Mumbai’s Trade Association of Information Technology office-bearers Chetan Shah and Saurin Shah put up a brave face through the one-hour long post-presentation Q&A at the TAIT event on April 8. They were fielding questions on the latest initiative launched by TAIT – the Member Advantage Program (MAP). As we had reported earlier and as the CEO of the research agency hired for the gradation and certification process explained, there is something for everyone here, but the skeptics might have won a vote.
MAP will see resellers accredited as platinum, gold, silver or value in any of the three categories: system integrators/assemblers,
distributors/resellers and repairs/service providers.
The biggest winners are those who have suffered due to the unscrupulous dealer next-door, and the assemblers who don’t have the deep pockets that principals or larger OEMs do. Chetan’s surmise is that the total media promotion campaign, one of the benefits for participating members, will add up to Rs 30-45 lakh a year, and the returns from the initial investment of Rs 8,000 and the accreditation will be 10-15 times higher. And the least one would get is a report on their business. Successful peers have set benchmarks in product quality, vendor selection, quality of staff, customer satisfaction, and the rest could only gain by emulating.
Everything hinges on promotions. The customers need to first know of the trade body, then the benefits of doing business with certified businessmen. If the members of TAIT see the benefits of participating, so will those who aren’t members yet. And since the certification itself is open only to registered members of TAIT, the trade body might just see a surge in its member ranks. And principals need to be shown that this can only add value to the existing plethora of certifications they have.
Most critical, many vendors need to be brought on a single platform, a tough task as their business interests conflict. If the association fails here, the initiative will suffer from lack of funds, and soon the drivers of the initiative will realize they aren’t going anywhere – a frustrating reality one has seen before.
It’s an experiment, and like all experiments with no precedent, odds are stacked against it. Some of the questions have no clear answers: Why should a reseller who has been doing well on his own want to be part of this initiative? Will it lose direction after TAIT holds its next elections and none of the present office=bearers get through? Is TAIT crossing the line by “grading” the community? Shouldn’t it limit its activity to mentoring? Will the principals feel that the body is treading on their toes, especially since one of the objectives is to help the assemblers gain the share they have been losing to brands?
Is this also the best time to start such an initiative? The past 14
days have also seen two new years, four days lost to strikes, …and
virtually no billings.
Here’s the big picture for resellers in Mumbai: We don’t yet know what form it will finally take in the future. Give yourself a year after the entire exercise is over and watch out for abnormal positive changes in employee and customer retention, sales, and, confidence levels. That’s your gain.
I wish it works and other associations take a cue.