Tell us about ESYINK and how effective is it in controlling printing costs?
ESYINK is the largest selling CISS (Continuous Ink Supply System) in the Asia Pac region. ESYINK comes with 400 ml CMYK color with 2 Pico liter size. The initial kit supports 5000 prints (color and B/W) and is available at Rs.1600. Recharging can be done for Rs.800 where in additional 5000 prints can be taken. These figures are for color printing and B/W would be cheaper. We believe we are quite competitive insofar as the market goes and would be effective in controlling printing costs.
How many channel partners do you have and how many more are you seeking in India?
ESY INDIA have nearly 5000 retail partners across India. We have 90 city /region distributors to cater 580 towns across the country. Currently ESY India has a healthy distribution network. More partners will be added for penetrating the photo market since ESY India has launched ESY Photo Paper.
Give us some details about your channel schemes as our readers are interested…
ESY India has Productivity linked incentive plan for our partners. We believe that profitability is the driving factor for any business and we ensure the best margins for them. Other than profit ESY STAR is currently operational with winners flying to Malaysia. Channel partners play a pivotal role in bringing incremental business since they are the first contact point for customers. ESY India understands the role of these salespersons and have ongoing monthly programs designed for them. We maintain open and transparent parameters so that equality and better participation is generated with the winner of this program called ‘ESY Champ’ showcased on the ‘Hall of Fame’ section of our website.
Can you give us some insights into your training program?
Since installation is the key area for performance , ESY India is very serious on partner training. It’s a continuous improvement process. We have full-fledged training centers in eight major cities and an exclusive training department. ESY India hopes to do 130 training programs in this year. We have created a concept called EEE (ESYINDIA Efficient Engineer) which will impart comprehensive training to individuals. We provide a 3-level training and now boast of 650 EEEs across the country.
Besides this, we also run programs in selling skills for our channel partners. This would help minimize wrong or over-selling. Sales training programs have been conducted across 36 cities and we hope to cover 500 more towns. We encourage our channel partners and sales people to be connected on social media like Facebook for regular updates and feedback. This helps us get inputs directly from ground level without any filters.
How effective would you say is the compatibility of ESYINK with all printers?
The chemical composition of the Ink is different for brands like Canon, HP and Epson. Though ESYINK have specialized ink, for these brands, available in Europe, US and other Asian markets it was a conscious call taken by ESY India to go with a single brand, which happens to be Canon in India. ESYINK has a special composition that brings the finest micro droplet size up to 2 pL, resulting in much more superior quality of document printing and high resolution in photo prints. ESY India is launching 1 pL droplet ink in this month for specialized A3 photograph printing.
Inhaling ink has become a health concern for channel partners. What’s your take?
ESYINK has the technical advantage of efficient coolant elements for heat and heal process and Finest Micro ink (2 pL) for seamless fire and follow. These advantages ensure high quality prints and protection for print heads. Being the largest INK OEM in Asia ESYINK is meeting all safety requirement including europe and US standards. Since ESYINK has micro ink which is heated and fired as nano bubble on to paper there is very low chances of ink leakage of excess evaporation.
Could you share the functioning of your distribution model in India?
ESY India believes that too many layers cause lesser margins for channel partners and engagement with Brand will be weak. We just follow a double layer – city distributor and retailers. We call the first as ESY Important Partners (EIP) and retailers as Resellers as ESY Retail Partner (ERP). We have channel managers at all major markets to support secondary penetration with direct marketing links with retail partners across India. Now we have launched the ESY Photo Papers that is better priced with high quality. There are attractive margins for the channel fraternity too and we also do not let them suffer foreign exchange fluctuations.
Can you elaborate on which Indian cities would be your targets?
ESYINK would soon initiate a shift from layer to inkjet printers in India. The affordability is high and it could reduce printing costs further. Our sales graphs show that printing in the inkjet segment is now on the rise with ink charger sales growing steadily. Since this is an innovative approach, reception for the project is warm in super metros, metros and upcountry. However, considering the volume of the business, the marketing focus for the first would be on the top six metros, viz., Delhi Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad. There will also be a thrust on the Northeast.
Can you give us some insights into your channel go-to-market strategy?
As indicated earlier, ESYIndia is focusing ESYINK as a combo offer with Canon PIXMA printers. Hence the focus would be the channel fraternity who are in Printer space and who understand home and office printing. Since we are promoting only Canon combo we could see many non-canon partners started getting in to Canon ESYINK combo business. Healthy and Consistent profit would be our driving formula for channel business. We are maintaining the MOP (Market Operating Price) across markets to maintain the profitability for our channel fraternity.