Online component distribution has quickly taken the industry by storm. With more and more players foraying into the digital world of sales, we smell the possible end of the monopoly of a few popular players as a new vertical of competition is set to change the tone of the game. Baishakhi Dutta of the Electronicsforu.com Network interacted with Dileep Jain, CEO of Rajguru Electronics (I) Pvt Ltd, to know how the company is silently making its presence felt in the digital world and how it is gearing up to strengthen its position further. Excerpts follows…
Q. For principles wanting to expand their network in India–would you be open to having a discussion with them? If yes, what is your selection criterion for deciding which principles you want to work with?
Yes, we are always open to new affiliations. Our main focus is on products. As we are into the electronics field our main aim is to get the latest technology in India. Nowadays we are targeting products which are the core for IoT and 3D printing. It includes WiFi module, security products like POE switches, RFID module, 3D printer and power module. So, any principal who is offering products related to these latest technologies is welcomed to become our partner.
Q. What are the key attributes of your firm that make it the ideal partner for component OEMs to sign you up as their distributor?
I would say we enable our partners to sell their products in large quantities, supporting them by introducing them to various exhibitions and promoting their products through technology magazines. We ensure a flexible payment model in which we either pay in advance to our suppliers or we opt for same day payment once we receive our supplies. We do not deal in credits with any of our suppliers.
Q. What is the role you play in marketing and generating demand for the component lines you represent?
We are spending money in all segments of marketing by giving advertisements in magazines, taking part in exhibitions, promoting products through our website and also through search engine optimizer like Indiamart and Trade India. We train our sales team efficiently so that they can give better output for sales along with after-sales service. Our staff training is solely focussed on keeping our customers satisfied.
Q. What is the mix of principles you represent–with respect to Indian and Global component OEMs?
We are trying to cover all aspects of electronics like security, home automation, banking, medical, agriculture, etc. Currently, we have distributorship for the below suppliers:Â Â
- Spectra Symbol Corp supplies high quality resistive flex sensors which are used in automotive controls, medical devices, industrial controls, computer peripherals, fitness products, musical instruments, measuring devices, virtual reality games, consumer products and physical therapy.
- Ehuoyan Technology Co. Ltd supplies RFID and NFC in products, services and solutions related to the creation, management and use of RFID for millions of customers worldwide.
- Shenzhen Hi-Link Electronic Co., Ltd is into designing of power modules with high efficiency and small volume.
- Xiamen Rongta Technology Co. Ltd supplies thermal printer. It is specialised in designing PoS printers, receipt printers, label scales, thermal transfer barcode printers, impact printers, printer mechanism, control boards and other PoS peripherals
- Dong Yang Smart Technology Co.Ltd is a dynamically developing company with strong technology and R&D strength, specialized in 3 axis stabilizer, servo, brushless motor, speed controller, propeller, etc.
Apart from these, we are the stockiest for ADH Technology Co., Ltd. We are the distributors for Bonens & Chengdu Kingbri Frequency Technology Co., Ltd alongside being the official distributor of Arduino LLC which supplies development boards. We have LCD display RG1602 which is an electronic display module with a wide range of applications. It is used in security and home automation and many other places.
Sourcing of electronics component is done by our highly qualified and experienced staff at Shenzhen. To ensure strict quality assurance, we have the latest instrument to check the originality and the quality of passive and active components.
Q. How do you see the role of online sales influencing components distribution business? Have you started tapping this segment too?
In the world of internet, online sales are a major source for customers to buy their required products and we too feel that this makes it easy for companies to reach out to their customers.
When we think of traditional sales, it is difficult to reach out to all customer in a vast country like India. For us, reaching out in the eastern part of India was quite difficult. Even after promotion through magazines and exhibition, our reach got limited to certain cities. But today, in the world of the internet, we can reach all over the country.
Yes, we have started an online section. Currently, we are available on Indiamart and Semikart. Very soon we will have our own online domain for component distribution service apart from carrying out our traditional sales service.
Q. How’s been the growth of your organisation in the last two years? And, how do you see it for this financial year?
It has been a great journey till now. We are increasing our sales and profit at least by 25 per cent every year and we expect the same growth in the coming year.
Q. What’s your leadership style? What’re the best management practices that you’ve adopted?
I believe in two principals 1) Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas, 2) One person can’t win the battle alone.
When it comes to working with my office colleagues, principals or customer I always like to work together in a team. We share all the necessary details with our customers and suppliers. Many feel that I cannot keep any business secret, but for me, it makes sense as my suppliers and customers are loyal to us and we all intend to grow together.
When it comes to the employees of Rajguru, we treat all employee as a partner of the company. We all work together as one and in return what we achieve is trust from our employees who do not need to be worried about their job security.
Q. What are your key focus areas for the next financial year?
For the next fiscal year, we are betting high on the development and promotion of our online portal. Apart from that, we aim to start exporting to other developing countries.
Q. Any major initiatives taken in the last financial year that you’d like to share with our audience?
Yes, we have taken some positive steps. They are:
- We have started sharing our profit with our accounts and logistics team. The idea behind this is to share the profit with both the teams since our sales team always get their share with incentives                    Â
- We have started spending more on SEO and are actively taking part in exhibitions
- We also arrange a sales management training program for our staff after every three months to improve certain factors like – developing clear action plans for organizational challenges and priorities, clarifying organisational vision, exploring their leadership effectiveness (within the organization and in comparison to other senior executives), enhancing executive image and communication skills, teaching them to learn to balance and sustain their own energy. This training also has a high impact on our sales since it provides our sales managers with proven skills, knowledge and tools they need to drive the bottom line performance
Q. Any views on current government policies related to import-export, GST and electronics manufacturing?
We are very happy with the existing government policies – be it the GST or the EXIM policy. I feel the government is bringing in a lot of user-friendly policies. For example, previously for custom clearance, we had to face a lot of issues, but nowadays the clearance structure has become very easy. Even from the GST perspective, traceability has become very easy. Projects like Make in India has helped people to start manufacturing in India which undoubtedly has and will help component distributors to supply more components to the industry.
