We Have Acquired Six Service Companies To Strengthen Mobility Business

The distributor, who is looking beyond brand distribution, is on constant endeavor to create complete ecosystems around the smartphone business. In an exclusive interview to ChannelTimes, Atul Gaur, Executive Managing Director, Mobility India, Ingram Micro India talked about the mobility business and how the changing distribution landscape has made Ingram Micro(IM) focus on services.

Excerpts

CT: Typically, IM is a distributor, what is making it to enter into service business?

Atul Gaur:I must tell you that our focus is constantly evolving, we are very clear in providing now services.In last six months, if you see, in mobility space, we have acquired six service oriented companies across the globe. Couple of them are under acquisitions, so i can’t name but at least i can tell in which sector, we have acquired. One is a very large insurance company in Europe across the globe is being acquired , the second one is one of the largest company in all kinds of device recycled and refurbished. We have just completed the acquisition of ANOVO, we are very clearly focused on creating the ecosystems around the phones be it supply chain services, importer for the vendors, we have 45 warehouses across India. We into contract manufacturing. We are the largest suppliers to LFRs, trade and gaming channel.

We are looking at across the spectrum right till the e-waste, we have also acquired one of the largest e-waste company in the US, CloudBlue.

CT: What has been the contribution of mobility business, other than IT, Cloud and supply chain services. Also, what are the key services that you offer in mobility business?

Atul Gaur: Our mobility business, which is roughly a billion dollar, is the second largest in the fold. IT is the largest, roughly 40% of the company’s size is the mobility business. It comprises of distribution of many smartphone brands Apple, Samsung, HTC Lenovo, Alcatel, Blackberry and quite a few brands in the county.

Some of various services verticals, our mobility business focus is repair services, with the acquisition of US based Brightpoint, we are offering component repair service to smartphone brands like Motorola, Samsung and Lava. The other line of service we are into is SIM kitting and accessories packaging for Blackberry. Besides these, we do trade-in trade-out business for various brands like Apple, Blackberry and HTC, etc. Under this trade in program, we buy old phones, repair and refurbish and resell the phones.

Enterprise mobility, which is a part of our IT business, still we provide different devices and software platforms for IT to manage devices across platforms be it Blackberry, Windows, Apple and Android. The Blackberry’s MDM solutions which allows the CIOs to have complete management of devices in terms of security we help in implement these solutions and sell devices. We also work with vendors to provide customized applications on the devices depending on the need of the customers.

As part of the mobility business, we help vendors to benchmark to product and check the devices from Indian context and from software point of view,before the devices get launched in the country. We also have global direct tie-ups with all chip-set makers with Mediatek, Qualcomm, Intel and direct tie-up with top 7 ODMs in China. With these partnerships, we can provide contract manufacturing for several brands and produce customized devices be it mobiles and tablets manufactured as per the specifications of the customer under their brand. Globally, we have been doing in large numbers, in India we have yet to start as quite a few brands are talking to us.

CT: As you are one of the largest smartphone distributors in India, could you tell, how many pieces do you sell in a year?

Atul Gaur:I would restrain myself to give you the numbers. But as I mentioned, we undertake distribution of several mobile brands. In most of the brand we are either first or second distributors. Having said so, we are the second largest distributor for Samsung, Lenovo, Apple and Micromax, therefore, we have sizeable share in the smartphone business.

CT: As more and more mobile brands partnering with e-tailers like Flipkart and Snapdeal, do you think the role of NDs is diminishing?

Atul Gaur:That is one channel, if you see in evolved markets across the globe, we are largest players in the USA, there are bestbuys and Walmarts, which buy directly from the vendors. This is evolution of the business, the large players who add value in the supply chain, will continue to go up in the value chain. So yes, online is here to stay, but at the same time, many other brands are jumping into the business and they need distribution, hence the distribution pie is growing. Also, not all the companies, can lend fundamental systems in place like credit lines, support or factory capabilities and the supply chain benefits.

Nevertheless, all our partners be it LFRs and trade channel are in strain. Therefore, we are gradually adding more valued added services into our portfolios. The latest from our mobility arm is a Cover Plus. As mobility becomes mainstream, we have identified a growing trend for increasing gadget protections. Most of the mobile-insurance market is still unorganized with regional or city specific players. With Ingram Micro entering this arena, the industry will not only revitalize, but we are confident that that Ingram Micro Cover Plus will prove to be a win-win proposition for both users and smartphone manufacturers.

CT: How your online business vis-a-vis trade channel growing, as IM has been distributing goods to e-commerce portals?

Atul Gaur:Online channel is constantly increasing the space, we do cater to online business. For us the online pie is shifting, the pie is growing. Overall, mobile sale through online would be around 20-22% including Xiaomi and Motorolo. For us its not much, as majority of our business is through trade and LFRs channel. Presently, we do couple of brands online like Apple, HTC, Lenovo and Blackberry.

CT: Mobile repairing is not considered to be profitable, how would you ensure profitability?

Atul Gaur:Repairing of mobile within vendor warranty is not profitable, but repair of phones out of warranty is a very profitable business. During the warranty vendors pay you very little, moreover, it does not cover accidental damage, liquid damage and theft wherein our Cover Plus, we cover everything, along with free mobile insurance and free antivirus .