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The world is moving towards artificial intelligence and machine learning. Our everyday roles are embedded within AI systems, with their value coming from helping improve complex decision-making. But AI is more of a role changer versus a job replacer. AI output is a solid starting point but not the end result, augmenting complex jobs that still require human expertise. The Indian distribution channel which was considered to be a conventional distribution method is all set to explore new heights and explore new avenues. Some distribution partners from across India interacts with DQ Channels on how the market is going to evolve and their experiences.
Pranay Agarwal of Alfa Tech, Kolkata says that the new financial year was a good start and the market is going in the right direction. "As far as networking products are concerned, we found a great demand for the products like cables, server racks and other internet connectivity related products. We also anticipate that the coming days will be geared up for more such networking products. However, the biggest challenge is the increase in the on-time payment from the dealers across the business lines. This aspect is pulling the businesses behind,” he concluded.
Speaking on the same issue, Ketan Shah of Kruti Comp, Bangalore says that the last 8 to 9 months, market has been pretty low for distribution partners. The IT hardware industry sales had dropped by 50%. One side if we look at the shortages, the networking and. The end computing devices, the numbers had come down as the post pandemic push had come down. Volume partners stocking had also come down. JFM was too much push from the OEMs.
“Another trend I am noticing is the increase of pressure among the T2 distributors. Earlier the T1 distributors use to be full of stocks and we the T2 distributors use to having lesser stocks. However, the situation is different now. As we see there is an increase in the number of T2 distribution partners and most of the T1 distributors even ask the roadmap for the product for the orders,“ he added.
Karthikeyan S, CEO, Bloom computers, a distributor in South India says he had recently diversified and could see a plenty of new trends coming in. According to him, the channels in major chunk did not see any difference in these recent days. “One among that is that the channel partners serving the end-consumers want to always follow the traditional way of doing business. However, those channel partners always want to explore the conventional method. However, when it is Government as a vertical which we serve, we find that segment is always in the lookout for new solutions and I predict better sales in that segment. Otherwise, I have not found any much difference between the last years and now”, he said.
Manish Agarwal, Founder and MD of Aim Techsoft, one of the distribution companies in Eastern region in both distribution and system integration says, Gartner predicts that by 2023, 40% of infrastructure and operations teams will harness the power of AI-based automation. The trend is expected to grow in the financial, healthcare, and commerce sectors. Trends indicate that in 2023, consumers will expect that the products and devices they invest in are built with sustainable technology and are energy efficient. The demand for durable and long-lasting products is also expected to grow. "I am sure that, the channel partners should be getting geared up for the forthcoming trends and adopt," he concluded.
--By Swaminathan B