Re India Expo 2012 and some reality....

OEM's have the robust business in India in spite of the economic slowdown and they are bringing so many innovative ideas to the market, the exhibition should provide a platform for upgrading technology and continue the education process. Every supplier in India, has an inhibition that exhibition are a place for sales. This is utter foolishness, how the place of sharing knowledge, can convert as a market place. Marketing is an art; exhibition is a place of exhibiting the art work, stuffed with knowledge of creation.

Re India Expo started 5 years ago with an intention to unite the aftermarket imaging industry and a platform for bringing the knowledge base to India, and to educate the low technology-savvy remanufacturing technicians and promoters. The promoter-Recharger USA-with its vast knowledge of conducting aftermarket Expos in different parts of the world successfully started the Expo in India. Every year the Expo comes to India with expectations of successful participation from Indian suppliers. First 2 years Re India Expo was conducted in Mumbai, last year it was in New Delhi and this time again in Mumbai.

The invasion of Chinese compatible remanufacture industry into the India market is very prevalent. Customers will decide on the quality of the Chinese compatible cartridges, even though it is the cheapest. This time 50% of the Expo participation is from Chinese industry. May be we can say it is a success story for the Expo and the maturing of Indian Market.

Because we have not taken Re India Expo seriously and not treated it as a place of sharing knowledge and interaction, naturally this avenue doesn't create the desired effect. I invite all the readers to visit other major exhibitions so that they can share their knowledge. The Indian aftermarket industry has to mature to utilize the mega opportunity open in front of them.

India imports around 7,00,000 to 8,50,000 printers every quarter, as per 2011 survey. As per the statement of one of the leading OEM suppliers, approximately 6.5 bn laser printers are imported per month; MFDs (copier) 1.5 bn per month. There are 3.2 mn laser printers out in the field and about 2,50,000 MFDs. And every quarter it is increasing by another 7 mn. Overall, it works out to about 100 bn prints a year, as per print cost of Rs 1.75, Indian organizations spend Rs 17,500 crore on printing every year. (Computer Express September 20, 2011)

If you calculate the other way around, in India, other than enterprises (mainly made up of global enterprises and large national enterprises), there is still an untapped SMB market, which is very large. According to management consulting firm Zinnov, there are 35 mn SMB units in India, making it the second largest SMB market amongst BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and US market. The irony is that SMB contributes 60% to India's GDP but their spending on IT is only 30% of India's total IT spending; still for the aftermarket imaging industry it is too high to leap.

Our counterparts in western countries have gone far beyond the level in marketing strategy, production infrastructure facility, testing equipment for raw materials and finished goods, packaging and logistics. They have conducted so many surveys and case studies to prove the efficacy of remanufactured cartridges, such as emission level, safety, wear and tear of printers. They are united in their counter acting anti-propaganda of OEM's. They made open govt procurement policy to accommodate the remanufactured cartridges in the tender procedure and almost 45% of govt procurements are from remanufacturers. In USA there is an environment site run by the US Government that actively promotes and mandates 45 % procurement standard. It even mentions name of companies like Ford Motors and NASA that are using remanufactured after market cartridges. This is happening as the remanufacturers are totally using technology and are united.

Indian scenario is entirely different. Indian aftermarket industry is supplier controlled, refillers have no choice as whatever the supplier import, the refillers or remanufacturers have to use, no other alternative for technology up gradation or technical training. We are lagging behind with no technology base, basic infrastructure facility for production and quality control procedures; and zero base unity among dealers, refillers and remanufacturers. The first priority must be sufficient investment in infrastructures for production and quality management.

India represents huge growth opportunities as large businesses continue to use paper and traditional forms of storage. There is hence an increased need for automation and efficiency. We have four priorities in 2012, first is to grow the color printer business which is only 4% of the printing market in India. Technology is becoming affordable, and offers much value. The cost of printing black on a color printer is the same as the cost of printing black on a monochrome printer. The second priority is incorporating design and technology in the AIOs and multi function devices (MFDs) to take them to the next level. The market for MFDs is just the tip of the iceberg. The third priority is around the toner business and involves evangelizing the value proposition of originals. The fourth is to ensure that our channels are up-to-date in terms of technology. We want to arm them with all possible ammunitions to enable them to grow their business. We are still following the old pattern and technology. I have real sympathy towards 2,00,000 odd refillers and remanufacturers depending on this industry for livelihood. The importer/suppliers have to take responsibility for this dilemma.

We have no future without technology and automation. One product going to be successful in the near future is MPS program. But the success depends on quality, technology, service acumen and automation. OEM's are concentrating on this segment business and are already far ahead of third party vendors. No individual or third party vendors have the sources or support to spread the business to the big corporate or enterprises level. This will happens only through unity and cooperation among the vendors and the industry at large. Each third party vendor has some capacity on each department, or can pool the resources to share big enterprises business to compete with big OEM's.

The greenlining of this understanding is started as the MaPS Association of India, has its first gathering. Its steering committee was formed on Feb 15, 2012. The association has been formed with the intention of creating a platform on which companies and the service providers can share their worries and pain points alike. The association has been mandated to create an atmosphere for sharing best practices so that this burgeoning industry can grow. To facilitate the growth, trained staff in sales and service will be needed. There is currently no source for such specialized skilled personnel. Also there is an apparent undercurrent of apathy and mistrust in companies and the government sectors when it comes to their acceptance of aftermarket suppliers. The association will assist in removing these wrong perceptions.

K Madhusudan
The author is director, technical, Indrayani Sales