Lenovo reinforces its strong focus on SMBs 

Lenovo’s products for the SMB segment is targeted towards driving efficiency, performance and customer focus. The company has recently launched the V-series laptop for the SMB and start-up segment and looks to strengthen the existing business partnerships and work towards a digital eco-system that will enable future growth. Ashish Sikka, Director - SMB, Lenovo India in a chat with VARINDIA explains the importance of the SMB customers for the company -  

As the industry traverses through digital transformation, Lenovo aims to continuously innovate and add value to its customers and partners. Over the next couple of years, it aims to reach out to 10 million Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and increase its penetration from 170 cities to 200 cities across India. 

The technology multinational is also deeply involved in PC innovation with new form factors – Thin and Light, usage scenarios, collaborations etc. Lenovo will continue to leverage its innovation capability, and drive growth in fast-growing segments such as detachable, gaming PCs, millennial PCs, and workstations. Additionally, it will leverage the channel reach to address end-customers, build the skill levels of channel partners and enhance the customer experience.

“Government initiatives like GST are creating opportunities for increased PC penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India,” says Ashish Sikka, Director - SMB, Lenovo India.“It is bridging the divide between the Tier-1 cities faster than the physical infrastructure. In Tier-1 cities, the phenomenon is more of a PC refresh led by enterprise mobility leading to Thin and light devices and load-sharing with enterprise Tablets as well.”

The SMB business is critical from an overall Lenovo perspective because it is a high growth engine.The Lenovo SMB portfolio is designed specifically to meet the needs of agility and security in the era of digital transformation. Its broad product portfolio and array of services equip employees with the right mobile technology to improve productivity. Lenovo’s entire product portfolio, be it Think products or the Lenovo V330, is all sold through SMB. 

Ashish however feels that there is a need for Government initiatives to promote low-cost technology solutions that are designed specifically for SMEs. “Additionally, there is a need to encourage an ecosystem with the provision of opportunities, and fostering a culture of innovation, especially in the field of marketing.  It is important to have a robust centralized solution which can manage their multiple businesses, functions, geographies, systems through a single process,” he says. 

Partner eco-system…

At Lenovo, partners have always been important as it considers them as its strength. It believes in empowering its channel partners to move up the value chain and become a solutions provider in their own right. 

Lenovo has a three-tier partner structure for its channel which is standard across all markets. Each tier has differentiated offerings that help partners grow to realize their full potential. The channel ecosystem is comprised of commercial and distribution channels which sum up to 3,500 partners.Lenovo’s uniquely curated Partner programs are categorized as per customer segments (distribution, retail, corporate). The program aims to provide its partners with the right mix of opportunities in product, average selling price, premium category and volumes that will help them achieve maximum growth in their segments. 

Lenovo also provides support for its customers through its value- added services - an example being ThinkStart which is a 360 degrees support program offered by Lenovo. Lenovo has also introduced unique initiatives to increase its core partner base such as geographic or product exclusivity in distribution and customer account management in B2B through Tier 2 channel partners. 

“We are constantly working to refine our channel programs to help on-board different kinds of partners. We keep revisiting strategies every 12 to 24 months. We have also partnered with Paytm and Intel to enable our partners and provides them with Paytm’s wide digital network leading to a superior quality shopping experience for our consumers,”

He further adds, “At Lenovo, we enable our partners with various initiatives, products, services and financing to help them succeed. It is imperative to set the right objectives for each partner program and define prioritization of rebates, deal registration, lead generation, account management and front-end discounts for the partners. We evaluate the success of our programs periodically through mid-quarter, quarter and post quarter reviews. This helps us strengthen our programs and make the necessary changes.” 

Channel partners indeed play a crucial role in aiding Lenovo’s customers (both SMB & enterprise) in their digital transformation journey. Partners on-ground are the first ones to detect market changes and can help guide customers. This has led to an increase in the vendor-partner relationship to capture the ever expanding market.