Iris Computers makes its comeback as a Responsive Partner

Iris Computers not only wants to become a responsive distributor but also wants to help partners in closing deals and execute orders seamlessly -     
 
After regaining his position in Iris Computers, Sanjiv Krishen, Chairman of the company is all set to position the company with an extra edge among the partners and customers by fulfilling their demands. He is aiming to make Iris a more responsive distributor when it comes to business and walk an extra mile to fulfill the wishes of the customers so that they keep coming back to Iris Computers for their IT requirements.     

Importance of Channel for Iris Computers…
Channel community is always important for any distributor and the same goes with Iris Computers as well. Iris wants to be a responsive distributor by not just offering box but also wants to help partners to close deals and execute orders too.  

“We want our partners to place their orders on us and we will help them procure the material and supply to them. We will fund it also. For example, a big order had come from Jharkhand, so we actually took a warehouse for one month just to execute the order. 41,000 tablets were ordered for the project. No other distributor will take a warehouse to fulfill a single order, but we did that. The dealer asked for help to store the delivery as he cannot take this delivery at one go and we appreciated that because no dealer has a warehouse to store 41000 tablets. It’s a massive number,” asserts Sanjiv Krishen, Chairman – Iris Computers.  
Channel enablement…
When it comes to channel enablement programs which are conducted by the vendors, Iris plays a role to encourage its partners to attend the trainings. It has however become difficult to make partners attend these training sessions.   

“The function of educating and training is always left to the OEM vendor. Training programs are organized by principal vendors like HP, Dell. They have training programs for all the partners across the country. Now a lot of training programs are becoming web based. It’s a challenge to get them attend these. So we encourage the partners to attend these programs and we try and get them learn more about the products. Whenever we meet them we also try to educate them about the product range which is available,” says Sanjiv.    
 

Message to Partners:
We are back, we want to be of help and we can do business jointly, profitably and painlessly.

Iris also enables its channel by providing financial support and round the clock help. 

“We have partner programs that will encourage them to sell in small cities. Suppose we have some stock and we want to liquidate it and the dealer will ask for a better price to sell it, we will support them with that additional price. That is how we encourage our partners to promote our products. However, the ability for us to give out discounts is very little. It has to be supported by the vendors but we can help them provide the material on credit. We try to help our partners round the clock. So that is how we can help the partners to become more profitable and help them to grow their business,” explains Sanjiv.     
Opportunities in the market…
Iris finds huge opportunities in India market especially in two key areas – education and government. The company has bagged a few prestigious orders like Kendriya Vidayalaya, Naraina etc. The company also took efforts to provide customized products which will help it to retain its customers and also differentiate it from its competitors.   

“A lot of opportunities are coming up in India. Specifically the two areas which are growing are education and government. These are the two big opportunities and we are gearing up to supply. For example, we have bagged an order of Kendriya Vidayalaya in the education system, for which we are delivering HP desktops. They are setting up language labs and each lab has 25 computers.   

We have also bagged an order from Naraina, an educational institution popular in South India. They train students to appear for competitive examinations. They have offices in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, and many other places. So they wanted to provide tailor made tablets to their students with different educational software, student’s name and roll number. We fulfilled their wishes. 

This is how we want to do little extra so that a partner comes to us. Today a partner has a choice to go to any distributor but we want them to come to us,” discuses Sanjiv.  

Sanjiv also sees huge potential in the newly emerging start-up and SME segment. He adds, “Another opportunity is the emergence of the startups and the mid market, which is helping channel to grow. Today high growth is coming from SME. So anyone who gears up for SME, the future is bright. It is a huge potential segment. We are promoting and explaining products to them. We are also encouraging dealers to explore the mid segment.” 

Aparna Mullick
aparna@varindia.com