"With a majority of the enterprises now adopting digital transformation trends, a huge demand for IT products has been generated"

In a chat with VARINDIA, Sunil Narang, Director, Elcom Trading Company shares about the company’s business journey, channel strategies, everything-as-a-service, Digital Transformation

Brief about the company
Elcom Trading Company is one of the pioneer organizations in the IT hardware ecosystem of the country and has been part of this industry since 1990. Ever since the inception of Elcom, our core competency has been distribution and channel fulfillment. We have experienced all kinds of ups & downs and the growth of the IT hardware industry in the last 31 years. I am currently one of the promoting directors of the company and have graduated from SRCC New Delhi in 1994.

How has been the organization's business journey during and after the pandemic?
We faced quite a few challenges during the pandemic that led to a lot of learning during this time. The main challenges we faced were due to the lockdowns, the new work from home scenario, shortage of inventories, delayed payment collection from debtor’s delay in statutory compliances, etc. However, all these challenges also taught us to cope with pressure and helped us reduce our debts and stocks to a level where it has been a win-win situation for us, as well as the vendors.  Over time our cash flow has improved, the aging of inventory is at desired levels and the stock turnaround has been very fast due to stock shortages.

One of the most significant leanings for us during this time was that we can actually fully function and operate without being physically present in the office.

During the FY 2020-2021, when we were still getting used to functioning in a pandemic world which resulted in our turnover reducing by almost 15% during this time. Post the pandemic our revenue has increased by 25% YOY and the debtor and stock aging is back under control.

What are the core competencies and how do you plan to further develop your portfolio?
Our core competency lies in the distribution of computer hardware and software in both offline and online channels. Partners like Lenovo have helped us fill this space with a variety of products and solutions. As a result, we have been able to cater to any kind of hardware demands by our customers.

Going forward, we plan to increase our presence in the online space by supporting our existing vendors and adding new non-competing products in the online arena. We also aim to offer more services to our clients. Quality products offered by us such as Lenovo ThinkPad & ThinkBook laptops, and desktops, have been market differentiators.

Name some significant channel strategies that have contributed to the business growth?
Some of the strategies that have contributed to our business growth include - timely fulfillment of demands during the pandemic period; assisting the customer in procuring all the products as required, especially from Lenovo’s portfolio; as well as increased focus on pitching and delivering after-sale services during and post the pandemic. Most of which were Lenovo Services and Solutions.
A few other strategies included increasing the stakes in the online space and we recently started promoting the Lenovo Warranty Services.

What are the key initiatives taken by your business to differentiate itself in the market?
The core key initiatives taken by us to differentiate ourselves from the competitors in the market include - increasing our focus on the online sales of Lenovo Products and Services. We not only discuss the product offerings to our customers, but we also firmly position the services as well according to our customer's line of business. Among customers, we see an added positive uptake of Lenovo services. These include services like Asset Recovery Services, Lenovo Premier Support & Onsite Installation along with extended warranty support

What are your views on the concept of Everything-as-a-service? How do you see this impacting the future of your business?
The concept of Everything-as-a-service seems exciting. We need to try it out as it is a novel concept that no other IT vendor in the country offers. We aim to go all out to promote the same for Lenovo and expect some good business from this vertical.

How can the Channel ecosystem benefit from Digital Transformation?
Due to the digital transformation across the globe, many companies in the channel ecosystem have a huge requirement for IT products. The pandemic has also created a broader opportunity for notebook PC's in this segment. With a majority of the enterprises now adopting digital transformation trends, a huge demand for IT products has been generated. Furthermore, since the Digital medium has already created a more significant impact globally, social media's influence on businesses is again a key driver for companies to go digital. Opportunities for hardware products benefit the channel to focus on this segment as we see the demand increasing day by day.