The DQ Week Tech Caravan reached the city of lakes, Udaipur this month. Almost 80 partners attended the event at the city's Hotel VishnuPriya. Key issues, like the service and support problems, challenges from online trading, non-standard MRP related issues among others, including growing infiltration from neighboring cities of Jaipur and Gujarat were taken up.
The event was well supported by sponsors including Norton, Western Digital, Uniline, Portronics and by the Udaipur Computer Traders Association (UCTA). Members and non-members turned up in significant numbers to discuss the current market trends and challenges faced by the community. The panel, comprising association executive body members, drove the interactive conversations.
The event started off with a very informative presentation by Ganesh Bhatnagar, channel sales manager, Norton. Bhatnagar touched upon key partner concerns related to the products and assured the gathering that Norton has solutions to 80% of its partners feedback. The company also talked about major initiatives being taken in the past 8 months. Moving on to the products portfolio, the company shared how Norton, in association with the recently launched Windows 8, is offering better opportunities to the users and partners.
UCTA, an apex body of the IT association, introduced a unique formula to calculate partners profitability before the gathering. The opening formula was revealed by founder member Pawan Kothari and MD of Ficusa and Narender Pichholiya, director, Pragati Infotech.
According to Kothari, "The utmost issue of IT channel community is maintenance of business profitability. Hence to measure it, our association has come out with this formula, where a partner can assess its business performance and take long-term decision for the betterment of the business. Today, we all our going after vendors and national distributors without realizing where our business is heading, upward or downward?"
Kothari also empathized at the event, "Do not run after numbers and do a peaceful business. With adding more inventories you are creating an unhealthy competition."
Other issues which were discussed at the event included retail, distribution, and corporate related threats.