Vinay Shetty, Country Head, Component Business at Asus India recently returned from Taiwan after a review meeting. In a quick chat with ‘Channel Times’, he explains the company’s plan and clarifies that his company continues to be committed to partner training and development. He also presents his point of view on some of the negative press the company received. Excerpts…
— By B Swaminathan
CT: You have been in news recently for the wrong things. What’s your take on this?
Vinay: [Laughs] I am on track with all the news ‘Channel Times’ has reported so far. I take them on a positive note. It presents us with an opportunity to know the pulse of the market and prepares us for taking on new challenges.
CT: Have you worked on getting rid of this negative image?
Vinay: This is picture you have painted. There were issues and I do accept that. But we have been constantly focusing on partner development. But, all the blame cannot be put at our doorstep. In some cases, the issues cannot be sorted out by the service persons in the partners’ organization. Many motherboards that the partners had sent us have got rectified. So, we are now planning to increase our partner-training through which, we think, most of the problems will be solved.
CT: Are you aware that some associations have banned you?
Vinay: Those problems are sorted out and I had personally spoke to those senior executives of the associations and now the functioning is smooth. We had also moved the distributor out of the service portfolio. There are situations where we consider products even if they are out-of-warranty.
CT: What are the other initiatives you have taken for critical regions?
Vinay: I must tell you that I’ve personally looked into several of these cases. I have access to the mail where I can see all the complaints that come via reachus@asus.com. If you do not believe in my words, please randomly check with any of my team members. They will confirm that Gujarat, Kerala, Rajkot, Mangalore and Raipur have been given extra attention. Our sales officer’s first task each day is to check the warranty issues with the top distributors in the market.
CT: Is there a persistent problem with the TAT?
Vinay: Turn-around-time is calculated on when a part reaches us. However, some partners think that TAT is calculated from the day they receive it. In some regions in the Northeast it sometimes takes a week for the parts to get to us. Then, there are public holidays and weekends. The partners should also understand that we’re not doing things with any ulterior motive. We want to provide best service and try to address each and every problem. We remain silent to criticism, but that does not mean that we are guilty of any wrongdoing.
CT: What is your focus for 2014?
Vinay: We do not believe in the race for numbers. Today every OEM has a way to showcase themselves at the top of the pile through various research reports. However, we want to change according to the consumer trends. We will be aggressive and aim more on the high-level segments.