SOS, say Nashik channel partners

Nashik, the wine capital of the country, is going through a rough phase with regards to service and support provided by vendors and even distributors, wherein the channel partners are facing problems related to warranty, Dead on Arrival (DOA), pricing and many more.

The partners said that there are serious issues related to replacement of spare parts further complaining that the technical staff is incompetent at service centers.

Partners also face problems for the replacement of the DOA products. Dharmendra, a member of Computer of Association of Nashik (CAN) said, "There have been instances when I had to wait for more than a month to get my product replaced. In the meantime, I had to purchase a replacement and give it to a partner as he was not willing to wait for that long."

Market operating price (MOP) and reseller selling price (RSP) are another pain areas for channel partners in the region. Sharad Mishra of CAN highlighted, "This issue has been prevalent for some time. There is no standard pricing across and this has created problems between partners as they are not able to quote the right price to customers."

Adding to the woes, partners in this area are also facing problem due to lack of clarification regarding product available on the boxes. Ajay of CAN said, "We face problems while handling customers as pricing varying on basis of technology utilized in the product. For instance, in certain cases, there is no clarity on the box of a LED monitor or a LCD monitor. The prices vary and the customers question our integrity."

Meanwhile, bringing some respite, the market scenario recently improved slightly but the partners are hoping it to get better in the last quarter of this year. Also, the local association, which was recently regrouped and appointed its AGM, is planning to take up issues pertaining to channel partners in a prescribed manner and provide them with solutions. In addition to this, many other activities are being worked out to be executed for the overall benefit of the partner community in the region.