Understanding Distribution of IT products with K Ravi Lakshman
The Indian market is really big and one of the most challenging platforms to stand up and compete with brands which have already created a niche market for themselves. As time is passing by, we have come across a lot of young entrepreneurs looking for a chance to make it big in the Indian market. In a conversation with One World News, K Ravi Lakshman, CEO of Sakri IT Solutions Company, spoke about how the distribution of IT products as a career is like and shared his journey too.
“6 months back I would have told you that my company is a value added distributor. However, now I would also say that we are OEM, our first product was Microsoft Wintab.” Said Ravi Lakshman.
“Coming from a CA background, I have experience in distribution of more than 15 years and today I have my own business. So, the area of distribution is not new for me but the market of India is since I was working overseas and Indian market is completely new for me” says Mr. Ravi.
K Ravi Lakshman
Talking about how he sees distribution sector as a career, Ravi says, “It definitely has a bright future. Distribution is not a sector which would die but again it is important to understand that there is no short cut to success. You can be successful in any domain but hard work, dedication and discipline is what you need. To be in distribution area you not only need a good grip over your technical skills but also need to be excellent in your selling skills.”
Key points before promoting a product in market:
• See how the product is competent with peers in the markets,
• Look at OEM managing principles- whether they are long-term players or short-term players
• Analyze if they would give us the freedom to run the product keeping their guidelines in mind
• Carry the confidence and vision of working together.
Talking about how easy or hard was it for him to make it in the Indian market, Ravi expressed, “Indian market is really tough, one needs to have lots of skills andbe on toes but the potential that Indian market has is way more than the other countries since the economy is not too big. Be ethical and be a long-term player to achieve what you aim for.”
Continuing, “I was nobody when I started; however, it was not at all hard for me to settle here since in my journey of 15 years, I kept shifting to new economies. There will be moments when you will get tired and would want to stop trying but never do that, always position yourself in a way that people start to recognize you. Keep in mind- do not demand respect but command it by proving yourself. Also, one needs to be flexible when in the field of distribution since the market changes according to the place: what Delhi might want, Chennai might not like it and so on.”
K Ravi Lakshman
Ending the conversation Ravi spoke about how the growth of IT is and what possible threats the market has from websites, “In every scenario we have threats but how you address them is what you need to look out for. Nowadays a lot of websites have come up, although that isn’t making a change in the market for retailers but it comes as a threat since I have a fear that the 5 % of audience the website caters to can have a huge effect on Indian economy. “
Sakri IT Solution Company is the sole company which provides/offers various facilities under one roof. Working unlike a retailer, Sakri provides services like production facility, a post sale technical support centre, distribution network and at the same focused towards making their own products. At the moment we have four products Micromax, Microsoft, Wintab& Pebble Bluetooth (their own products) and K7.
