Perspective MSME

Channels React to Oppo, Vivo, Nokia Closing after Corona Positive Cases

Channels React to Oppo, Vivo, Nokia Closing after Corona Positive Cases and offer viewpoints about Make in India campaign

Archana Verma

29 May 2020 00:00 IST

Updated On 29 May 2020 11:47 IST

New Update

Oppo factory in Greater Noida shut down till further notice after 9 of their employees were found to be Corona positive. Oppo said that they will remain shut till they test all their 3000 employees and will take a decision after that seeing the results.

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Just a day later, Vivo had 2 employees tested positive with Corona, who were working at a construction facility at the Industrial Park in Greater Noida. Vivo clarified that this was not a phone manufacturing facility, but a construction site. The phone manufacturing unit continues to function.

The latest in this series is a Nokia telecom gear manufacturing plant at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, where according to a report, around 42 of Nokia were confirmed as Corona positive.

The IT channel community reacted to these incidents of smartphone establishments shutting down as a result of Corona positive cases. The smartphones in India are largely supplied by the IT channel community.

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Saket KapurMD, Green Vision & General Secretary, PCAIT and Former General Secretary, FAIITA, was of the opinion that shutting down a factory was a short term solution. The factories should resort to long-term planning of health-related precautions to avoid any mishap.

The greatest challenge for India is asymptotic carriers and the ensuing community transfer. Characteristically Corona Virus is not as fatal as other viruses but is highly infectious and the only way to save from its wrath is to face it with a strong immunity. Indian industry will have resort to regular health checkups and ensure filtering out of workers with any sort of disease and comorbidity. Closing industry temporarily is not the solution as it will force it to close permanently in future.

--Saket KapurMD, Green Vision & General Secretary, PCAIT and Former General Secretary, FAIITA

On the other hand, Pankaj Shah, former President, ASIRT, said that unless we found a vaccine, we can't avert Corona cases by following the current measures.

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This may not be seen as a one off case and we will get to see more such instances as we cannot completely stop the spread of Covid-19. This initial phase will have to be taken into stride and even after taking precautions we may see Corona positive cases here and there for few more months. We have to wait till an effective antiviral drug is found and made available in a time bound manner. Till then we all have to tread with caution, follow Social Distancing effectively and take measures as per Governments' warnings. Instead of achieving more Turnover, we all will have to think about sustainable health at least till end of 2020.

Even the Govt is thinking on this line, but till full ecosystem is in place, we or any other country cannot bypass China fully for few more years. Though the slow n steady pace is going to be fast n furious if right decisions are made effectively, which is need of the hour.

--Pankaj Shah, Former President, ASIRT

On the other hand, channel leaders like Nalin Patel, former President of AIT, Bangalore, completely supported the shutting down of these factories.

I think closing down immediately and re-opening is the best solution. We need to understand importance of human life. It is not going to have a big impact as this is temporary closing and one more important thing is that enough inventory is available with manufacturers as well as with stockists. Because lockdown took place in the last week of March and every manufacturer expected big sales in March and that didn’t happen. And demand will be not so much.

So as per my opinion closing down temporarily is good not going to impact much on government’s plans of Make in India. It is well known that this is Temporary setback .

--Nalin Patel, Former President, AIT, Bangalore & Founder, FITDAK, Karnataka

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Julian John, CEO, Zion Technologies, had a completely innovative approach to this event of shutting down of factories. He suggested that this was an opportune moment for the government to ban all Chinese goods and start a completely Indian products company with its own website in line with Make in India spirit. The interesting point is that his business is involved in repairing Apple phones.

This is a very good time to strike when the iron is hot to promote a 100% Indian owned mobile with all the features at par with Apple.

In fact, all Chinese brands should be banned in India and a new brand with its own search engine should be promoted. If it is promoted and positioned in the right way, it can be done just like the Indian brand Thums Up. People like it more than Coca Cola.

--Julian John, CEO, Zion Technologies

Veera Swamy, President, TCCDA, Hyderabad had a different perspective on this issue. He thought that this event of shutting off the factories because of Corona cases was a one-time case and can't be used to suggest a change in the government policy.

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This is one time case. Can never be a yard stick to measure the policy of the government. How to bounce back in post- Corona times , how things will emerge , future of different sectors, aftermath etc . are the questions to be pondered about.

So, when people ask how best management practices of 2020, can assist & enable organisations to survive, sustain, grow , I am glad to share my learnings from many past crisis situations faced over time. Being an entrepreneur myself, over and above my professional qualification helped me to add few more lines. Business is all about cash flow and when you run out of it you die. The Corona epidemic has thrown businesses out of gear, whether mature or start-up, across sectors and across countries. Corona impact is challenging as such a global crisis in recent times is unknown. The prescription for business/personal is all about how we manage cashflow - conserve cash using 3D-Deny, Delay & Defer expenditure strategy. -Adapt quickly to the new normal by planning changes now, as you will have no choice and this Corona virus is here to stay for now.

-Smart mobile Technology will be need to be adopted to overhaul business work flow.

-High risk business strategies n projects need to be avoided.

-Funding at low cost will be key to survive and prosper when market moves.

-Leverage on contacts to consolidate via mergers & acquisitions.

-Optimise your operating costs as size matters.

-Winning in business is about keeping your eyes glued on the dashboard of key financial metrics and balancing risk vs rewards by enforcement of strict discipline in allocation of all available resources.

These are my personal views and if anybody differs, I respect and welcome them too.

--Veera Swamy Meka , President, TCCDA, Hyderabad & MD, Srilakshmi Innovations

Seeing the above comments, it can be said that while the channel community is willing to co-operate with the government guidelines and are patient enough to follow the instructions, they have a clear mind of their own. If an opportunity arises, they can take on to the world and engage in Make in India campaign.

make-in-india corona

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