel-base
By
Pallabika Ganguly
Mumbai, Sep 08, 2008 1745 hrs IST
Zebra Technologies, the special purpose printers provider, has recently launched G-series (GX430t) printers and health care printers in India. In an exclusive interview with Channel Times, Shailesh Deshmukh, Territory Manager (India) of the company, is revealing its channel programmes to Pallabika Ganguly. Excerpts...
What are Zebra's latest offerings for the channel partners (CPs)?
We have got a range of products for the CPs- The G series printers, kiosk printers, health care printers. Apart from core verticals like retail, manufacturing and logistics; Zebra is targeting emerging verticals like the airlines industry, ticketing (multiplexes and malls) through mobile printers, thermal printers and others. Our extensive product line includes high performance printers, industrial printers, desktop printers, mobile printers, RFID printers/encoders, print engines, card printers and networking products.
What is Zebra's product distribution policy in India?
Zebra Technologies is primarily a channel-driven organization, and we would like to stick with the channels in future too. We have a global partner initiative, where we get associated with distributors, premier partners, advanced partners and associated resellers.
Currently Zebra Technologies has channel strength of 60 registered partners across the country and has proposed to double the count by this year-end to around 125. The partners are mostly total solution providers (SPs) and system integrators (SIs). Recently, we have tied up with Ingram Micro as our distributor for Middle-East and India.
What are the criteria to be your channel partner?
CPs who are more solution centric are welcome to be our partners. But to become our Premier partners the CPs has to achieve more than million dollars in revenue. For an advanced partners position, they have to achieve the target of nearly half a million dollars. Both of them are directly linked with Zebra. They should address the consumers with all information. They should not sell boxes, but solutions.
Many factors are taken into account while classifying resellers; including a VAR's sales personnel, client base, support system and technology equipment. The tiers have been identified to provide certain levels of benefits to the channel on the basis of their performance and mindshare. For instance, a premier partner can access internal Web site for marketing tools, participate in rebate programs, target-oriented privileges, marketing development funds and can even buy directly from the vendor instead of routing it through the distributor.
We are scouting for established VARs and SIs, rather than just box-pushers. We want channel partners who can add value to our offering and integrate our products with networking and other products.
What type of a competition do you find here?
Zebra is the only company who has got a range of products- from small desktop printers to the high end RFID range. We have competition in different product lines in different segments but on the entire spectrum of products provided by Zebra Technologies we have no direct competitors. No other printer major has thermal printing capability in the country and Zebra has a whole gamut of products which has made Zebra a clear market leader in the thermal printer category
What are your expansion plans?
We have grown from a seed to a tree. Zebra started four years back, with a one member team. But now, we are a three member team managing our operations in India.
We are aiming to increase our market share to about 60 per cent this year from last year's 52 per cent and looking to tap opportunities in the retail, logistics and manufacturing space. These three segments offer immense opportunities to us and we would like to tap the same so as to consolidate our position in this market. Particularly in the manufacturing space, we are aggressively focusing on automobile, pharmaceuticals and telecom.
One of the key things we are looking at is reaching out to new geographies. We want our partners to have a strong foothold in tier-two cities to tap the humungous potential there. We are looking at distributors for places like Bhubaneswar, Jamshedpur, Punjab, Nasik, Pune, Aurangabad, Vizag and Coimbatore.
What is your message to the CPs?
We will be happy to impart our knowledge to the CPs from our expertise in different vertical. We even would be happy to work with them on specific products.
New business challenges have come up and as part of the IT trade we have not only actively focused on enabling our channel partners to understand the nuances of their market, but also provided our partners with the much needed insights and skills to meet the challenges.
To educate our partners we equip them with sales tools such as market information, industry mapping and analysis, and marketing collaterals including case studies and client testimonials to boost their marketing and pre sales efforts. We also make educational videos for partners explaining the complete deployment process step by step.
Related Links:
Zebra Technologies Rolls out Health Care Printer
Zebra PartnersFirst Program Gathers Momentum
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