Expert Speak

Rupee Worth

rupee

While unraveling the mysteries of the billing process, a rarely-talked-about truth came to light – most IT products sold in India can be traced back to a dollar invoice. There are only a handful of multinational companies that actually bill their partners in rupees.

p____p Most vendors use phrases like ‘tremendous opportunity’, ‘market with the highest growth rate’, ‘untapped IT potential’, etc when describing the domestic IT market. And yet few are ready to put their money where their mouth is. At least, that is the impression one gets when talking to the channel community.

p____p If the Indian IT market really does have immense potential, why is it that IT manufacturers shy away from trading in its local currency? Yes, it is a little complicated to set up a local subsidiary and get the necessary legal clearance needed to kick-start the rupee billing process. But doesn’t the ‘untapped potential’ of this market justify such a move?

p____p For with the rupee billing comes a bunch of intrinsic and extrinsic benefits. The main advantage of this billing process is that the vendor controls the market. Thus, the vendor is able to incorporate all the local levies and duties of the various geographies and then offer a uniform pricing structure throughout the country. This effectively does away with problems like price-undercutting and over-distribution.

p____p The extrinsic benefit is that the channel feels more confident when dealing with a vendor who has local support to solve warranty and replacement issues. Distributors have noticed a distinct rise in sales for those products that switched to rupee billing. Partners feel that vendors are more accountable when locally present.

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